Mid Cornwall · PL26
Design, planning and build for Foxhole extension
Extensions are the bread and butter of Cornish homes — adding the kitchen-diner the original layout never had, the bedroom for a growing family, or the light and views the back of the house should always have had. A PL26 site visit comes before a Foxhole sketch, every time — Foxhole is a china-clay village in the PL26 area, with workers housing, industrial landscape and practical family homes forming the local pattern, with a building stock that leans toward bungalows and post-war estates.
Foxhole sits in Mid Cornwall — covering PL26 from St Austell, Bugle, St Dennis outward.
- Rural / open-countryside policy area
- ✓ Cornwall Council regulars across every sub-area
- ✓ rural policy area experience built into the fee
- ✓ Local to Mid Cornwall — not a national franchise
- ✓ Same team on paper as on site
Local proof — Most Foxhole extension clients we work with are second-time builders — they've seen the templated approach fail once already.
Get a free feasibility viewLocal context
Why Foxhole is its own job.
Cornwall Council's lens on Foxhole is consistent: ground conditions, drainage, former industrial land and simple robust materials tend to shape the design and technical brief. For extension specifically, Cornwall Council's Local Plan applies tighter tests to isolated rural dwellings here, so design rationale and policy fit need to be set out clearly from the outset. That's why we treat every Foxhole project as a PL26-area job first — not a generic Cornwall job with a postcode bolted on. The bungalows that dominate Foxhole (and continue out toward St Dennis) set the tone for any extension scheme here.
Planning note
Most extensions in Cornwall are either permitted development or a straightforward householder application — but Conservation Area and AONB sites need a more careful design conversation upfront.
What we focus on
Extensions considerations specific to Foxhole.
01
Wind and sea-spray exposure can drive material choices on west-facing extensions; we detail accordingly.
02
Permitted development for rear extensions runs to four metres on a detached house, three on a semi or terrace — but Article 4 areas remove this in some parishes.
03
Drainage on older Cornish properties is rarely on a clean modern map; CCTV survey before design is often money well spent.
04
Cornish granite and slate-hung walls react differently to new openings than modern brickwork — lintel choice and structural sequencing matter.
Our process
How a Foxhole extension project runs.
Step 1
Brief
We meet on site, talk through how you live now and what's missing from the current layout.
Step 2
Design
Two or three sketch directions with rough budgets, then refinement of the chosen route.
Step 3
Approvals
Planning or Cert of Lawfulness, then a full building regs package.
Step 4
Build
Either through your own builder with our drawings, or as a full build by our team.
Step 5
Handover
Snag, certify, hand over the keys to your new space.
Typical single-storey rear extensions run twelve to twenty weeks on site; two-storey and wraparound projects sixteen to thirty weeks.
Local fabric
Why Foxhole homeowners pick a local studio for extension.
Building stock
Across Foxhole (PL26) we work on workers cottages, terraced houses, post-war estates, bungalows, former industrial plots. Each stock type drives a different extension response — bungalows in particular needs careful detailing here.
Parish & policy
Foxhole sits in the parish of Foxhole, which matters for how parish-level consultation lands on a extension application.
Coverage
We cover PL26 from our studio, with regular extension jobs also running in St Austell, Bugle, St Dennis. Most Foxhole site visits get booked within the same week.
How quickly can you visit a Foxhole site?
Usually within the same week. Foxhole (PL26) is on our regular Mid Cornwall run, alongside St Austell, Bugle, St Dennis. First visits are free and you'll get an honest feasibility view inside seven days.
Request a free visitFAQs
Foxhole Extensions — local questions answered.
- Do I need planning permission for an extension?
- Often no — single-storey rear extensions, side extensions and modest two-storey additions can sit inside permitted development on a typical detached house. Conservation Areas, AONB and Article 4 zones remove some of those rights, so we always check the address first. In Foxhole specifically, we'd start by checking the latest parish-level planning history before committing to a direction.
- Will my house be liveable during the build?
- For most rear and side extensions, yes — we sequence the works so the kitchen and one bathroom stay functional until the new build is watertight and connected.
- How long does the whole process take?
- Allow roughly three months for design and approvals, then twelve to twenty weeks on site for a typical single-storey extension. Wraparounds and two-storey add-ons take longer, mostly through approval and groundworks.
- How much does an extension cost in Cornwall?
- Build costs in Cornwall typically run from around £2,200 to £3,200 per square metre for a good-quality single-storey extension, more for kitchen-grade fit-out or complex glazing. We give a realistic budget before drawings start, not after.
- Can you handle the build as well as the design?
- Yes — that's the whole point of the studio. One contract, one point of contact, no finger-pointing between architect and builder when something needs a decision on site.
Foxhole is part of St Austell
Foxhole sits inside the St Austell catchment — we cover both as one extension territory.
See Extensions in St Austell →Other services in Foxhole
Nearby places we cover
Most Foxhole extension enquiries start with one honest conversation about what's actually allowed — and that conversation costs nothing.