Lizard Peninsula · TR12
Extensions that reads The Lizard properly
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. Reading The Lizard on the ground is half of the extension job — The Lizard is the southernmost village in mainland Britain, sitting on the AONB headland with serpentine geology, a working lighthouse and a tight Conservation Area at the village green, with a building stock that leans toward Edwardian villas and modern carefully detailed coastal homes.
The Lizard sits in Lizard Peninsula — covering TR12 from Mullion outward.
- Conservation Area
- Cornwall AONB
- Coastal exposure zone
- Rural / open-countryside policy area
- ✓ Fixed-fee planning packages, no surprise invoices
- ✓ Measured-survey accuracy from day one
- ✓ One studio — design, planning and build under one roof
- ✓ Local to Lizard Peninsula — not a national franchise
Local watch-list
The Lizard-specific issues we screen on the first visit.
Watch #1
Conservation Area material and fenestration controls in central The Lizard
Watch #2
AONB landscape-impact scrutiny on visible elevations
Watch #3
Coastal exposure driving fixing, render and joinery spec
Watch #4
Tighter Local Plan tests on isolated rural dwellings
Who this is for
The Lizard runs the full mix — owner-occupier, holiday-let, commercial and the occasional smallholding — so we scope every extension enquiry from the use-class up.
Local context
Why The Lizard is its own job.
Around The Lizard (TR12), conservation Area, AONB and Heritage Coast all apply; coastal cliff exposure and views from the South West Coast Path are weighed heavily. Serpentine quarrying heritage adds a further design layer. For extension specifically, parts of The Lizard sit within a designated Conservation Area, which means materials, fenestration and roof pitches all need to read sympathetically with the existing streetscape; the surrounding landscape falls inside the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, so massing, height and landscape impact carry extra weight in any planning decision; coastal salt-laden air around The Lizard drives detailing choices — fixings, render systems and timber treatments all need to be specified for exposure; 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. Reading The Lizard properly up front saves more time than any drawing tool ever will. Most of our extension work in The Lizard lands on Edwardian villas, with detailing that has to nod to the wider Coverack streetscape.
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 The Lizard.
01
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.
02
Extensions over a certain proportion of the original house trigger full Part L upgrade obligations to the existing building — worth knowing before brief is set.
03
Drainage on older Cornish properties is rarely on a clean modern map; CCTV survey before design is often money well spent.
04
Wind and sea-spray exposure can drive material choices on west-facing extensions; we detail accordingly.
Our process
How a The Lizard 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.
FAQs
The Lizard Extensions — local questions answered.
- How much does an extension cost in The Lizard?
- 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. In The Lizard specifically, we'd start by checking the Conservation Area boundary before committing to a direction.
- 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.
- What about the Party Wall Act?
- If you share a wall with a neighbour or build close to a boundary, the Act applies. We flag it early, recommend a surveyor and keep the programme aligned with the notice period.
- 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.
- 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.
Local proof — Most The Lizard homeowners come to us after a extension quote elsewhere felt vague on planning — we lead with feasibility instead.
Get a free feasibility viewOther services in The Lizard
Nearby places we cover
On a The Lizard site the success of a extension is decided in week one — by reading the constraints right, not by drawing them away.