North Cornwall · PL28
Extensions for Porthcothan (PL28)
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. Porthcothan sits in North Cornwall, and that geography ends up in the drawings — Porthcothan is a holiday-coast settlement in the PL28 area, with strong second-home demand and exposed coastal building conditions, with a building stock that leans toward holiday lets and detached houses.
Porthcothan sits in North Cornwall — covering PL28 from Padstow, St Eval, Trevone outward.
- Cornwall AONB
- Coastal exposure zone
- ✓ Local to North Cornwall — not a national franchise
- ✓ Same team on paper as on site
- ✓ One studio — design, planning and build under one roof
- ✓ Measured-survey accuracy from day one
Our process
How a Porthcothan 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 proof — Our North Cornwall workload means a Porthcothan extension project never has to wait for an out-of-county team to drive down.
Get a free feasibility viewWhat we focus on
Extensions considerations specific to Porthcothan.
01
Cornish granite and slate-hung walls react differently to new openings than modern brickwork — lintel choice and structural sequencing matter.
02
Wind and sea-spray exposure can drive material choices on west-facing extensions; we detail accordingly.
03
Drainage on older Cornish properties is rarely on a clean modern map; CCTV survey before design is often money well spent.
04
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.
Local context
Why Porthcothan is its own job.
In Porthcothan the planning picture is specific: planning scrutiny often focuses on visual impact, occupancy, parking, overlooking and whether replacement buildings respect the coastal edge. For extension specifically, 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 Porthcothan drives detailing choices — fixings, render systems and timber treatments all need to be specified for exposure. That local reading is what makes a Porthcothan (PL28) project different from a generic Cornwall scheme — and is the whole reason we work this way. On holiday lets in particular — the kind you'll also find toward Harlyn — the extension brief always has to read the existing fabric first.
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.
Local watch-list
Local snags worth knowing before drawing a Porthcothan extension.
Watch #1
AONB landscape-impact scrutiny on visible elevations
Watch #2
Coastal exposure driving fixing, render and joinery spec
Porthcothan is part of Padstow
Porthcothan sits inside the Padstow catchment — we cover both as one extension territory.
See Extensions in Padstow →Local fabric
One PL28 studio, one extension job — start to finish.
Building stock
Across Porthcothan (PL28) we work on coastal bungalows, holiday lets, second homes, detached houses, replacement dwellings. Each stock type drives a different extension response — holiday lets in particular needs careful detailing here.
Parish & policy
Porthcothan sits in the parish of Porthcothan, which matters for how parish-level consultation lands on a extension application.
Coverage
We cover PL28 from our studio, with regular extension jobs also running in Padstow, St Eval, Trevone. Most Porthcothan site visits get booked within the same week.
Can you handle both planning and build in Porthcothan?
Yes — design, planning, building regs and full construction run under one roof. For clients with an existing Porthcothan builder we can stop at a tender-ready Full Plans pack instead.
Request a free visitWho this is for
Porthcothan runs the full mix — owner-occupier, holiday-let, commercial and the occasional smallholding — so we scope every extension enquiry from the use-class up.
FAQs
Porthcothan Extensions — local questions answered.
- 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. In Porthcothan specifically, we'd start by checking AONB landscape sensitivity before committing to a direction.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Other services in Porthcothan
Nearby places we cover
Every Porthcothan extension we work on is treated as a PL28 job in its own right — local fabric, local policy, local builders.