Mid Cornwall · TR3
Kea full build — a Mid Cornwall studio
Once drawings are approved, the build is the bit that decides whether you get the home you imagined or a frustrating compromise. We deliver projects on a single contract — design, drawings, approvals and construction — so the team that drew it is the team that builds it. On a Kea site, the brief always meets the place — Kea is a creekside settlement in the TR3 area, with waterside homes, wooded valleys and narrow-lane access shaping the brief, with a building stock that leans toward creekside cottages and detached houses.
Kea sits in Mid Cornwall — covering TR3 from Truro, St Michael Penkivel, Calenick outward.
- Rural / open-countryside policy area
- ✓ Cornwall Council regulars across every sub-area
- ✓ Free first site visit, no obligation
- ✓ rural policy area experience built into the fee
- ✓ Same team on paper as on site
Who this is for
Kea runs the full mix — owner-occupier, holiday-let, commercial and the occasional smallholding — so we scope every full build package enquiry from the use-class up.
Local watch-list
What usually catches full build package projects out in Kea.
Watch #1
Tighter Local Plan tests on isolated rural dwellings
Local proof — Most Kea full build package clients we work with are second-time builders — they've seen the templated approach fail once already.
Get a free feasibility viewFAQs
Kea Full Build — local questions answered.
- Do you handle the whole project from drawing to finish?
- Yes — that's the model. One contract from feasibility to handover, with design, regs and build all under our roof. No coordination gap between designer and contractor. In Kea specifically, we'd start by checking the latest parish-level planning history before committing to a direction.
- Fixed price or open book?
- Both. Fixed price suits well-defined projects with clear specs; open book suits renovations and listed work where the unknowns only reveal themselves once you start opening things up. We'll recommend the right route.
- How do you handle changes during the build?
- Weekly client meetings, written change requests, costed and signed before work proceeds. No surprise invoices.
- Are you insured?
- Public liability, employer's liability and contractor's all-risks cover are in place for every project, with certificates available before contract signing.
- Can you build from someone else's drawings?
- Yes, with a review. We'll happily build from approved drawings produced elsewhere, after a technical review to confirm the design holds up at construction stage.
Local context
Why Kea is its own job.
The planning backdrop in Mid Cornwall is real, not abstract: creekside ecology, flood risk, trees and views across the water often matter as much as the building form itself. For full build package 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. Treat the TR3 parish brief as the design brief and the Kea application has somewhere to land. Whether the project is on creekside cottages in the centre or further out toward Truro, the full build package response is locally tuned.
Planning note
Build delivery doesn't need planning, but planning conditions often dictate site setup, materials and working hours — we read every condition and build the programme around them.
What we focus on
Full Build considerations specific to Kea.
01
Single-contract delivery removes the gap between architect's intent and builder's interpretation — fewer change orders, less variation cost.
02
Weather windows on Cornish coastal sites are short — getting the building watertight before autumn matters more here than in central England.
03
Material lead times to Cornwall are longer than the M5 corridor; sequencing orders early protects the build programme.
04
Off-grid sites need their own water, drainage and power solutions designed and procured rather than assumed.
Our process
How a Kea full build package project runs.
Step 1
Pre-construction
Programme, procurement, contractor briefing and site setup.
Step 2
Substructure
Foundations, drainage, ground beams — the unglamorous bit that decides everything later.
Step 3
Superstructure
Frame, roof, glazing — getting the building watertight.
Step 4
First and second fix
Services, plaster, joinery, kitchens and bathrooms.
Step 5
Snag and handover
Final inspection, building control sign-off, handover pack and aftercare.
Full builds run from twelve weeks for small extensions to eighteen months for new build family homes.
Local fabric
Choosing a full build package team that actually knows TR3.
Building stock
Across Kea (TR3) we work on creekside cottages, detached houses, boat sheds, converted barns, waterside homes. Each stock type drives a different full build package response — creekside cottages in particular needs careful detailing here.
Parish & policy
Kea sits in the parish of Kea, which matters for how parish-level consultation lands on a full build package application.
Coverage
We cover TR3 from our studio, with regular full build package jobs also running in Truro, St Michael Penkivel, Calenick. Most Kea site visits get booked within the same week.
What does a first Kea consultation cost?
Nothing. We come to the property, walk the site, talk through what works on a TR3 plot and follow up with a written feasibility note inside a week — no obligation either way.
Request a free visitKea is part of Truro
Kea sits inside the Truro catchment — we cover both as one full build package territory.
See Full Build in Truro →Other services in Kea
Nearby places we cover
From initial feasibility to final handover, we manage full build package projects across Kea with careful attention to what makes Mid Cornwall unique.