East Cornwall · PL31 · Cornwall Council North
Design, planning and build for Bodmin new build
A bespoke new build is the longest project we do, and the most rewarding. From plot appraisal through planning, building regulations and construction, you work with one team from the first sketch to the handover walk-round. A PL31 site visit comes before a Bodmin sketch, every time — Bodmin is the historic county town and sits on the south-western edge of Bodmin Moor, with a substantial fifteenth-century church, the Beacon viewpoint and a Conservation Area covering the medieval core, with a building stock that leans toward post-war estates and Victorian terraces.
Bodmin sits in East Cornwall — just off the A30; with Truro the closest city; covering PL31 from Lanivet, Blisland, Cardinham outward.
- Conservation Area
- ✓Plain-English feasibility before any drawings
- ✓Free first site visit, no obligation
- ✓One studio — design, planning and build under one roof
- ✓Local to East Cornwall — not a national franchise
Free · No obligation
Free Bodmin feasibility call
Tell us about your new build. We reply within 1 working day — no obligation.
Who this is for
In Bodmin the new build brief is almost always a private homeowner improving a forever home — so we lead with feasibility and long-term value, not show-home rhetoric.
Local watch-list
Bodmin-specific issues we screen on the first visit.
Watch #1
Bodmin Moor AONB at the north and east edges
Watch #2
Granite vernacular driving material choices in central streets
Watch #3
Conservation Area control on Fore Street and Mount Folly
Watch #4
Surface water flood risk along the Camel headwaters
Local proof — Most Bodmin homeowners come to us after a new build quote elsewhere felt vague on planning — we lead with feasibility instead.
Get a free feasibility viewFAQs
Bodmin New Builds — local questions answered.
- How much does a new build cost?
- Realistic budgets in Cornwall start around £2,800 per square metre for a good-quality build and rise quickly with bespoke joinery, large glazing, complex sites and high-spec finishes. We work to your number, not against it. In Bodmin specifically, we'd start by checking the Conservation Area boundary before committing to a direction.
- Can I build a new house on my plot in Cornwall?
- Sometimes yes, sometimes no — and the honest answer needs a planning policy review of the specific site. Settlement boundary, designations, access and policy on isolated dwellings all weigh in. We give a frank read at first consultation rather than a sales pitch.
- Can you handle a self-build for me?
- Yes — from feasibility to handover. Many of our clients start as 'self-builders' on paper, then hand the actual build to us once they realise how much project management it takes.
- How long does the whole project take?
- Allow six to twelve months for design and approvals, then ten to fourteen months on site for a typical four-bedroom new build. Complex sites or long planning routes extend that.
- We live in the house. Can a new build in Bodmin be done while we stay put?
- Usually yes for single-storey and rear work, with a temporary kitchen or bathroom arrangement agreed before the start. Whole-house remodels and roof work in Bodmin are often easier if you move out for a few weeks. We set that expectation at feasibility stage rather than halfway through.
- What about utilities, drainage and access?
- All designed and applied for as part of the package — water, electric, off-mains drainage where mains isn't viable, and highways access agreement with Cornwall Council where required.
Quick check
Want a straight answer on whether your Bodmin project is worth pursuing?
Send a few details — we'll come back within 1 working day with a plain-English view on planning risk, likely cost band and whether it's a project we'd take on.
Free · No obligation
Get a free feasibility view
For projects in Bodmin and the PL31 area.
Page purpose
Drawings only, or drawings through to handover in Bodmin?
Both routes are open on a PL31 project, and the honest answer depends on whether you already have a builder you trust. Plenty of Bodmin clients take the drawings, tender them locally, then come back to us for the build if the numbers do not stack up.
- Route one: feasibility, planning and a tender-ready technical pack
- Route two: the same pack, then the build under one contract
- Either way the survey and feasibility work is identical, so the decision can wait
- Fees quoted per stage against the PL31 scope, not as one opaque figure
Scope
Where our work starts and stops on a PL31 project
Not every project needs every stage. On a Bodmin job we scope to what the site and the consent route actually require.
Construction and technical drawings
1:10 and 1:20 details for the parts of the job builders normally have to guess at.
Planning application drawings
Existing and proposed plans, elevations, site and block plans drawn to validation standard.
Building regulation drawings
Full Plans sets with sections, construction notes and coordinated structural information.
Heritage and design statements
Written justification where designation makes the design case as important as the drawing.
Commercial drawings
Change of use, fit-out and access documentation for Class E and mixed-use premises.
Who this is for
Our footing in East Cornwall
- Drawings, planning and building regulations are all produced in-house, so a new build enquiry does not get passed between firms.
- Designated-area work is routine here, so heritage and landscape statements are produced alongside the drawings rather than outsourced.
- Sites we know on the ground here include the area around Mount Folly and Bodmin Jail.
- Commercial and mixed-use work in Bodmin tends to sit around Walker Lines Industrial Estate.
Planning rules change and every site is different. For the final position on your address, check with Cornwall Council as the local planning authority or the Planning Portal.
Keep reading
Related PL31 pages
Bodmin works as a hub for us: the same new build team covers St Breward, Washaway, Nanstallon and the surrounding PL31 villages, so a site visit here often takes in more than one address.
Local context
Why Bodmin is its own job.
Cornwall Council's lens on Bodmin is consistent: conservation Area covers the historic streets including Fore Street and Honey Street. Bodmin Moor (separately AONB) lies to the east; Bodmin Town Council operates active input on town centre regeneration. For new build specifically, parts of Bodmin sit within a designated Conservation Area, which means materials, fenestration and roof pitches all need to read sympathetically with the existing streetscape. That's why we treat every Bodmin project as a PL31-area job first — not a generic Cornwall job with a postcode bolted on. The post-war estates that dominate Bodmin (and continue out toward Cardinham) set the tone for any new build scheme here.
Planning note
Cornwall's planning policy on new dwellings is among the most restrictive in England outside Greater London. The first conversation should be a planning conversation, not a design one.
Recent work nearby
Bodmin Moor-edge barn conversion last year ran as a Class Q with a heritage statement.
See more recent East Cornwall work →What we focus on
New Builds considerations specific to Bodmin.
01
Replacement dwellings have specific volumetric tests — getting the ratio between existing footprint and proposed floor area right is the difference between approval and refusal.
02
Cornwall's housing policy increasingly favours principal residence and replacement dwelling schemes over open-market new builds in some parishes.
03
Off-grid services — package treatment plants, borehole supply, off-mains gas — are common on rural Cornish plots and need designing, not assuming.
04
AONB and Heritage Coast designations apply to large stretches of the county; isolated new builds outside settlement boundaries face a much higher policy bar.
Our process
How a Bodmin new build project runs.
Step 1
Plot review
Site visit, planning history check, designation review and an honest feasibility verdict.
Step 2
Concept design
Sketches that test the plot in massing, orientation and approach before any drawings are committed.
Step 3
Planning
Pre-app, full planning, consultee management and condition discharge.
Step 4
Technical design and build prep
Building regs, structural design, services strategy and contractor procurement.
Step 5
Construction and handover
Build delivered under contract administration with regular client reviews.
Most bespoke new builds run eighteen to thirty months from instruction to keys, depending on site, planning route and build complexity.
Local fabric
Choosing a new build team that actually knows PL31.
Building stock
Across Bodmin (PL31) we work on medieval and Georgian townhouses, Victorian terraces, post-war estates, modern Persimmon and Bellway estates, barn conversions on the moor edge. Each stock type drives a different new build response — post-war estates in particular needs careful detailing here.
Parish & policy
Bodmin is its own town in East Cornwall, with planning history that's specific to the PL31 catchment.
Coverage
We cover PL31 from our studio, with regular new build jobs also running in Lanivet, Blisland, Cardinham. Most Bodmin site visits get booked within the same week.
How quickly can you visit a Bodmin site?
Usually within the same week. Bodmin (PL31) is on our regular East Cornwall run, alongside Lanivet, Blisland, Cardinham. First visits are free and you'll get an honest feasibility view inside seven days.
Request a free visitBodmin is the hub for these neighbourhoods
We run new builds across Bodmin and the surrounding PL31 neighbourhoods — same studio, same site team.
- St Breward
PL30
- Washaway
PL30
- Nanstallon
PL30
- Cardinham
PL30
- Mount
PL30
- Warleggan
PL30
- Temple
PL30
- St Tudy
PL30
- Helland
PL30
Other services in Bodmin
Nearby places we cover
Local neighbourhoods in Bodmin
The new build jobs we're proudest of in Bodmin are the ones where the planning route was clear before a single elevation was drawn. Applications are dealt with through Cornwall Council, with Bodmin the office we deal with most for PL31.
Get the PL31 planning view before you draw Bodmin handles the planning end for PL31.
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Book a free visit in Bodmin
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