West Cornwall · TR26 · Cornwall Council West
Carbis Bay new builds — a West Cornwall studio
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. On a Carbis Bay site, the brief always meets the place — Carbis Bay is the residential coastal suburb of St Ives, climbing up the cliffs above one of the calmest beaches on the north coast and built largely between 1900 and 1970, with a building stock that leans toward Edwardian and 1930s detached villas and modern coastal architect-designed homes.
Carbis Bay sits in West Cornwall — just off the A3074; with Truro the closest city; 1 miles from St Ives.
- Cornwall AONB
- Coastal exposure zone
- ✓ Free first site visit, no obligation
- ✓ Plain-English feasibility before any drawings
- ✓ Fixed-fee planning packages, no surprise invoices
- ✓ Measured-survey accuracy from day one
Local proof — We typically have one or two new build jobs live in the TR26 area at any time, so the local planning officers know our drawings on sight.
Get a free feasibility viewLocal context
Why Carbis Bay is its own job.
The planning backdrop in West Cornwall is real, not abstract: aONB designation covers the whole village; coastal views and cumulative cliffside development are weighed in most applications. Carbis Bay sits inside St Ives parish's principal residence policy area. For new build 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 Carbis Bay drives detailing choices — fixings, render systems and timber treatments all need to be specified for exposure. Treat the TR26 parish brief as the design brief and the Carbis Bay application has somewhere to land. Whether the project is on Edwardian and 1930s detached villas in the centre or further out toward St Ives, the new build response is locally tuned.
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.
What we focus on
New Builds considerations specific to Carbis Bay.
01
AONB and Heritage Coast designations apply to large stretches of the county; isolated new builds outside settlement boundaries face a much higher policy bar.
02
Self-build CIL exemption requires the right documentation in the right order; missing a step costs five-figure sums.
03
Off-grid services — package treatment plants, borehole supply, off-mains gas — are common on rural Cornish plots and need designing, not assuming.
04
Replacement dwellings have specific volumetric tests — getting the ratio between existing footprint and proposed floor area right is the difference between approval and refusal.
Our process
How a Carbis Bay 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 TR26.
Building stock
Across Carbis Bay (TR26) we work on Edwardian and 1930s detached villas, post-war bungalows, 1960s estate housing, modern coastal architect-designed homes. Each stock type drives a different new build response — Edwardian and 1930s detached villas in particular needs careful detailing here.
Parish & policy
Carbis Bay sits in the parish of St Ives, which matters for how parish-level consultation lands on a new build application.
Coverage
We cover TR26 from our studio, with regular new build jobs also running in St Ives, Lelant. Most Carbis Bay site visits get booked within the same week.
What does a first Carbis Bay consultation cost?
Nothing. We come to the property, walk the site, talk through what works on a TR26 plot and follow up with a written feasibility note inside a week — no obligation either way.
Request a free visitRecent work nearby
Glazed seaward elevation we delivered last summer ran solar shading via fixed louvres.
See more recent West Cornwall work →FAQs
Carbis Bay 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 Carbis Bay specifically, we'd start by checking AONB landscape sensitivity before committing to a direction.
- 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.
- 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.
- What's a replacement dwelling and is mine eligible?
- If a habitable dwelling exists on the plot, you can often replace it — within volumetric and design constraints set by Cornwall's Local Plan. Derelict structures sometimes qualify, sometimes don't, depending on lawful use history.
- 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.
Carbis Bay is the hub for these neighbourhoods
We run new builds across Carbis Bay and the surrounding TR26 neighbourhoods — same studio, same site team.
Other services in Carbis Bay
Nearby places we cover
From initial feasibility to final handover, we manage new build projects across Carbis Bay with careful attention to what makes West Cornwall unique.