Mid Cornwall · PL26 · Cornwall Council Mid
Foxhole new build — feasibility first, drawings second
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. In Foxhole, that work is shaped by the place itself — Foxhole is a china-clay village in the PL26 area, with workers housing, industrial landscape and practical family homes forming the local pattern, with a building stock that leans toward workers cottages and bungalows.
Foxhole sits in Mid Cornwall — just off the A390; covering PL26 from St Austell, Bugle, St Dennis outward.
- Rural / open-countryside policy area
- ✓rural policy area experience built into the fee
- ✓Cornwall Council Mid sub-area regulars
- ✓Free first site visit, no obligation
- ✓Plain-English feasibility before any drawings
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Free Foxhole feasibility call
Tell us about your new build. We reply within 1 working day — no obligation.
Who this is for
In Foxhole 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
Common Foxhole pitfalls we plan around.
Watch #1
Local Plan tests on isolated dwellings, plus lane access for plant and deliveries around Foxhole
Watch #2
Party Wall notices and shallow roof voids typical of workers cottages in the PL26 district
Local proof — We typically have one or two new build jobs live in the PL26 area at any time, so the local planning officers know our drawings on sight.
Get a free feasibility viewFAQs
Foxhole New Builds — local questions answered.
- 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. In Foxhole specifically, we'd start by checking the latest parish-level planning history before committing to a direction.
- 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 Foxhole 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 Foxhole 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Quick check
Want a straight answer on whether your Foxhole 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.
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Get a free feasibility view
For projects in Foxhole and the PL26 area.
Who this is for
Why this page exists, and who it is for
- Design and build are offered from the same studio, which means the person answering your Foxhole questions has seen the detail built.
- Drawings, planning and building regulations are all produced in-house, so a new build enquiry does not get passed between firms.
- Applications for Foxhole are handled through Cornwall Council, with St Austell the nearest planning office we deal with regularly.
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
Follow the chain: survey, drawings, build
Foxhole is covered from our St Austell run. Being a smaller place, the local detail matters more than the headline policy: lane access, neighbour proximity and what the immediate street already looks like.
Page purpose
Drawings only, or drawings through to handover in Foxhole?
Both routes are open on a PL26 project, and the honest answer depends on whether you already have a builder you trust. Plenty of Foxhole 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 PL26 scope, not as one opaque figure
Scope
What we can draw, survey and build around Foxhole
Not every project needs every stage. On a Foxhole job we scope to what the site and the consent route actually require.
Structural coordination
Calculations coordinated with the drawings so building control sees one consistent story.
Planning application drawings
Existing and proposed plans, elevations, site and block plans drawn to validation standard.
Construction and technical drawings
1:10 and 1:20 details for the parts of the job builders normally have to guess at.
Building regulation drawings
Full Plans sets with sections, construction notes and coordinated structural information.
Measured survey
An accurate record of what is actually there, which is where most avoidable cost is removed.
Local context
Why Foxhole is its own job.
Locally, ground conditions, drainage, former industrial land and simple robust materials tend to shape the design and technical brief. For new build 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. Which is why we scope Foxhole projects parish-up, not template-down — the PL26 context shapes the design from day one. Whether the project is on workers cottages in the centre or further out toward St Austell, 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 Foxhole.
01
Off-grid services — package treatment plants, borehole supply, off-mains gas — are common on rural Cornish plots and need designing, not assuming.
02
AONB and Heritage Coast designations apply to large stretches of the county; isolated new builds outside settlement boundaries face a much higher policy bar.
03
Replacement dwellings have specific volumetric tests — getting the ratio between existing footprint and proposed floor area right is the difference between approval and refusal.
04
Self-build CIL exemption requires the right documentation in the right order; missing a step costs five-figure sums.
Our process
How a Foxhole 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 PL26.
Building stock
Across Foxhole (PL26) we work on workers cottages, terraced houses, post-war estates, bungalows, former industrial plots. Each stock type drives a different new build response — workers cottages in particular needs careful detailing here.
Parish & policy
Foxhole sits in the parish of Foxhole, which matters for how parish-level consultation lands on a new build application.
Coverage
We cover PL26 from our studio, with regular new build jobs also running in St Austell, Bugle, St Dennis. Most Foxhole site visits get booked within the same week.
What does a first Foxhole consultation cost?
Nothing. We come to the property, walk the site, talk through what works on a PL26 plot and follow up with a written feasibility note inside a week — no obligation either way.
Request a free visitFoxhole is part of St Austell
Foxhole sits inside the St Austell catchment — we cover both as one new build territory.
See New Builds in St Austell →Other services in Foxhole
Nearby places we cover
In short: take the drawings and run your own build in Foxhole, or keep it under one contract. Both routes start the same way. Applications are dealt with through Cornwall Council, with St Austell the office we deal with most for PL26.
Start a Foxhole project with us We know how workers cottages behave here.
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