Lizard Peninsula · TR12 · Cornwall Council West
Goonhilly new builds — a Lizard Peninsula 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. Anchor any Goonhilly new build in the local fabric and the rest follows — Goonhilly is a moorland-edge hamlet in the TR12 area, where exposed weather, narrow lanes and rural character set the brief, with a building stock that leans toward stone cottages and small rural infill.
Goonhilly sits in Lizard Peninsula — just off the A394; covering TR12 from St Keverne, Truro, St Austell outward.
- Cornwall AONB
- Rural / open-countryside policy area
- ✓30+ years of Cornwall Council approvals
- ✓AONB experience built into the fee
- ✓Plain-English feasibility before any drawings
- ✓Measured-survey accuracy from day one
Free · No obligation
Free Goonhilly feasibility call
Tell us about your new build. We reply within 1 working day — no obligation.
Who this is for
In Goonhilly 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
Goonhilly-specific issues we screen on the first visit.
Watch #1
AONB landscape-impact testing on anything read in long views across Lizard Peninsula
Watch #2
Local Plan tests on isolated dwellings, plus lane access for plant and deliveries around Goonhilly
Watch #3
Party Wall notices and shallow roof voids typical of stone cottages in the TR12 district
Local proof — Most Goonhilly new build clients we work with are second-time builders — they've seen the templated approach fail once already.
Get a free feasibility viewFAQs
Goonhilly New Builds — local questions answered.
- We live in the house. Can a new build in Goonhilly 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 Goonhilly are often easier if you move out for a few weeks. We set that expectation at feasibility stage rather than halfway through.
- Can I build a new house on my plot in Goonhilly?
- 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. In Goonhilly specifically, we'd start by checking AONB landscape sensitivity before committing to a direction.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Quick check
Want a straight answer on whether your Goonhilly 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 Goonhilly and the TR12 area.
Scope
What we can draw, survey and build around Goonhilly
These stages can be bought separately. Most TR12 projects use three of them.
Building regulation drawings
Full Plans sets with sections, construction notes and coordinated structural information.
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.
Full design and build
One contract from first sketch to handover, with the same team on paper and on site.
Measured survey
An accurate record of what is actually there, which is where most avoidable cost is removed.
Page purpose
Drawings only, or drawings through to handover in Goonhilly?
Both routes are open on a TR12 project, and the honest answer depends on whether you already have a builder you trust. Plenty of Goonhilly 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 TR12 scope, not as one opaque figure
Keep reading
Follow the chain: survey, drawings, build
Goonhilly is covered from our St Keverne 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.
Who this is for
Why this page exists, and who it is for
- 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.
- Applications for Goonhilly are handled through Cornwall Council, with Truro 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.
Local context
Why Goonhilly is its own job.
The planning backdrop in Lizard Peninsula is real, not abstract: rural policy, landscape impact and services such as drainage are usually the key constraints, especially outside settlement boundaries. 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; 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 TR12 parish brief as the design brief and the Goonhilly application has somewhere to land. Whether the project is on stone cottages in the centre or further out toward St Keverne, 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 Goonhilly.
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
Self-build CIL exemption requires the right documentation in the right order; missing a step costs five-figure sums.
03
Cornwall's housing policy increasingly favours principal residence and replacement dwelling schemes over open-market new builds in some parishes.
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 Goonhilly 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 TR12.
Building stock
Across Goonhilly (TR12) we work on stone cottages, farm buildings, isolated houses, converted barns, small rural infill. Each stock type drives a different new build response — stone cottages in particular needs careful detailing here.
Parish & policy
Goonhilly sits in the parish of Goonhilly, which matters for how parish-level consultation lands on a new build application.
Coverage
We cover TR12 from our studio, with regular new build jobs also running in St Keverne, Truro, St Austell. Most Goonhilly site visits get booked within the same week.
What does a first Goonhilly consultation cost?
Nothing. We come to the property, walk the site, talk through what works on a TR12 plot and follow up with a written feasibility note inside a week — no obligation either way.
Request a free visitGoonhilly is part of St Keverne
Goonhilly sits inside the St Keverne catchment — we cover both as one new build territory.
See New Builds in St Keverne →Other services in Goonhilly
Nearby places we cover
Whichever route suits your TR12 project, the survey and feasibility work is the same, so nothing is wasted. For the final position on any address, Cornwall Council or the Planning Portal is the place to confirm it.
Decide the route after the free Goonhilly visit Booked alongside our St Keverne runs.
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Book a free visit in Goonhilly
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