Lizard Peninsula · TR12
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 — 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
Who this is for
Goonhilly runs the full mix — owner-occupier, holiday-let, commercial and the occasional smallholding — so we scope every new build enquiry from the use-class up.
Local watch-list
Goonhilly-specific issues we screen on the first visit.
Watch #1
AONB landscape-impact scrutiny on visible elevations
Watch #2
Tighter Local Plan tests on isolated rural dwellings
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.
- 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.
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
A new build in Goonhilly stands or falls on how well it reads the street — we treat that as the design brief, not an afterthought.