North Cornwall · EX23
One studio for new build in Jacobstow
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. Working in Jacobstow means starting from the EX23 context — Jacobstow is a rural parish in the EX23 area, with farmsteads, lanes and scattered homes defining its built character, with a building stock that leans toward smallholdings and farmhouses.
Jacobstow sits in North Cornwall — covering EX23 from Bude, Stratton, Poughill outward.
- Rural / open-countryside policy area
- ✓ Local to North Cornwall — not a national franchise
- ✓ Same team on paper as on site
- ✓ Cornwall Council regulars across every sub-area
- ✓ One studio — design, planning and build under one roof
Our process
How a Jacobstow 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 proof — Recent new build enquiries from Jacobstow have clustered around smallholdings — we know the route through Cornwall Council on these.
Get a free feasibility viewWhat we focus on
New Builds considerations specific to Jacobstow.
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
Off-grid services — package treatment plants, borehole supply, off-mains gas — are common on rural Cornish plots and need designing, not assuming.
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.
Local context
Why Jacobstow is its own job.
Two things shape a Jacobstow application: parish character and policy. On policy — open-countryside policy, access lanes, drainage and agricultural building history all need to be addressed before drawings go too far. 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. Get that local reading right and the rest of the Jacobstow programme tends to run on time. On smallholdings in particular — the kind you'll also find toward Flexbury — the new build brief always has to read the existing fabric first.
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.
Local watch-list
The EX23 constraints that shape a new build brief.
Watch #1
Tighter Local Plan tests on isolated rural dwellings
Jacobstow is part of Bude
Jacobstow sits inside the Bude catchment — we cover both as one new build territory.
See New Builds in Bude →Local fabric
What sets a Jacobstow new build brief apart.
Building stock
Across Jacobstow (EX23) we work on farmhouses, converted barns, rural cottages, smallholdings, scattered modern homes. Each stock type drives a different new build response — smallholdings in particular needs careful detailing here.
Parish & policy
Jacobstow sits in the parish of Jacobstow, which matters for how parish-level consultation lands on a new build application.
Coverage
We cover EX23 from our studio, with regular new build jobs also running in Bude, Stratton, Poughill. Most Jacobstow site visits get booked within the same week.
Can you handle both planning and build in Jacobstow?
Yes — design, planning, building regs and full construction run under one roof. For clients with an existing Jacobstow builder we can stop at a tender-ready Full Plans pack instead.
Request a free visitWho this is for
Jacobstow 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.
FAQs
Jacobstow New Builds — local questions answered.
- 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. In Jacobstow 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Other services in Jacobstow
Nearby places we cover
If you're balancing ambition against EX23 planning realism, our Jacobstow new build work threads that needle without the usual drama.