Mid Cornwall · TR3 · Cornwall Council Mid
Kea 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. On a Kea site, the brief always meets the place — Kea is a creekside settlement in the TR3 area, with waterside homes, wooded valleys and narrow-lane access shaping the brief, with a building stock that leans toward boat sheds and creekside cottages.
Kea sits in Mid Cornwall — just off the A390; covering TR3 from Truro, St Michael Penkivel, Calenick outward.
- Rural / open-countryside policy area
- ✓30+ years of Cornwall Council approvals
- ✓rural policy area experience built into the fee
- ✓Cornwall Council Mid sub-area regulars
- ✓Free first site visit, no obligation
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Free Kea feasibility call
Tell us about your new build. We reply within 1 working day — no obligation.
Who this is for
In Kea 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
Local snags worth knowing before drawing a Kea new build.
Watch #1
Local Plan tests on isolated dwellings, plus lane access for plant and deliveries around Kea
Watch #2
Party Wall notices and shallow roof voids typical of creekside cottages in the TR3 district
Local proof — Most Kea new build clients we work with are second-time builders — they've seen the templated approach fail once already.
Get a free feasibility viewFAQs
Kea 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 Kea specifically, we'd start by checking the latest parish-level planning history 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.
- We live in the house. Can a new build in Kea 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 Kea are often easier if you move out for a few weeks. We set that expectation at feasibility stage rather than halfway through.
- 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.
- 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.
Quick check
Want a straight answer on whether your Kea 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 Kea and the TR3 area.
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.
- Applications for Kea are handled through Cornwall Council, with St Austell the nearest planning office we deal with regularly.
- Design and build are offered from the same studio, which means the person answering your Kea questions has seen the detail built.
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
Kea is covered from our Truro 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 Kea?
Both routes are open on a TR3 project, and the honest answer depends on whether you already have a builder you trust. Plenty of Kea 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 TR3 scope, not as one opaque figure
Scope
What we can draw, survey and build around Kea
Not every project needs every stage. On a Kea 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.
Measured survey
An accurate record of what is actually there, which is where most avoidable cost is removed.
Full design and build
One contract from first sketch to handover, with the same team on paper and on site.
Local context
Why Kea is its own job.
Locally, creekside ecology, flood risk, trees and views across the water often matter as much as the building form itself. 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 Kea projects parish-up, not template-down — the TR3 context shapes the design from day one. Whether the project is on boat sheds in the centre or further out toward Truro, 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 Kea.
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
Cornwall's housing policy increasingly favours principal residence and replacement dwelling schemes over open-market new builds in some parishes.
04
Self-build CIL exemption requires the right documentation in the right order; missing a step costs five-figure sums.
Our process
How a Kea 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
Why Kea homeowners pick a local studio for new build.
Building stock
Across Kea (TR3) we work on creekside cottages, detached houses, boat sheds, converted barns, waterside homes. Each stock type drives a different new build response — boat sheds in particular needs careful detailing here.
Parish & policy
Kea sits in the parish of Kea, which matters for how parish-level consultation lands on a new build application.
Coverage
We cover TR3 from our studio, with regular new build jobs also running in Truro, St Michael Penkivel, Calenick. Most Kea site visits get booked within the same week.
What does a first Kea consultation cost?
Nothing. We come to the property, walk the site, talk through what works on a TR3 plot and follow up with a written feasibility note inside a week — no obligation either way.
Request a free visitKea is part of Truro
Kea sits inside the Truro catchment — we cover both as one new build territory.
See New Builds in Truro →Other services in Kea
Nearby places we cover
On a Kea site the success of a new build is decided in week one — by reading the constraints right, not by drawing them away. Parish-level consultation in Kea is worth planning for, not reacting to.
One conversation — and a clearer Kea brief We know how creekside cottages behave here.
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