Mid Cornwall · TR2
One studio for new build in Ladock
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 Ladock means starting from the TR2 context — Ladock is a village east of Truro on the B3275, with a fifteenth-century church and a tight Conservation Area covering the village core, with a building stock that leans toward traditional cob and granite cottages and Edwardian houses.
Ladock sits in Mid Cornwall — covering TR2 from Probus, Tresillian, Grampound outward.
- Conservation Area
- Rural / open-countryside policy area
- ✓ Local to Mid Cornwall — not a national franchise
- ✓ Same team on paper as on site
- ✓ Measured-survey accuracy from day one
- ✓ One studio — design, planning and build under one roof
Our process
How a Ladock 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 — Most Ladock new build clients we work with are second-time builders — they've seen the templated approach fail once already.
Get a free feasibility viewWhat we focus on
New Builds considerations specific to Ladock.
01
Off-grid services — package treatment plants, borehole supply, off-mains gas — are common on rural Cornish plots and need designing, not assuming.
02
Replacement dwellings have specific volumetric tests — getting the ratio between existing footprint and proposed floor area right is the difference between approval and refusal.
03
Self-build CIL exemption requires the right documentation in the right order; missing a step costs five-figure sums.
04
Cornwall's housing policy increasingly favours principal residence and replacement dwelling schemes over open-market new builds in some parishes.
Local context
Why Ladock is its own job.
Two things shape a Ladock application: parish character and policy. On policy — conservation Area covers the village including the church. Active parish council with input on infill and barn conversion proposals. For new build specifically, parts of Ladock sit within a designated Conservation Area, which means materials, fenestration and roof pitches all need to read sympathetically with the existing streetscape; 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 Ladock programme tends to run on time. On traditional cob and granite cottages in particular — the kind you'll also find toward Probus — 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
Ladock-specific issues we screen on the first visit.
Watch #1
Conservation Area material and fenestration controls in central Ladock
Watch #2
Tighter Local Plan tests on isolated rural dwellings
Local fabric
What sets a Ladock new build brief apart.
Building stock
Across Ladock (TR2) we work on traditional cob and granite cottages, Victorian villas, Edwardian houses, post-war bungalows, modern infill. Each stock type drives a different new build response — traditional cob and granite cottages in particular needs careful detailing here.
Parish & policy
Ladock is its own town in Mid Cornwall, with planning history that's specific to the TR2 catchment.
Coverage
We cover TR2 from our studio, with regular new build jobs also running in Probus, Tresillian, Grampound. Most Ladock site visits get booked within the same week.
Can you handle both planning and build in Ladock?
Yes — design, planning, building regs and full construction run under one roof. For clients with an existing Ladock builder we can stop at a tender-ready Full Plans pack instead.
Request a free visitWho this is for
Ladock 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
Ladock New Builds — local questions answered.
- 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. In Ladock specifically, we'd start by checking the Conservation Area boundary before committing to a direction.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Other services in Ladock
Nearby places we cover
If you're balancing ambition against TR2 planning realism, our Ladock new build work threads that needle without the usual drama.