Lizard Peninsula · TR12
One studio for new build in The Lizard
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 The Lizard means starting from the TR12 context — The Lizard is the southernmost village in mainland Britain, sitting on the AONB headland with serpentine geology, a working lighthouse and a tight Conservation Area at the village green, with a building stock that leans toward modern carefully detailed coastal homes and Edwardian villas.
The Lizard sits in Lizard Peninsula — covering TR12 from Mullion outward.
- Conservation Area
- Cornwall AONB
- Coastal exposure zone
- Rural / open-countryside policy area
- ✓ One studio — design, planning and build under one roof
- ✓ Local to Lizard Peninsula — not a national franchise
- ✓ Plain-English feasibility before any drawings
- ✓ Same team on paper as on site
Our process
How a The Lizard 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 The Lizard 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 The Lizard.
01
Cornwall's housing policy increasingly favours principal residence and replacement dwelling schemes over open-market new builds in some parishes.
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
Off-grid services — package treatment plants, borehole supply, off-mains gas — are common on rural Cornish plots and need designing, not assuming.
04
Replacement dwellings have specific volumetric tests — getting the ratio between existing footprint and proposed floor area right is the difference between approval and refusal.
Local context
Why The Lizard is its own job.
Two things shape a The Lizard application: parish character and policy. On policy — conservation Area, AONB and Heritage Coast all apply; coastal cliff exposure and views from the South West Coast Path are weighed heavily. Serpentine quarrying heritage adds a further design layer. For new build specifically, parts of The Lizard sit within a designated Conservation Area, which means materials, fenestration and roof pitches all need to read sympathetically with the existing streetscape; 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; coastal salt-laden air around The Lizard drives detailing choices — fixings, render systems and timber treatments all need to be specified for exposure; 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 The Lizard programme tends to run on time. On modern carefully detailed coastal homes in particular — the kind you'll also find toward Coverack — 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
What usually catches new build projects out in The Lizard.
Watch #1
Conservation Area material and fenestration controls in central The Lizard
Watch #2
AONB landscape-impact scrutiny on visible elevations
Watch #3
Coastal exposure driving fixing, render and joinery spec
Watch #4
Tighter Local Plan tests on isolated rural dwellings
Local fabric
What sets a The Lizard new build brief apart.
Building stock
Across The Lizard (TR12) we work on serpentine-stone cottages, Edwardian villas, 1950s coastal bungalows, modern carefully detailed coastal homes. Each stock type drives a different new build response — modern carefully detailed coastal homes in particular needs careful detailing here.
Parish & policy
The Lizard sits in the parish of Landewednack, 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 Mullion, Coverack. Most The Lizard site visits get booked within the same week.
Can you handle both planning and build in The Lizard?
Yes — design, planning, building regs and full construction run under one roof. For clients with an existing The Lizard builder we can stop at a tender-ready Full Plans pack instead.
Request a free visitWho this is for
The Lizard 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
The Lizard 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 The Lizard specifically, we'd start by checking the Conservation Area boundary 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 The Lizard
Nearby places we cover
If you're balancing ambition against TR12 planning realism, our The Lizard new build work threads that needle without the usual drama.