South Cornwall · TR10
Mabe Burnthouse new builds — a South Cornwall 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. On a Mabe Burnthouse site, the brief always meets the place — Mabe Burnthouse is a residential village west of Penryn with strong commuter demand from the Falmouth and Truro areas and significant late-twentieth-century estate expansion, with a building stock that leans toward 1960s and 1970s estates and older granite cottages on the village fringes.
Mabe Burnthouse sits in South Cornwall — covering TR10 from Penryn, Constantine, Ponsanooth outward.
- ✓ Free first site visit, no obligation
- ✓ Plain-English feasibility before any drawings
- ✓ Local to South Cornwall — not a national franchise
- ✓ Same team on paper as on site
Who this is for
Mabe Burnthouse 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
Common Mabe Burnthouse pitfalls we plan around.
Watch #1
Parish-level character expectations that don't appear on any policy map
Local proof — Recent new build enquiries from Mabe Burnthouse have clustered around 1960s and 1970s estates — we know the route through Cornwall Council on these.
Get a free feasibility viewFAQs
Mabe Burnthouse New Builds — local questions answered.
- Can I build a new house on my plot in Mabe Burnthouse?
- 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 Mabe Burnthouse 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Local context
Why Mabe Burnthouse is its own job.
The planning backdrop in South Cornwall is real, not abstract: outside Conservation Area and AONB but the wider parish includes designated areas. Mabe parish operates active input on edge-of-village schemes; granite quarrying heritage shapes some site planning. For new build specifically, Mabe Burnthouse sits outside the headline designations, which usually gives a slightly more flexible starting point — but parish-level character still matters. Treat the TR10 parish brief as the design brief and the Mabe Burnthouse application has somewhere to land. Whether the project is on 1960s and 1970s estates in the centre or further out toward Penryn, 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 Mabe Burnthouse.
01
Self-build CIL exemption requires the right documentation in the right order; missing a step costs five-figure sums.
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
Cornwall's housing policy increasingly favours principal residence and replacement dwelling schemes over open-market new builds in some parishes.
Our process
How a Mabe Burnthouse 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 a South Cornwall studio is the right fit for Mabe Burnthouse new build.
Building stock
Across Mabe Burnthouse (TR10) we work on 1960s and 1970s estates, modern Persimmon and Bovis estates, individual self-build plots, older granite cottages on the village fringes. Each stock type drives a different new build response — 1960s and 1970s estates in particular needs careful detailing here.
Parish & policy
Mabe Burnthouse sits in the parish of Mabe, which matters for how parish-level consultation lands on a new build application.
Coverage
We cover TR10 from our studio, with regular new build jobs also running in Penryn, Constantine, Ponsanooth. Most Mabe Burnthouse site visits get booked within the same week.
What does a first Mabe Burnthouse consultation cost?
Nothing. We come to the property, walk the site, talk through what works on a TR10 plot and follow up with a written feasibility note inside a week — no obligation either way.
Request a free visitMabe Burnthouse is part of Penryn
Mabe Burnthouse sits inside the Penryn catchment — we cover both as one new build territory.
See New Builds in Penryn →Other services in Mabe Burnthouse
Nearby places we cover
From initial feasibility to final handover, we manage new build projects across Mabe Burnthouse with careful attention to what makes South Cornwall unique.