West Cornwall · TR20
New Builds that reads Praa Sands properly
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. A Praa Sands brief starts on the street, not the screen — Praa Sands is a south-coast surf beach village backed by dunes and low cliffs, mostly mid-twentieth-century holiday and family housing in the parishes of Breage and Germoe, with a building stock that leans toward wooden cabins and chalets and converted barns inland.
Praa Sands sits in West Cornwall, inside the TR20 postcode district.
- Cornwall AONB
- Coastal exposure zone
- ✓ Measured-survey accuracy from day one
- ✓ One studio — design, planning and build under one roof
- ✓ Local to West Cornwall — not a national franchise
- ✓ Same team on paper as on site
Local watch-list
Praa Sands-specific issues we screen on the first visit.
Watch #1
AONB landscape-impact scrutiny on visible elevations
Watch #2
Coastal exposure driving fixing, render and joinery spec
Who this is for
Praa Sands 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 context
Why Praa Sands is its own job.
Around Praa Sands (TR20), aONB designation covers the whole village; coastal and dune-edge sites face strict material and ridge-height controls. Holiday-let and second-home pressure has shaped recent local plan policy. For new build specifically, 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 Praa Sands drives detailing choices — fixings, render systems and timber treatments all need to be specified for exposure. Reading Praa Sands properly up front saves more time than any drawing tool ever will. Most of our new build work in Praa Sands lands on wooden cabins and chalets, with detailing that has to nod to the wider Perranuthnoe streetscape.
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 Praa Sands.
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
Self-build CIL exemption requires the right documentation in the right order; missing a step costs five-figure sums.
04
Off-grid services — package treatment plants, borehole supply, off-mains gas — are common on rural Cornish plots and need designing, not assuming.
Our process
How a Praa Sands 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.
FAQs
Praa Sands 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 Praa Sands specifically, we'd start by checking AONB landscape sensitivity 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Local proof — Our West Cornwall workload means a Praa Sands new build project never has to wait for an out-of-county team to drive down.
Get a free feasibility viewOther services in Praa Sands
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For Praa Sands homeowners weighing up a new build, the right starting point is honest feasibility — that's what we lead with, before any drawings.