Mid Cornwall · PL26
Roche new builds — a Mid 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. Anchor any Roche new build in the local fabric and the rest follows — Roche is a village in the heart of china clay country with the dramatic Roche Rock and St Michael's Chapel on its outskirts, a fifteenth-century parish church and a tight Conservation Area, with a building stock that leans toward Victorian terraces and post-war estates.
Roche sits in Mid Cornwall — covering PL26 from St Austell outward.
- Conservation Area
- Rural / open-countryside policy area
- ✓ Free first site visit, no obligation
- ✓ Plain-English feasibility before any drawings
- ✓ Same team on paper as on site
- ✓ Fixed-fee planning packages, no surprise invoices
Who this is for
Roche 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
The PL26 constraints that shape a new build brief.
Watch #1
Conservation Area material and fenestration controls in central Roche
Watch #2
Tighter Local Plan tests on isolated rural dwellings
Local proof — We typically have one or two new build jobs live in the PL26 area at any time, so the local planning officers know our drawings on sight.
Get a free feasibility viewFAQs
Roche New Builds — local questions answered.
- Can I build a new house on my plot in Roche?
- 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 Roche specifically, we'd start by checking the Conservation Area boundary 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 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.
- 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.
Local context
Why Roche is its own job.
The planning backdrop in Mid Cornwall is real, not abstract: conservation Area covers the village core. Roche Rock SSSI and listed chapel, plus surrounding clay pits, shape most planning conversations. For new build specifically, parts of Roche 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. Treat the PL26 parish brief as the design brief and the Roche application has somewhere to land. Whether the project is on Victorian terraces in the centre or further out toward Lanivet, 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 Roche.
01
AONB and Heritage Coast designations apply to large stretches of the county; isolated new builds outside settlement boundaries face a much higher policy bar.
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.
Our process
How a Roche 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
Choosing a new build team that actually knows PL26.
Building stock
Across Roche (PL26) we work on traditional cob and granite cottages, Victorian terraces, Edwardian houses, post-war estates, modern small estate development. Each stock type drives a different new build response — Victorian terraces in particular needs careful detailing here.
Parish & policy
Roche is its own town in Mid Cornwall, with planning history that's specific to the PL26 catchment.
Coverage
We cover PL26 from our studio, with regular new build jobs also running in St Austell, Lanivet, Luxulyan. Most Roche site visits get booked within the same week.
What does a first Roche consultation cost?
Nothing. We come to the property, walk the site, talk through what works on a PL26 plot and follow up with a written feasibility note inside a week — no obligation either way.
Request a free visitOther services in Roche
Nearby places we cover
A new build in Roche stands or falls on how well it reads the street — we treat that as the design brief, not an afterthought.