North Cornwall · EX23
One studio for new build in Shop
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 Shop means starting from the EX23 context — Shop is a small rural hamlet in the EX23 area, with scattered homes, lanes and a deliberately quiet settlement pattern, with a building stock that leans toward small infill homes and farmhouses.
Shop sits in North Cornwall — covering EX23 from Bude, Stratton, Poughill outward.
- Rural / open-countryside policy area
- ✓ Measured-survey accuracy from day one
- ✓ One studio — design, planning and build under one roof
- ✓ 30+ years of Cornwall Council approvals
- ✓ Same team on paper as on site
Our process
How a Shop 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 — We typically have one or two new build jobs live in the EX23 area at any time, so the local planning officers know our drawings on sight.
Get a free feasibility viewWhat we focus on
New Builds considerations specific to Shop.
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 Shop is its own job.
Two things shape a Shop application: parish character and policy. On policy — the main planning test is usually whether the proposal remains subordinate, locally detailed and acceptable on access, drainage and neighbour amenity. For new build specifically, 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 Shop programme tends to run on time. On small infill homes in particular — the kind you'll also find toward Flexbury — 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
Local snags worth knowing before drawing a Shop new build.
Watch #1
Tighter Local Plan tests on isolated rural dwellings
Shop is part of Bude
Shop sits inside the Bude catchment — we cover both as one new build territory.
See New Builds in Bude →Local fabric
Shop new builds — the local-studio difference.
Building stock
Across Shop (EX23) we work on cottages, farmhouses, converted barns, bungalows, small infill homes. Each stock type drives a different new build response — small infill homes in particular needs careful detailing here.
Parish & policy
Shop sits in the parish of Shop, which matters for how parish-level consultation lands on a new build application.
Coverage
We cover EX23 from our studio, with regular new build jobs also running in Bude, Stratton, Poughill. Most Shop site visits get booked within the same week.
Can you handle both planning and build in Shop?
Yes — design, planning, building regs and full construction run under one roof. For clients with an existing Shop builder we can stop at a tender-ready Full Plans pack instead.
Request a free visitWho this is for
Shop 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
Shop New Builds — local questions answered.
- 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. In Shop specifically, we'd start by checking the latest parish-level planning history before committing to a direction.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Other services in Shop
Nearby places we cover
If you're balancing ambition against EX23 planning realism, our Shop new build work threads that needle without the usual drama.