Mid Cornwall · TR4
One studio for new build in Shortlanesend
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. Shortlanesend sits in Mid Cornwall, and that geography ends up in the drawings — Shortlanesend is a small village just north-west of Truro on the B3284, in Kenwyn parish, with a primary school, post office and a steady stream of infill applications, with a building stock that leans toward barn conversions and 1960s and 1970s bungalows.
Shortlanesend sits in Mid Cornwall — covering TR4 from Truro, Threemilestone outward.
- Rural / open-countryside policy area
- ✓ Fixed-fee planning packages, no surprise invoices
- ✓ Measured-survey accuracy from day one
- ✓ rural policy area experience built into the fee
- ✓ Local to Mid Cornwall — not a national franchise
Our process
How a Shortlanesend 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 TR4 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 Shortlanesend.
01
Off-grid services — package treatment plants, borehole supply, off-mains gas — are common on rural Cornish plots and need designing, not assuming.
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.
Local context
Why Shortlanesend is its own job.
Two things shape a Shortlanesend application: parish character and policy. On policy — outside Conservation Area and AONB but bordered by the Allet AONB area. Kenwyn parish operates active input on edge-of-village sites. 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 Shortlanesend programme tends to run on time. On barn conversions in particular — the kind you'll also find toward Threemilestone — 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
Common Shortlanesend pitfalls we plan around.
Watch #1
Tighter Local Plan tests on isolated rural dwellings
Shortlanesend is part of Truro
Shortlanesend sits inside the Truro catchment — we cover both as one new build territory.
See New Builds in Truro →Local fabric
Shortlanesend new builds — the local-studio difference.
Building stock
Across Shortlanesend (TR4) we work on traditional cottages, 1960s and 1970s bungalows, modern small estate development, barn conversions. Each stock type drives a different new build response — barn conversions in particular needs careful detailing here.
Parish & policy
Shortlanesend sits in the parish of Kenwyn, which matters for how parish-level consultation lands on a new build application.
Coverage
We cover TR4 from our studio, with regular new build jobs also running in Truro, Threemilestone. Most Shortlanesend site visits get booked within the same week.
Can you handle both planning and build in Shortlanesend?
Yes — design, planning, building regs and full construction run under one roof. For clients with an existing Shortlanesend builder we can stop at a tender-ready Full Plans pack instead.
Request a free visitWho this is for
Shortlanesend 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
Shortlanesend 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 Shortlanesend specifically, we'd start by checking the latest parish-level planning history 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 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.
- 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.
Other services in Shortlanesend
Nearby places we cover
Every Shortlanesend new build we work on is treated as a TR4 job in its own right — local fabric, local policy, local builders.