Lizard Peninsula · TR12
Bespoke New Builds in St Keverne
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. The St Keverne version of this work has its own character — St Keverne is the inland market village of the eastern Lizard, with a substantial fifteenth-century church, a wide village square and an AONB-protected agricultural hinterland, with a building stock that leans toward Georgian and Victorian villas and modern infill bungalows.
St Keverne sits in Lizard Peninsula — covering TR12 from Coverack outward.
- Conservation Area
- Cornwall AONB
- Rural / open-countryside policy area
- ✓ One studio — design, planning and build under one roof
- ✓ Local to Lizard Peninsula — not a national franchise
- ✓ Same team on paper as on site
- ✓ Fixed-fee planning packages, no surprise invoices
Our process
How a St Keverne 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 TR12 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 St Keverne.
01
Replacement dwellings have specific volumetric tests — getting the ratio between existing footprint and proposed floor area right is the difference between approval and refusal.
02
Self-build CIL exemption requires the right documentation in the right order; missing a step costs five-figure sums.
03
AONB and Heritage Coast designations apply to large stretches of the county; isolated new builds outside settlement boundaries face a much higher policy bar.
04
Off-grid services — package treatment plants, borehole supply, off-mains gas — are common on rural Cornish plots and need designing, not assuming.
Local context
Why St Keverne is its own job.
Conservation Area covers the square and church; AONB across the parish. Active parish council with detailed input on village-edge proposals. For new build specifically, parts of St Keverne sit within a designated Conservation Area, which means materials, fenestration and roof pitches all need to read sympathetically with the existing streetscape; 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; 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. So every St Keverne job runs as a TR12-specific piece of work — local policy, local fabric, local builders. Most of our new build work in St Keverne lands on Georgian and Victorian villas, with detailing that has to nod to the wider Manaccan 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.
Local watch-list
Common St Keverne pitfalls we plan around.
Watch #1
Conservation Area material and fenestration controls in central St Keverne
Watch #2
AONB landscape-impact scrutiny on visible elevations
Watch #3
Tighter Local Plan tests on isolated rural dwellings
St Keverne is the hub for these neighbourhoods
We run new builds across St Keverne and the surrounding TR12 neighbourhoods — same studio, same site team.
- Coverack
TR12
Local fabric
One TR12 studio, one new build job — start to finish.
Building stock
Across St Keverne (TR12) we work on traditional cob-and-granite cottages, Georgian and Victorian villas, post-war social housing, modern infill bungalows. Each stock type drives a different new build response — Georgian and Victorian villas in particular needs careful detailing here.
Parish & policy
St Keverne is its own town in Lizard Peninsula, with planning history that's specific to the TR12 catchment.
Coverage
We cover TR12 from our studio, with regular new build jobs also running in Coverack, Manaccan. Most St Keverne site visits get booked within the same week.
Do you work in St Keverne regularly?
Yes — St Keverne and the wider TR12 catchment are core territory. We're typically on a Lizard Peninsula site at least once a week, so logistics are baked in, not bolted on.
Request a free visitWho this is for
St Keverne 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
St Keverne New Builds — local questions answered.
- 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. In St Keverne specifically, we'd start by checking the Conservation Area boundary before committing to a direction.
- 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 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.
- 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.
Other services in St Keverne
If you're considering a new build project in the TR12 area, our deep understanding of St Keverne's architectural character can help navigate the process smoothly.