North Cornwall · PL28
St Merryn new build — feasibility first, drawings second
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 St Merryn new build in the local fabric and the rest follows — St Merryn is a rural parish in the PL28 area, with farmsteads, lanes and scattered homes defining its built character, with a building stock that leans toward rural cottages and farmhouses.
St Merryn sits in North Cornwall — covering PL28 from Padstow, St Eval, Trevone outward.
- Rural / open-countryside policy area
- ✓ Plain-English feasibility before any drawings
- ✓ 30+ years of Cornwall Council approvals
- ✓ rural policy area experience built into the fee
- ✓ Cornwall Council regulars across every sub-area
Who this is for
St Merryn 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
Common St Merryn pitfalls we plan around.
Watch #1
Tighter Local Plan tests on isolated rural dwellings
Local proof — Most St Merryn homeowners come to us after a new build quote elsewhere felt vague on planning — we lead with feasibility instead.
Get a free feasibility viewFAQs
St Merryn New Builds — local questions answered.
- 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. In St Merryn specifically, we'd start by checking the latest parish-level planning history before committing to a direction.
- 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.
- 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 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.
Local context
Why St Merryn is its own job.
Locally, open-countryside policy, access lanes, drainage and agricultural building history all need to be addressed before drawings go too far. 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. Which is why we scope St Merryn projects parish-up, not template-down — the PL28 context shapes the design from day one. Whether the project is on rural cottages in the centre or further out toward Padstow, 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 St Merryn.
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
Off-grid services — package treatment plants, borehole supply, off-mains gas — are common on rural Cornish plots and need designing, not assuming.
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
Self-build CIL exemption requires the right documentation in the right order; missing a step costs five-figure sums.
Our process
How a St Merryn 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
Why St Merryn homeowners pick a local studio for new build.
Building stock
Across St Merryn (PL28) we work on farmhouses, converted barns, rural cottages, smallholdings, scattered modern homes. Each stock type drives a different new build response — rural cottages in particular needs careful detailing here.
Parish & policy
St Merryn sits in the parish of St Merryn, which matters for how parish-level consultation lands on a new build application.
Coverage
We cover PL28 from our studio, with regular new build jobs also running in Padstow, St Eval, Trevone. Most St Merryn site visits get booked within the same week.
What does a first St Merryn consultation cost?
Nothing. We come to the property, walk the site, talk through what works on a PL28 plot and follow up with a written feasibility note inside a week — no obligation either way.
Request a free visitSt Merryn is part of Padstow
St Merryn sits inside the Padstow catchment — we cover both as one new build territory.
See New Builds in Padstow →Other services in St Merryn
Nearby places we cover
A new build in St Merryn stands or falls on how well it reads the street — we treat that as the design brief, not an afterthought.