West Cornwall · TR27 · Cornwall Council West
Bespoke New Builds in Townshend
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 Townshend version of this work has its own character — Townshend is a small rural hamlet in the TR27 area, with scattered homes, lanes and a deliberately quiet settlement pattern, with a building stock that leans toward converted barns and small infill homes.
Townshend sits in West Cornwall — just off the A30; covering TR27 from Hayle, Angarrack, Phillack outward.
- Rural / open-countryside policy area
- ✓Fixed-fee planning packages, no surprise invoices
- ✓Measured-survey accuracy from day one
- ✓One studio — design, planning and build under one roof
- ✓Local to West Cornwall — not a national franchise
Free · No obligation
Free Townshend feasibility call
Tell us about your new build. We reply within 1 working day — no obligation.
Local watch-list
Common Townshend pitfalls we plan around.
Watch #1
Local Plan tests on isolated dwellings, plus lane access for plant and deliveries around Townshend
Watch #2
Party Wall notices and shallow roof voids typical of cottages in the TR27 district
Who this is for
In Townshend the new build brief is almost always a private homeowner improving a forever home — so we lead with feasibility and long-term value, not show-home rhetoric.
Scope
The parts of the job we can take on in Townshend
These stages can be bought separately. Most TR27 projects use three of them.
Measured survey
An accurate record of what is actually there, which is where most avoidable cost is removed.
Construction and technical drawings
1:10 and 1:20 details for the parts of the job builders normally have to guess at.
Structural coordination
Calculations coordinated with the drawings so building control sees one consistent story.
Planning application drawings
Existing and proposed plans, elevations, site and block plans drawn to validation standard.
Full design and build
One contract from first sketch to handover, with the same team on paper and on site.
Who this is for
What we can genuinely back up in Townshend
- Applications for Townshend are handled through Cornwall Council, with Truro the nearest planning office we deal with regularly.
- Drawings, planning and building regulations are all produced in-house, so a new build enquiry does not get passed between firms.
- Design and build are offered from the same studio, which means the person answering your Townshend questions has seen the detail built.
Planning rules change and every site is different. For the final position on your address, check with Cornwall Council as the local planning authority or the Planning Portal.
Keep reading
Other work we do around Townshend
Townshend is covered from our Hayle run. Being a smaller place, the local detail matters more than the headline policy: lane access, neighbour proximity and what the immediate street already looks like.
Page purpose
Drawings only, or drawings through to handover in Townshend?
Both routes are open on a TR27 project, and the honest answer depends on whether you already have a builder you trust. Plenty of Townshend clients take the drawings, tender them locally, then come back to us for the build if the numbers do not stack up.
- Route one: feasibility, planning and a tender-ready technical pack
- Route two: the same pack, then the build under one contract
- Either way the survey and feasibility work is identical, so the decision can wait
- Fees quoted per stage against the TR27 scope, not as one opaque figure
Local context
Why Townshend is its own job.
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. So every Townshend job runs as a TR27-specific piece of work — local policy, local fabric, local builders. Most of our new build work in Townshend lands on converted barns, with detailing that has to nod to the wider Angarrack 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.
What we focus on
New Builds considerations specific to Townshend.
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
Off-grid services — package treatment plants, borehole supply, off-mains gas — are common on rural Cornish plots and need designing, not assuming.
Quick check
Want a straight answer on whether your Townshend project is worth pursuing?
Send a few details — we'll come back within 1 working day with a plain-English view on planning risk, likely cost band and whether it's a project we'd take on.
Free · No obligation
Get a free feasibility view
For projects in Townshend and the TR27 area.
Our process
How a Townshend 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.
FAQs
Townshend 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 Townshend specifically, we'd start by checking the latest parish-level planning history before committing to a direction.
- We live in the house. Can a new build in Townshend be done while we stay put?
- Usually yes for single-storey and rear work, with a temporary kitchen or bathroom arrangement agreed before the start. Whole-house remodels and roof work in Townshend are often easier if you move out for a few weeks. We set that expectation at feasibility stage rather than halfway through.
- 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.
- 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 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.
Townshend is part of Hayle
Townshend sits inside the Hayle catchment — we cover both as one new build territory.
See New Builds in Hayle →Local proof — Our West Cornwall workload means a Townshend new build project never has to wait for an out-of-county team to drive down.
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Nearby places we cover
Every Townshend new build we work on is treated as a TR27 job in its own right — local fabric, local policy, local builders. Parish-level consultation in Townshend is worth planning for, not reacting to.
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