Mid Cornwall · PL26
One studio for new build in Trethurgy
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 way we approach new build in Trethurgy starts with a measured walk-round — Trethurgy is a small rural hamlet in the PL26 area, with scattered homes, lanes and a deliberately quiet settlement pattern, with a building stock that leans toward farmhouses and bungalows.
Trethurgy sits in Mid Cornwall — covering PL26 from St Austell, Bugle, St Dennis outward.
- Rural / open-countryside policy area
- ✓ Measured-survey accuracy from day one
- ✓ One studio — design, planning and build under one roof
- ✓ Free first site visit, no obligation
- ✓ Local to Mid Cornwall — not a national franchise
Our process
How a Trethurgy 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 — Most Trethurgy homeowners come to us after a new build quote elsewhere felt vague on planning — we lead with feasibility instead.
Get a free feasibility viewWhat we focus on
New Builds considerations specific to Trethurgy.
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 Trethurgy is its own job.
Two things shape a Trethurgy 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 Trethurgy programme tends to run on time. On farmhouses in particular — the kind you'll also find toward Nanpean — 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
What usually catches new build projects out in Trethurgy.
Watch #1
Tighter Local Plan tests on isolated rural dwellings
Trethurgy is part of St Austell
Trethurgy sits inside the St Austell catchment — we cover both as one new build territory.
See New Builds in St Austell →Local fabric
What sets a Trethurgy new build brief apart.
Building stock
Across Trethurgy (PL26) we work on cottages, farmhouses, converted barns, bungalows, small infill homes. Each stock type drives a different new build response — farmhouses in particular needs careful detailing here.
Parish & policy
Trethurgy sits in the parish of Trethurgy, which matters for how parish-level consultation lands on a new build application.
Coverage
We cover PL26 from our studio, with regular new build jobs also running in St Austell, Bugle, St Dennis. Most Trethurgy site visits get booked within the same week.
Can you handle both planning and build in Trethurgy?
Yes — design, planning, building regs and full construction run under one roof. For clients with an existing Trethurgy builder we can stop at a tender-ready Full Plans pack instead.
Request a free visitWho this is for
Trethurgy 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
Trethurgy 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 Trethurgy 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.
- 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.
Other services in Trethurgy
Nearby places we cover
The PL26 stretch of Mid Cornwall has its own rhythm; our new build work respects it, and Cornwall Council usually responds in kind.