Mid Cornwall · TR4
New Builds that reads Twelveheads properly
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. A Twelveheads brief starts on the street, not the screen — Twelveheads is a former mining settlement in the TR4 area, with granite terraces, chapel buildings and industrial landscape character still visible, with a building stock that leans toward granite terraces and workers cottages.
Twelveheads sits in Mid Cornwall — covering TR4 from Truro, St Michael Penkivel, Calenick outward.
- Cornish Mining World Heritage Site
- Rural / open-countryside policy area
- ✓ Same team on paper as on site
- ✓ Fixed-fee planning packages, no surprise invoices
- ✓ Measured-survey accuracy from day one
- ✓ One studio — design, planning and build under one roof
Local watch-list
Common Twelveheads pitfalls we plan around.
Watch #1
World Heritage Site assessment on changes visible in the mining landscape
Watch #2
Tighter Local Plan tests on isolated rural dwellings
Who this is for
Twelveheads 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 context
Why Twelveheads is its own job.
Around Twelveheads (TR4), mining heritage, old plot widths and traditional materials make proportion and detailing more important than generic extension templates. For new build specifically, the wider area forms part of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site, which adds a heritage assessment layer to most material changes; 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. Reading Twelveheads properly up front saves more time than any drawing tool ever will. Most of our new build work in Twelveheads lands on granite terraces, with detailing that has to nod to the wider St Michael Penkivel 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 Twelveheads.
01
Self-build CIL exemption requires the right documentation in the right order; missing a step costs five-figure sums.
02
Cornwall's housing policy increasingly favours principal residence and replacement dwelling schemes over open-market new builds in some parishes.
03
Replacement dwellings have specific volumetric tests — getting the ratio between existing footprint and proposed floor area right is the difference between approval and refusal.
04
Off-grid services — package treatment plants, borehole supply, off-mains gas — are common on rural Cornish plots and need designing, not assuming.
Our process
How a Twelveheads 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
Twelveheads 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 Twelveheads 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 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.
Twelveheads is part of Truro
Twelveheads sits inside the Truro catchment — we cover both as one new build territory.
See New Builds in Truro →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 viewOther services in Twelveheads
Nearby places we cover
For Twelveheads homeowners weighing up a new build, the right starting point is honest feasibility — that's what we lead with, before any drawings.