Mid Cornwall · PL26
Foxhole renovations — a Mid Cornwall studio
Cornish housing stock is brilliant and infuriating in equal measure. We renovate cottages, farmhouses, mid-century homes and post-war estates — opening up layouts, fixing damp, adding light and bringing the property up to a standard worth living in. On a Foxhole site, the brief always meets the place — Foxhole is a china-clay village in the PL26 area, with workers housing, industrial landscape and practical family homes forming the local pattern, with a building stock that leans toward former industrial plots and terraced houses.
Foxhole sits in Mid Cornwall — covering PL26 from St Austell, Bugle, St Dennis outward.
- Rural / open-countryside policy area
- ✓ Plain-English feasibility before any drawings
- ✓ 30+ years of Cornwall Council approvals
- ✓ Local to Mid Cornwall — not a national franchise
- ✓ Same team on paper as on site
Who this is for
Foxhole runs the full mix — owner-occupier, holiday-let, commercial and the occasional smallholding — so we scope every renovation enquiry from the use-class up.
Local watch-list
The PL26 constraints that shape a renovation brief.
Watch #1
Tighter Local Plan tests on isolated rural dwellings
Local proof — We typically have one or two renovation jobs live in the PL26 area at any time, so the local planning officers know our drawings on sight.
Get a free feasibility viewFAQs
Foxhole Renovations — local questions answered.
- Can you renovate and extend at the same time?
- Yes, and often it's the right call — the planning, regs and disruption all happen once instead of twice. We design and price it as a single project. In Foxhole specifically, we'd start by checking the latest parish-level planning history before committing to a direction.
- How much does a full renovation cost in Cornwall?
- A whole-house renovation typically lands between £1,800 and £3,000 per square metre depending on condition, listed status and finish level. We survey before quoting and don't price by guesswork.
- Do I need planning permission to renovate internally?
- Usually no — except on listed buildings, where Listed Building Consent is needed for many internal alterations. We confirm the position before any wall comes down.
- How long does a renovation take?
- Single rooms in weeks, kitchens in two to three months, whole-house renovations in six to fourteen months depending on size and listed status.
- Can I live in the house during the work?
- Sometimes yes, often no. Single-room remodels and phased work can be liveable; whole-house renovations involving rewires, replumbing or floor lifting almost never are. We're honest about this at the brief.
Local context
Why Foxhole is its own job.
The planning backdrop in Mid Cornwall is real, not abstract: ground conditions, drainage, former industrial land and simple robust materials tend to shape the design and technical brief. For renovation 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. Treat the PL26 parish brief as the design brief and the Foxhole application has somewhere to land. Whether the project is on former industrial plots in the centre or further out toward St Austell, the renovation response is locally tuned.
Planning note
Most Cornish renovations don't need planning — but listed status, curtilage listing, Conservation Area designation and material changes can all change that picture.
What we focus on
Renovations considerations specific to Foxhole.
01
Older Cornish properties are often built with cob, rubble or solid granite — modern insulation strategies that work in cavity walls cause damp problems in solid construction. Breathable build-ups matter.
02
Listed and curtilage-listed properties need Listed Building Consent for many internal alterations that wouldn't normally need approval.
03
Damp in Cornish cottages is usually a moisture management problem, not a chemical injection problem — fixing the cause is cheaper long term than treating the symptom.
04
Original fireplaces, slate floors, beams and joinery are often worth rescuing; the design conversation should start with what stays, not what goes.
Our process
How a Foxhole renovation project runs.
Step 1
Survey
Measured survey, condition assessment, services check and listed status review.
Step 2
Design
Layout options, material strategy and a clear list of what stays and what changes.
Step 3
Approvals
Listed Building Consent and building regulations as needed.
Step 4
Strip-out and works
Carefully sequenced demolition, structural works and rebuild.
Step 5
Finish and handover
Joinery, decoration, snagging and documentation pack.
Whole-house renovations typically run six to fourteen months on site; partial remodels two to four months.
Local fabric
Choosing a renovation team that actually knows PL26.
Building stock
Across Foxhole (PL26) we work on workers cottages, terraced houses, post-war estates, bungalows, former industrial plots. Each stock type drives a different renovation response — former industrial plots in particular needs careful detailing here.
Parish & policy
Foxhole sits in the parish of Foxhole, which matters for how parish-level consultation lands on a renovation application.
Coverage
We cover PL26 from our studio, with regular renovation jobs also running in St Austell, Bugle, St Dennis. Most Foxhole site visits get booked within the same week.
What does a first Foxhole consultation cost?
Nothing. We come to the property, walk the site, talk through what works on a PL26 plot and follow up with a written feasibility note inside a week — no obligation either way.
Request a free visitFoxhole is part of St Austell
Foxhole sits inside the St Austell catchment — we cover both as one renovation territory.
See Renovations in St Austell →Other services in Foxhole
Nearby places we cover
From initial feasibility to final handover, we manage renovation projects across Foxhole with careful attention to what makes Mid Cornwall unique.