South Cornwall · TR11
Renovations for Mawnan (TR11)
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. Mawnan sits in South Cornwall, and that geography ends up in the drawings — Mawnan is a rural parish in the TR11 area, with farmsteads, lanes and scattered homes defining its built character, with a building stock that leans toward scattered modern homes and converted barns.
Mawnan sits in South Cornwall — covering TR11 from Mawnan Smith, Durgan, Truro outward.
- Cornwall AONB
- Rural / open-countryside policy area
- ✓ Local to South Cornwall — not a national franchise
- ✓ Same team on paper as on site
- ✓ One studio — design, planning and build under one roof
- ✓ Measured-survey accuracy from day one
Our process
How a Mawnan 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 proof — Most Mawnan homeowners come to us after a renovation quote elsewhere felt vague on planning — we lead with feasibility instead.
Get a free feasibility viewWhat we focus on
Renovations considerations specific to Mawnan.
01
Asbestos surveys are standard for anything pre-2000 — we factor a survey into the programme before stripping out begins.
02
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.
03
Listed and curtilage-listed properties need Listed Building Consent for many internal alterations that wouldn't normally need approval.
04
Original fireplaces, slate floors, beams and joinery are often worth rescuing; the design conversation should start with what stays, not what goes.
Local context
Why Mawnan is its own job.
In Mawnan the planning picture is specific: open-countryside policy, access lanes, drainage and agricultural building history all need to be addressed before drawings go too far. For renovation specifically, the surrounding landscape falls inside the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, so massing, height and landscape impact carry extra weight in any planning decision; 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. That local reading is what makes a Mawnan (TR11) project different from a generic Cornwall scheme — and is the whole reason we work this way. On scattered modern homes in particular — the kind you'll also find toward St Austell — the renovation brief always has to read the existing fabric first.
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.
Local watch-list
What usually catches renovation projects out in Mawnan.
Watch #1
AONB landscape-impact scrutiny on visible elevations
Watch #2
Tighter Local Plan tests on isolated rural dwellings
Mawnan is part of Mawnan Smith
Mawnan sits inside the Mawnan Smith catchment — we cover both as one renovation territory.
See Renovations in Mawnan Smith →Local fabric
One TR11 studio, one renovation job — start to finish.
Building stock
Across Mawnan (TR11) we work on farmhouses, converted barns, rural cottages, smallholdings, scattered modern homes. Each stock type drives a different renovation response — scattered modern homes in particular needs careful detailing here.
Parish & policy
Mawnan sits in the parish of Mawnan, which matters for how parish-level consultation lands on a renovation application.
Coverage
We cover TR11 from our studio, with regular renovation jobs also running in Mawnan Smith, Durgan, Truro. Most Mawnan site visits get booked within the same week.
Can you handle both planning and build in Mawnan?
Yes — design, planning, building regs and full construction run under one roof. For clients with an existing Mawnan builder we can stop at a tender-ready Full Plans pack instead.
Request a free visitWho this is for
Mawnan runs the full mix — owner-occupier, holiday-let, commercial and the occasional smallholding — so we scope every renovation enquiry from the use-class up.
FAQs
Mawnan Renovations — local questions answered.
- 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. In Mawnan specifically, we'd start by checking AONB landscape sensitivity before committing to a direction.
- 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.
- What about damp and old walls?
- We assess the cause first — usually rising damp myths, blocked vents, hard cement renders trapping moisture, or roofs needing attention. A breathable repair strategy fixes most of it without chemical intervention.
- 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.
- 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.
Other services in Mawnan
Nearby places we cover
Every Mawnan renovation we work on is treated as a TR11 job in its own right — local fabric, local policy, local builders.