Find Us a Plot in Cornwall

Melodie and Anton Petrov currently live in a small 1970s semi-detached house in the town of Helston, Cornwall, but are looking to self-build their dream home. Having spent the last six months looking for a scenic plot that is not too far from their current home (and jobs), David concluded that they simply weren’t looking in the right places and stepped in to help out. Here, we report on two plots that didn’t quite make the cut, and one that most definitely did.

OUR PLOTHUNTERS

When I met Melodie and Anton Petrov, they told me they had spent six months looking for a plot on which to build their dream home in Cornwall. “It’s been a life-long ambition of mine and Melodie’s to self-build, but we’ve searched high and low for a plot and there just aren’t any!” insisted Anton.

“Of course there are,” I said. “You’re just not looking in the right places.”

With a budget of £380,000 in total, they hope to spend less than half that on the plot. It didn’t seem like they should have too much of a problem — and I was determined to prove it to them.

THE PLOT WE LOOKED AT IN DETAIL

Tregowris building plot, St Keverne — £190,000 (MAIN IMAGE)

The agents describe this as, ‘Commanding glorious pastoral views in this delightful rural hamlet, a level building plot with conditional outline consent to erect a dwelling.’ I couldn’t have put it better myself — for this is indeed a lovely plot and anyone wanting to build themselves a home in the country, literally one and a half miles from the beach, would be well advised to hot foot it to Cornwall and snap this up.

It’s a garden plot and has been subdivided from what was – and still remains – the large grounds of the adjoining property. The left-hand boundary is an original privet and native hedge. The right-hand boundary, looking in from the road, is a new closeboarded fence that doglegs to exclude and retain a shed and an outbuilding. The rear boundary is a low hedge and there are seemingly endless views over open countryside. The front boundary to the road is a stone wall with a pair of wrought-iron gates.

The price is £190,000 and from talking to the neighbours and the agents, it appears that somebody bought it but has now decided not to develop and is selling on.

THE OTHER PLOTS

Plot at Porthallow, St Keverne — £160,000: A nice village set in a cove with a great pub, etc. It’s an infill plot and my goodness is it steep. You’d have to be a mountain goat to enjoy this one. Good views though. £200,000 build costs would mean a total of £360,000 against a value of £450,000 plus.

Plot adjacent Rosevallan, Budock Water — £160,000: This is a lovely plot in a village just outside Falmouth. It’s about 21 metres by 24 metres in a quiet and secluded position 100 metres up a very narrow lane leading down to the pub. Build costs of £200,000 would mean a total of £360,000 against a value of £500,000.

THE PLANNING STORY

• Replacement dwelling of old cottages
• Requires Approval of Reserved Matters

I haven’t delved too deep into this one by talking to the planners as I feel that there are a few things that may need to be left to settle. The planning is for the amalgamation of the two next-door cottages into one dwelling, plus the erection of a new dwelling on the plot with heavy emphasis being given on the plans to the fact that it is to be ‘wheelchair accessible’. The planning is of the old five-year type with Approval of Reserved Matters to be in by March 2009 and work to be commenced within two years of the granting of the last Approval of Reserved Matters. There is no Design & Access Statement and no detailed plans of the new dwelling, but there are detailed plans of the conversion of the adjoining property into a single dwelling, including details of the means of access.

The planners state on the consent that the proposal did not wholly accord with the development plan policies. But they go on to say that ‘other considerations indicate that planning permission ought to be granted… in particular the application involves a replacement dwelling which accords with policy H15 of the Draft Kerrier District Council Local Plan 2004…’ The reason it’s a replacement dwelling is the fact that the consent involved the amalgamation of two dwellings, which is a fairly inventive argument. Either way it’s got it.

GROUND CONDITIONS

• Lawned plot with fruit trees
• Requirement for soil contamination assessment

The planning permission requires a scheme to deal with any soil contamination to be submitted and approved in writing. The scheme shall include on-site investigations and an assessment to identify the extent of contamination and the measures to be taken to avoid risk if the site is developed. The scheme then has to be fully implemented before the dwelling is occupied. I can’t see why this is on here. The land has quite obviously always been the garden to a pair of cottages and it is laid to lawn with a couple of fruit trees on it and hedges all around; all of which seem to be thriving. I can only assume it’s a standard clause for the area.

THE SITE'S CHARACTERISTICS

• Level site
• No mains drainage
• Great views

The site is practically dead level and laid to well-tended lawn. The wall at the front of the site will have to be partially demolished in order to provide for the 4.5-metre-wide entrance that the planning permission requires. There is no mains drainage and the sewage will have to be disposed of by means of a mini sewage treatment plant.

The site plan indicates a ridge height of 5.85 metres above ground level. If a bungalow design was adopted then the ridge would be considerably lower and I would imagine that would please both the planners and the neighbours.

The width of the plot at the building line is about 17 metres and the total depth is around 32 metres, giving an area of 0.13 acre. The current proposals include for most of the frontage to be taken up with block paviors. But again I question whether in a rural environment this is the right answer and I would suggest that a more sympathetic solution would be pea shingle or gravel, possibly with a row of sets at the gateway.

There are no real views to the front as there is a line of quite high trees on the other side of the lane. To the rear the views are stupendous and should be taken advantage of.

POTENTIAL VALUES

• End Value: £500,000
• Build Cost: £180,000
• Land Cost: £190,000

The agents reckoned that the vendor had been pushing things too far when he tried for a five bedroom dwelling. The site plan seems to indicate a fairly conventional chalet bungalow design of 230m2 with an integral garage. Build costs would be around £230,000 using a local builder and that added to the land costs would mean a total cost of £420,000 to set against a value of around £500,000. However, I’d build a four bedroom bungalow of around 160m2 instead with a detached garage at a cost of £180,000. Added to the land cost that would mean a total outlay of around £370,000. But a properly designed bungalow would be worth £470,000, thus increasing the margin to £100,000.

WHAT TO BUILD

• Four bedroom bungalow
• Detached garage

There has to be a presumption against any windows to the side of the building at first floor height. But a bungalow of a staggered or Z-shaped design could take advantage of windows in all directions and put windows of non-habitable rooms close to the boundary. Bungalows don’t have to look like railway carriages and this could have the lounge at the rear with vaulted ceilings and cathedral windows to take full advantage of the views. The roof could be slate and the elevations rendered, mixed with brick or stone. The garage could be at the front of the site.

DAVID'S RECOMMENDATION

I thought this was a lovely site. I quite fancied it myself! Which might be why I’m suggesting a contemporary bungalow design rather then the more pedestrian choice of a chalet bungalow. The market is still there — the agent told me they’d sold five houses of this value that week. Anton and Melodie are really keen on the site and are preparing to put in an offer.

WANT TO TAKE PART?

If you’re currently looking for a building plot and would like to spend a day with David, please contact us (addresses on our Welcome page) with a brief summary of who you are, where you are looking for a plot and your budget, along with your picture. Participation in this feature is over-subscribed but you’ll have a better chance of being selected the more flexible your brief to David is. Unfortunately we cannot respond to all correspondence. Meanwhile, check out our Plotfinder.net website for the latest opportunities in your area