Mevagissey is one of the busiest working fishing harbours on the south Cornish coast, set in a steep valley on St Austell Bay a few miles south of St Austell. Its inner and outer harbours, tightly packed cottages and narrow streets give the village its character, and they also shape how building work needs to be planned. Small changes are noticed, access can be difficult and several planning considerations may apply.
This guide covers what to think about before starting building work in Mevagissey and the surrounding area, including Portmellon, Gorran Haven and Pentewan. It is general guidance only, so always check the position for your own property with Cornwall Council.
Planning considerations in Mevagissey
The old village has been shaped over centuries around the harbour, and that history is reflected in the planning rules:
Conservation area: the historic core of Mevagissey is a designated conservation area. Permitted development rights are reduced, and changes such as cladding, render, roof alterations, replacement windows and work to boundary walls can need planning permission. Cornwall Council's mapping shows the boundary.
Cornwall National Landscape: stretches of the coast around Mevagissey and Gorran fall within the Cornwall National Landscape (formerly the Cornwall AONB). If your property is in or next to it, the size, materials and visibility of new work will be looked at closely.
Listed buildings: a number of buildings in and around the harbour are listed. Almost any alteration to a listed building, inside or out, may need listed building consent.
Neighbourhood plan: Mevagissey parish has its own neighbourhood development plan, which is used alongside the Cornwall Local Plan when applications are decided. It is worth reading the policies before you design anything.
Our guide to building in an AONB or conservation area explains what these designations mean in practice, and our listed building renovation guide covers consent.
The kinds of homes you find in Mevagissey
Housing in and around the village broadly falls into a few groups:
Historic cottages near the harbour: stone, slate and rendered cottages built close together, often on several levels, with solid walls, small rooms and little outside space.
Terraces and villas on the valley sides: Victorian and Edwardian houses climbing the hills, often with steps up to the front door and gardens on a slope.
Later housing on the higher ground: twentieth-century houses and bungalows on the edges of the village, which usually have more room for extensions, loft conversions and garden buildings.
Holiday lets and second homes: a share of properties are let to visitors, which affects when work can be carried out.
Older solid-wall homes generally need breathable materials and careful detailing. Our guides to damp in Cornish homes, insulating solid-wall stone houses and lime rendering and pointing explain why.
Access, parking and getting materials in
Mevagissey's streets are famously narrow, and many properties sit on lanes or alleys that vehicles cannot reach at all. Parking is limited, especially in the summer, and the roads in and out of the village are busy at peak times. This affects the programme and the cost of a job:
Deliveries: large lorries may not get close. Materials may need to come on smaller vehicles, be moved by hand or be booked for quieter times of day.
Skips and scaffolding: placing a skip or scaffold on the highway normally needs a permit from Cornwall Council, and on some streets there is simply no room.
Steep sites: properties on the valley sides can mean carrying materials up steps, and may need stepped foundations or retaining walls. Our guide to retaining walls and sloping sites covers this.
Timing: many owners prefer work outside the main holiday season. Our guide to building work in winter explains what can be done in the colder months.
A good builder will look at access on the first site visit, because it can make a real difference to how a project is run.
Flood risk and coastal weather
Parts of Mevagissey sit low around the harbour and at the bottom of the valley, where surface water from the surrounding hills meets the sea. Some properties may be at risk of surface water or tidal flooding, so check the Environment Agency's flood maps and Cornwall Council's mapping for your address before planning work at ground level or below. Our guide to flood risk and building work explains what this can mean for a project.
Salt air and wind-driven rain also take a toll on render, roofs, windows and metal fixings. Our guide to weatherproofing coastal homes covers suitable materials.
Common building projects in Mevagissey
The projects we are most often asked about in villages like Mevagissey include:
Sympathetic renovations of older cottages, including re-roofing, repointing, damp repairs and internal upgrades. See our guide to renovating an old Cornish cottage.
Holiday let upgrades between seasons. Our holiday let renovation guide explains how to plan around bookings.
Extensions and loft conversions on houses outside the historic core. See our loft conversions guide and kitchen extensions guide.
Garden rooms and offices where a plot allows, within the limits that apply in a conservation area or National Landscape.
Many cottages share walls with neighbours, so the Party Wall Act may apply; see our Party Wall Act guide. Older roofs can also be home to bats, so read our guide to bat surveys and building work.
Planning and Building Regulations
Because of the conservation area and nearby designations, it is sensible to check before designing any external change in the old village. Our guide to planning permission in Cornwall explains the process, and Cornwall Council offers pre-application advice for more complex schemes. Building Regulations approval is a separate requirement, and our Building Regulations guide explains how Building Control works.
Frequently asked questions
Is Mevagissey a conservation area?
Yes, the historic centre of Mevagissey is a conservation area. Check Cornwall Council's mapping to see whether your property is inside the boundary.
Do I need permission to re-render my cottage in Mevagissey?
It depends on the property and its location. In a conservation area, rendering or cladding the outside of a house can need planning permission, and listed buildings need consent. Check with Cornwall Council first.
Do you cover Mevagissey?
Yes. We work across the whole of Cornwall, including Mevagissey, Portmellon, Gorran Haven, Pentewan and the villages around St Austell.
Planning building work in Mevagissey? Talk to us
Cornish Building Company works throughout mid and south Cornwall. See our pages for builders in St Austell and builders in Truro, our property renovation, home extension and stone, rendering and lime work services, and the full list of areas we cover. Call us on 01208 816991 or contact us to talk through your project.
