Cornish housebuilder Legacy Properties’ latest high quality development, in the picturesque Pentewan Valley, combines rural amenity for residents with a contemporary edge, as Roseanne Field reports.
The parish of Pentewan Valley in Cornwall stretches three miles from the southern edge of St Austell, down to the south coast village of Pentewan. The area is known locally for its wooded landscape and the Pentewan Valley Trail – a former railway line that brought China Clay down from north of St Austell to the harbour.
The parish also includes other small settlements, but combined these have a population of just 705. This means residents are offered a quiet and relaxed way of living, while still benefiting from the local connections in St Austell and the city of Truro, 15 miles to the west.
It’s therefore no surprise that local housebuilder Legacy Properties viewed the area as an ideal location for their next development, given their focus on creating smaller developments of well-designed, luxury homes. The developer came across a redundant holiday caravan site near the hamlet of Tregorrick, only 10 minutes from St Austell town centre.
The site benefitted from planning consent for 22 homes, with wider consent also allowing for holiday accommodation, a pool and other leisure features. “We took the opportunity to revisit the scheme, increasing the number of homes to 24 and significantly enhancing the overall layout, design quality and sense of place,” explains Legacy Properties managing director, Nick Long. “The focus was on creating a low-density, well-considered development that responds to its surroundings while offering something distinct in the local market.”
The team were confident the development – Kingswood – would be appealing to both local families looking to move from the surrounding area and retirees relocating to Cornwall for its idyllic landscape and lifestyle. “Many have chosen Kingswood for its picturesque location, yet close proximity to amenities and Cornwall’s main business hubs – including Truro and St Austell,” he says. St Austell’s train station offers mainline travel to Exeter, Bristol, London and the North, and the main transport route through Cornwall – the A30 – is 10 miles away.
Parkland with an edge
The overall aim for Legacy Properties was to create a “deliberately low-density” scheme, to enhance the countryside feel they wanted the development to have. It comprises four- and five-bedroom detached houses, each of which is set within a “generous plot,” Long says. “The aim was to create a rural, parkland-style setting with a contemporary edge.”
The site itself is within a parkland area which boasts “incredible valley views,” Long explains. The convenient location means that while the homes themselves benefit from the surrounding countryside landscape and views, residents also benefit from the local connections. “It really blends the best of a rural location with easy access to amenities,” he adds. “There’s lots for all ages.”
To add to the rural, quiet feel, the decision was made to include a shared surface road, meaning there are no traditional separations for vehicles and pedestrians such as kerbs or road markings. There are also grass margins throughout, and street lighting is subtle, to “contribute to a calm, cohesive environment,” explains Long.
The setting and desired overall feel, coupled with Legacy Properties’ luxury-style of building, meant the site naturally lent itself to larger, family homes – hence the decision to build only four- and five-bedroom properties. “The development has a private, gated feel,” Long says. “The sweeping entrance drive leads you into a well-manicured parkland and we thought this would be the perfect setting for families to enjoy the peace and tranquility without busy streets or adjacent distractions.” It’s been carefully designed and laid out to have a “safe and secure feel” which is important to all buyers, and in particular families and retirees. “It’s perfect for modern living,” Long adds.
The site’s setting proved beneficial when it came to the planning process. “Its relatively secluded setting and the quality of the proposed scheme meant there was always a clear case for delivery,” Long explains, though adds that “planning was not without its challenges.” The timing of consent, coupled with the site’s history, means the development is open market only. Legacy Properties acquired the site in September 2022, with construction beginning in March 2023 and completed late 2025.
Before work could begin onsite, some minor works were required onsite following its previous use for static holiday homes. Disconnection or diversion of electrics, water and telecommunication services were necessary, “typical of a semi-brownfield redevelopment,” Long says, “but nothing overly onerous.”
High expectations
The overall brief when it came to designing and building the homes was never in doubt. The team wanted to create well-proportioned family homes suited to modern living. Design was also driven by the desire to create a high quality, luxury feel, not only because the site demanded it but also to fit with Legacy Properties’ position as a high quality housebuilder.
The homes were designed to be “flooded” with natural light, with the layout centred around an open plan kitchen, dining and snug space, with a separate living room as an additional reception area. All bedrooms are well-proportioned, leaving no ‘box rooms,’ and principal suites also benefit from ensuite bathrooms.
Some plots were designed with a ‘reverse-living’ layout, whereby the reception rooms are on the first floor and the bedrooms on the ground floor, in order to “add variety and take advantage of the views of the valley and the surrounding countryside,” Long explains. Some plots are better suited to smaller families while others fit larger families better, “or those just looking for space and luxury.”
Ridge heights were intentionally kept low to maximise views across the surrounding countryside and parkland. This in turn “inspired a semi-vaulted approach to many of the rooms internally,” says Long. “This enhances volume and natural light, particularly on the reverse-living/upside down plots where views can be maximised from the reception areas.”
The overall design of the homes externally was inspired by the locale, “rooted in a modern interpretation of the local vernacular,” explains Long. “Modern country living with a contemporary twist.” Natural materials were utilised wherever possible to reflect the surrounding landscape, such as stone, slate and timber, “while contemporary detailing ensures the homes feel current rather than pastiche,” adds Long.
The lower eaves and ridges on the homes have been designed to “melt into the landscape,” and occasional small windows were included to emphasise the rural cottage feel, as well as help frame the views of the surrounding countryside and landscape.
The homes all include contemporary Agate grey front doors and high performance recycled PVCu double glazed windows. Lindab zinc-coated gutters feature on every property, as does a video doorbell for added security and peace of mind for residents. Block paved driveways help add to the overall high-end feel of the development, and homes that include a garage feature an automated up-and-over door.
Internally, homes are finished to a high standard including British-built kitchens with quartz worktops, Miele appliances, an integrated wine cooler, boiling water tap and built-in Bluetooth wireless ceiling speakers. Luxury carpet and luxury vinyl tiles are used throughout living areas, bedrooms, hallways and kitchen/dining areas, while bathrooms benefit from porcelain floor tiles. Even minor details have been well thought out, such as oversized skirting detail and brushed chrome fixtures and fittings on internal doors. “Carefully specified” sanitaryware is “both practical and visually refined,” adds Long. “Our spec is high in comparison to many new builds.”
A large portion of the existing green space on the development was retained, with other landscaping work intentionally designed to reflect the surrounding environment. Wherever possible existing hedgerows and trees were retained, protected and enhanced, and all homes feature biodiversity measures such as bee bricks made from recycled Cornish clay and bat and bird boxes. The measures have resulted in the required biodiversity net gain (BNG) being delivered onsite.
The homes have been built using traditional masonry construction, which took place with minimal disruption to the neighbouring holiday users, despite the site’s restricted access. “Careful planning and sequencing allowed us to maintain access while progressing the build efficiently,” says Long. “This meant we needed to work quickly, quietly and with the least amount of disruption to the single carriageway sole access road.”
For a period during construction, this road had to be diverted into the site itself while utility diversion works took place.
Setting the bar for sustainability
Sustainability and energy efficiency were key targets from the outset of the development – as they are on all Legacy Properties schemes. Homes are built using a fabric first approach and designed to achieve an EPC-A rating.
While renewable technologies are important, the developer views these as an enhancement to the individual plots rather than the sole focus of the development. “We take a more holistic approach and work as closely as possible with the principles of passive,” explains Long. “All plots are extremely airtight and well-insulated.”
All homes benefit from an air source heat pump and underfloor heating to the living areas (whether that be on the ground or first floor). They also all feature solar PV roof panels to power them with renewable energy, with buyers having the option to add battery storage to reduce their dependence on traditional energy consumption. Aerated taps, showers and dual flush cisterns help reduce water usage by up to 50%, and EV charging points are included on every property. The windows and doors are all “extremely thermally efficient and high-rated,” adds Long.
While these kinds of sustainability features are both better for the environment and appealing to buyers, for the developer utilising them doesn’t come without its challenges. “The main challenge is balancing cost with viability,” says Long. “Increasing regulatory requirements combined with biodiversity and planning obligations, place pressure on build costs. For SME developers in particular, this can be difficult to absorb.”
For Legacy Properties specifically, working within Cornwall means providing compliant designs that match the requirements of Cornwall Council’s Climate Emergency Development Plan, with growing BNG requirements and an expectation of increased greenspace. “This means homes need to sell for more or land values need to come down,” explains Long. “Unfortunately, the pipeline from acquisition means that land is quite often fixed and the challenge is passed to us to produce super-efficient homes on a reduced build budget.”
This difficult balance is complicated further by the current expectations and demands of buyers, Long believes. “Buyers value energy efficiency and lower running costs, but purchasing decisions are still primarily driven by location, space and overall value,” he says. “There remains a gap between demand for sustainable homes and willingness to pay a premium to cover the additional costs for this delivery.”
These challenges are – at least in part – what hold other developers back from targeting high sustainability credentials and high quality finishes, particularly for SME builders. “Land values, build costs and increasing policy requirements all present significant challenges,” Long says. “SME developers in particular are under pressure, and the ability to consistently deliver both high sustainability standards and strong design is becoming increasingly difficult.”
In Cornwall in particular, Long says these challenges are also combined with a decline in customer demand for homes in the area due to restrictions on homeowners purchasing second homes. “All in all,” adds the Legacy MD, “SMEs are being increasingly pinched by policy and it’s proved extremely challenging for many across the country, not just in Cornwall.”
Realising the vision
Despite its challenges and the seemingly impossible balance, the development has been a success. Reinforcing what Long says has been its “overwhelmingly positive” response, the development has so far won two awards – ‘Best Residential Development 20+ Units’, and ‘Best Architects Multiple Residence for Cornwall’.
Winning these accolades “was a significant achievement and a recognition of the effort and attention to detail that goes into our developments,” says Long. “It’s always rewarding to see that approach acknowledged externally.”
In addition, response from not only the community, but also buyer demand, have been strong, which is a huge relief for the team – particularly given the challenging market conditions. In particular, the quality of the homes has been recognised by buyers, who also appreciate the setting and “overall approach to placemaking.”
“I think it’s safe to say we have not had one negative reaction to the development and all our customers have been delighted,” Long concludes. “It reinforces our ambition to continue delivering some of the most thoughtfully designed homes in Cornwall.”