Block Management in Hayle
Lower town drains go tide locked in storms, inside a World Heritage port
Hayle's RMCs, RTM companies and freeholders can bring block, estate and leasehold management to us under a fixed fee. The lower town can sit below sea level during storms, leaving drainage tide locked around Foundry Square and Copperhouse. The Hayle conservation area, at 113.7 hectares, falls within the Port of Hayle World Heritage Site area.
What We Would Put First for a Block in Hayle
Plan for Tide-Locked Drainage
The council records that Foundry Square and Copperhouse have flooded from surface water and that tide locking will become more frequent as sea levels rise. For a lower-town block we would schedule drainage inspections and keep a reserve line for resilience repairs.
Maintenance and repairsRegister with the Right Warning Areas
Hayle sits in the Copperhouse Pool tidal warning area and the coastal area from Land's End to Chapel Porth, with a fluvial area naming Hayle Causeway. We would register the block with the relevant area and place insurance with that exposure disclosed.
InsuranceObtain Consents Within the Heritage Site
87.5 hectares of the Port of Hayle World Heritage Site area lies in the parish, and the Hayle conservation area falls within it. The council records no current appraisal, so we would confirm consent requirements with Cornwall Council before specifying any external works.
Major works and Section 20Assess Converted Flats for Fire Safety
Of 568 flats across the two divisions, 123 are in converted or shared houses and 58 sit over commercial premises. For a block of either kind we would commission a fire risk assessment and keep its findings on the compliance record.
Fire risk assessmentsManaging a Block in Hayle at a Glance
- Local authority
- Cornwall Council
- Authority type
- Unitary
- Building control
- Cornwall Council Building Control
- County
- Cornwall
- Fire and rescue service
- Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service
- Water and sewerage
- South West Water
- From our Plymouth office
- About 58 miles in a straight line
- Setting
- Coastal
What It Costs to Move a Block in Hayle to Us
Management is a fixed annual fee, quoted for the building and agreed before we start. We take no commission and no third-party incentives, so the fee is the whole of what we earn from the building. Taking a block on carries a one-off start-up fee, set by size:
| Block size | Fee |
|---|---|
| Start-up fee, up to 10 units | £420.00 |
| Start-up fee, up to 25 units | £540.00 |
| Start-up fee, 50 units and above | £660.00 |
Taken from our published Additional Services price list, PBM Form #01-27 rev.6, effective 23 June 2025. All fees quoted are inclusive of VAT. See the full price list and how a handover works.
Tidal, River and Surface Water Arrive Together in Lower Hayle
Tidal, fluvial and surface water risk all apply at once. The Environment Agency runs a tidal warning area for the north Cornwall coast at Copperhouse Pool, naming low-lying areas around the pool including the B3301. There is a second coastal area from Land's End to Chapel Porth, and a fluvial area on the River Hayle from Relubbus to St Erth that names Hayle Causeway. The council's critical drainage area report sets out the detail. The Mellenear Stream flood alleviation scheme runs through the Mill Pool and beneath Foundry Square in a culvert of limited capacity which is subject to tidal influence. Foundry Square and Copperhouse have historically flooded from surface water. The lower parts of the town are below sea level during storms, so the drainage systems become tide locked. The Copperhouse Pool gate controls levels, but the council states that as sea levels rise the frequency and duration of tide locking will increase. For a block in the lower town that is a drainage problem and a tidal problem arriving together.
Flats Are a Small Share of Hayle's Housing
At the 2021 Census 568 of the 5,771 households across the two divisions were flats, 9.8 per cent. Of those, 329 were purpose-built, 123 in a converted or shared house, 58 in another converted building and 58 over commercial premises. The eastern division extends well beyond the town into Gwinear and Gwithian, so these figures are not Hayle's alone. In converted buildings and flats over shops, fire risk assessment and lease apportionment need particular care.
Harbour Frontage Held, Open Coast at the Towans
Estuary and harbour frontage with open coast adjoining, which is why the town appears in two different Environment Agency areas. Its conservation area sits 50 metres from the shoreline management plan unit for the harbour, East Quay and South Quay, and 380 metres from the Copperhouse Pool unit. Both hold the line in all three epochs. The open exposure is at the Towans on the St Ives Bay side, and the town is named in the coastal warning area running from Land's End to Chapel Porth as well as in the estuary one. Exposed blocks need railings, balconies and fixings in scheduled inspections for corrosion.
The measurable part of marine exposure is corrosion. A high-salinity coastal atmosphere is category C5-M in the standards, where unprotected steel can lose 200 micrometres in a year. In practice that means the metalwork on a Hayle block sets the inspection interval, and the reserve fund follows the inspections rather than a standard cycle.
The Conservation Area Sits Inside a World Heritage Port
Two areas: Hayle itself at 113.7 hectares and Phillack at 3.8 hectares, both with a status date of 6 August 1986. Historic England holds 128 entries in the parish with no grade I and eleven grade II star. The grade II star group is dominated by the former offices and remains of the Harvey and Company foundry, together with the churches of St Elwyn and St Phillack and the Downs group. The council's dataset records no conservation area appraisal as currently available for Hayle, so consent requirements for a block are best confirmed with Cornwall Council before works.
The Port of Hayle is a World Heritage Site area in its own right within the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape. 87.5 hectares of it, about 42 per cent of the site area, sits inside the parish, with the Hayle conservation area falling within it. Phillack conservation area sits outside the site. For a block inside the site, heritage consent questions should be settled before external works are specified.
A Made Neighbourhood Plan and No Article 4 Direction
Decided under the Cornwall Local Plan, with the Hayle Neighbourhood Development Plan made on 18 June 2018. No Article 4 direction intersects the parish, so consents for a block turn on the conservation area and listing.
Service charge or accounts query? Email accounts@
Hayle Questions
Why Does Hayle Appear in Two Different Coastal Flood Warning Areas?
The town has estuary and harbour frontage with open coast adjoining. The Environment Agency's tidal area at Copperhouse Pool names low-lying areas around the pool including the B3301, while the open exposure at the Towans on the St Ives Bay side falls in the coastal area running from Land's End to Chapel Porth.
Is the Hayle Harbour Frontage Defended in Shoreline Policy?
Yes. The conservation area sits 50 metres from the shoreline management plan unit for the harbour, East Quay and South Quay, and 380 metres from the Copperhouse Pool unit. Both are hold the line in all three epochs. The Copperhouse Pool gate controls water levels, though the council expects tide locking to increase as sea levels rise.
Is There a Conservation Area Appraisal for Hayle?
No. Cornwall Council's dataset records no appraisal as currently available for Hayle, whose conservation area covers 113.7 hectares. Phillack has a separate 3.8 hectare area, both dated 6 August 1986. Historic England holds 128 parish entries, eleven of them grade II star, a group dominated by the former Harvey and Company foundry.
Nearby Areas
Talk to Us About Your Building in Hayle.
A free, no-obligation proposal, written so it can be circulated to a board.