Block Management in Helston
Cober flood risk on the eastern bank, cut from 20 to 1 per cent a year.
We take on blocks and estates in Helston for residents' management companies, RTM companies and freeholders, from service charge budgets to Section 20 works. The Environment Agency states its 5.4 million pound River Cober scheme cut eastern bank flood risk from 20 per cent to 1 per cent a year. Helston also has 207 Historic England entries in a 10.8 square kilometre parish, and a 22 hectare Article 4 direction whose scope is not published.
What We Would Put First for a Block in Helston
Get the Article 4 Scope in Writing
Helston's Article 4 direction covers 22 hectares of the built-up area, but the council's document is a scanned map with no schedule attached. Before specifying external works for a block inside it, we would have Cornwall Council confirm the scope in writing.
ConsentsInsure with the Cober Scheme on File
The Environment Agency states that the scheme, with phase two completed in December 2020, protects an additional 121 properties. We would put that record, and the cut in eastern bank risk to 1 per cent a year, before insurers when placing cover for a riverside block.
InsuranceInspect with the St John's History in Mind
In June 1993 the town leat overflowed and water up to two metres deep entered 50 houses in the St John's area, with further floods in 1999, 2003 and 2012. For a block there we would schedule inspections that cover drainage and surface water.
InspectionsAllow Consent Time for Graded Buildings
Seven of the parish's entries are grade II star, including the Guildhall and the church of St Michael, within a conservation area dating from 3 October 1969. We would build consent time into any major works programme and Section 20 consultation.
Major works and Section 20Managing a Block in Helston 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 54 miles in a straight line
- Setting
- Inland
What It Costs to Move a Block in Helston 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.
Cober Scheme Cut Eastern Bank Risk to 1 Per Cent
Fluvial on the River Cober plus surface water. The Environment Agency records that the original flood scheme was developed in 1989. In 2019 it built a 185 metre long, 1.8 metre diameter flood relief pipe below Loe Bar. Phase two completed in December 2020, with an embankment from Mill Lane to St John's Road bridge, flood walls on to Penzance Road and a flood gate at the Kingdom Hall access bridge. Combined, the scheme totalled 5.4 million pounds. The agency states it has reduced the risk of flooding along the eastern bank from 20 per cent to 1 per cent in any one year, protecting an additional 121 properties. The town flooded in 1945, 1979 and 1988. In June 1993 the town leat overflowed and water up to two metres deep entered 50 houses in the St John's area, and further floods followed in 1999, 2003 and 2012. For a riverside block, the scheme record belongs in the insurance file and drainage belongs in every inspection.
Mostly Purpose-Built Blocks, with Few Conversions
At the 2021 Census 726 of the 5,932 households across the two Helston divisions were flats, 12.2 per cent. Of those, 512 were purpose-built and only 73 in a converted or shared house. A further 79 were in another converted building and 62 over commercial premises. Most flats here are in purpose-built blocks, where repair responsibilities are usually easier to read from the leases than in conversions.
207 Heritage Entries in a 10.8 Square Kilometre Parish
One area of 35.8 hectares with a recorded status date of 3 October 1969, with two sub-areas recorded separately at Godolphin Road and Meneage Road. Historic England holds 207 entries in a parish of 10.8 square kilometres. There is no grade I; seven are grade II star, including the church of St Michael, the Guildhall, the Grylls Monument and a stone cross near Church Street. For a block in the centre, listed status and conservation area controls should be confirmed before external works are specified.
No Neighbourhood Plan, and an Article 4 of Unpublished Scope
Decided under the Cornwall Local Plan. Helston has no neighbourhood plan and no designated neighbourhood area, so unlike Bude, Hayle or Redruth there is no town-level policy document. It does have an Article 4 direction covering 22 hectares entirely inside the parish, and it sits over the built-up area rather than farmland. What that direction removes is not published: the council's own document is a scanned map with no schedule attached. Its scope has to be confirmed with the council before anyone relies on permitted development for external works to a block.
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Helston Questions
Is There a Neighbourhood Plan That Affects Our Block in Helston?
No. Helston has no neighbourhood plan and no designated neighbourhood area, so unlike Bude, Hayle or Redruth there is no town-level policy document and applications are decided under the Cornwall Local Plan. The town does have an Article 4 direction over 22 hectares, which sits over the built-up area rather than farmland, and its scope is not published.
How Often Has Helston Flooded?
The published history records floods in 1945, 1979, 1988, June 1993, 1999, 2003 and 2012. In 1993 the town leat overflowed and water up to two metres deep entered 50 houses in the St John's area. The scheme first developed in 1989 gained a 185 metre relief pipe below Loe Bar in 2019, and phase two completed in December 2020.
What Kind of Flats Are Typical in Helston?
Mostly purpose-built. At the 2021 Census 726 of the 5,932 households across the two Helston divisions were flats, 12.2 per cent, and 512 of them were purpose-built. Only 73 were in a converted or shared house, with 79 in another converted building and 62 over commercial premises.
Nearby Areas
Talk to Us About Your Building in Helston.
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