Block Management in Looe
Harbour wave action, regular business flooding, and a proposed tidal barrier not yet built.
Our block, estate and leasehold management service is open to RMCs, RTM companies and freeholders in Looe, on published fees. The council records 39 million pounds of flood damage in five years, and projects sea level rise of more than a metre over 100 years taking the area at risk from 2.5 hectares to 16. The proposed tidal barrier has not been built.
What We Would Put First for a Block in Looe
Put Flood Cover First at Renewal
The council states that 65 per cent of businesses in Looe flood on a regular basis. For a block near the harbour we would prioritise insurance placement, full disclosure of flood history and readiness for claims handling.
InsuranceBudget for Defences That Do Not Exist Yet
The proposed barrier, breakwater and Banjo pier extension are estimated at 60 to 70 million pounds and nothing has been built. We would set the reserve fund on today's exposure rather than on defences still at proposal stage.
Reserve fundsInspect Harbourside Railings and Fixings
The council describes wave action inside the inner harbour, a genuine open-sea exposure. We would include external railings, balconies and fixings in each inspection and log their condition so repairs are planned rather than reactive.
InspectionsClarify Charges in Converted Houses
Looe West has 110 flats in converted or shared houses and Looe East and Deviock 99. For a converted building we would check leases at handover so communal repair duties and service charge apportionment are clear to every leaseholder.
Service chargesManaging a Block in Looe 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 14 miles in a straight line
- Setting
- Coastal
What It Costs to Move a Block in Looe 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.
Flood Damage of 39 Million Pounds in Five Years
Flood risk in Looe is serious, and the council publishes the cost of it. Its own page states that 65 per cent of businesses in the town flood on a regular basis and that this has caused 39 million pounds of damage in the last five years. Sea level rise of more than a metre over 100 years is projected to increase the area at risk from 2.5 hectares to 16. That would take in the GP surgery, the police and fire stations, the main food stores, the fish market, the A387 river crossing and the railway station. The proposed defence is a tidal barrier closing on a flood warning, a breakwater against wave overtopping, an extension to the Banjo pier, a cut-off wall below East Looe beach and a new walkway. It is estimated at 60 to 70 million pounds, with 2.3 million allocated by the council in March 2019, and aims to protect more than 200 homes and businesses. Nothing has yet been built. For a block near the harbour, insurance and reserve fund planning should rest on today's undefended position.
Looe West Has 110 Flats in Converted Houses
Conversion-heavy in both divisions. At the 2021 Census 496 of the 2,865 households in Looe East and Deviock were flats, 17.3 per cent, of which 292 were purpose-built and 99 in a converted or shared house. In Looe West and the surrounding parishes, 409 of 2,801 households were flats, and 110 of those were in converted or shared houses against 199 purpose-built. For a converted building, leases need checking at handover so repair duties and service charge shares are clear.
Waves Reach Right Inside Looe's Inner Harbour
Open coast at a tidal river mouth. The council states that the town is vulnerable to flooding by high sea water levels and wave action in the inner harbour. Wave action inside a harbour is genuine open-sea exposure rather than the sheltered estuary condition found at Penryn or Padstow. The Environment Agency covers it under the south Cornwall coast area from Gribbin Head to Rame Head. For a harbourside block, railings, balconies and fixings need specifying and inspecting for that exposure.
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 Looe block sets the inspection interval, and the reserve fund follows the inspections rather than a standard cycle.
106 Listed Entries, Led by St Martin by Looe
One area. The appraisal was approved by the former district council at full council on 19 March 2009, with notice published in the London Gazette on 30 April 2009. It included proposed amendments with a boundary map as adopted, so the boundary was revised at that point. The original designation date is not published. Historic England's list holds 106 entries in the parish, one grade I, the church of St Martin by Looe, and six grade II star including the old Guildhall. For a block in the centre, the 2009 boundary map is the one to check before external works.
Looe's 2022 Neighbourhood Plan Passed with 80.2 Per Cent
Decided under the Cornwall Local Plan, with the Looe Neighbourhood Development Plan made on 30 June 2022 after a referendum on 12 May 2022 carried by 928 votes to 229, 80.2 per cent in favour on a 27.3 per cent turnout. Works to a block are judged against both.
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Looe Questions
Is the Looe Flood Barrier Going Ahead?
It is proposed, not built. The scheme is a tidal barrier closing on a flood warning, a breakwater against wave overtopping, an extension to the Banjo pier, a cut-off wall below East Looe beach and a new walkway, estimated at 60 to 70 million pounds. The council allocated 2.3 million in March 2019, and the aim is to protect more than 200 homes and businesses.
Which Parts of Looe Could Be at Risk in Future?
The council projects that sea level rise of more than a metre over 100 years would increase the area at risk from 2.5 hectares to 16. That would take in the GP surgery, the police and fire stations, the main food stores, the fish market, the A387 river crossing and the railway station.
Does Looe Have a Neighbourhood Plan?
Yes. The Looe Neighbourhood Development Plan was made on 30 June 2022 after a referendum on 12 May 2022 carried by 928 votes to 229, 80.2 per cent in favour on a 27.3 per cent turnout. It sits on top of the Cornwall Local Plan for planning decisions in the town.
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Talk to Us About Your Building in Looe.
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