Block Management in St Agnes
Mine workings beneath the settlement, inside the Cornwall and West Devon World Heritage Site.
We cover St Agnes for block, estate and leasehold management, acting for RMCs, RTM companies and freeholders. The settlement sits inside the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site, with workings beneath its heart, and class 6 radon covers 76.9 per cent of the built-up area. At Trevaunance Cove, meanwhile, shoreline policy is no active intervention rather than hold the line.
What We Would Put First for a Block in St Agnes
Survey with Mine Workings in Mind
The World Heritage statement records workings beneath the heart of the settlement, recalled by the engine house at Thomas' Shaft, West Wheal Kitty. Before specifying structural works on a block here we would commission a survey that takes ground conditions into account.
InspectionsMeasure Radon Across Communal Areas
Class 6 covers 76.9 per cent of the built-up area and class 5 the rest, with no ground below class 5. We would recommend radon measurement in ground-floor communal areas and record the results and any remediation in the compliance file.
ComplianceMaintain Metalwork on Atlantic-Facing Blocks
St Agnes faces the open Atlantic, and the Trevaunance Cove harbour was rebuilt four times after storms. For an exposed block we would put railings, balconies and fixings on a planned maintenance cycle to deal with metalwork corrosion early.
Maintenance and repairsManaging a Block in St Agnes 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 48 miles in a straight line
- Setting
- Coastal
What It Costs to Move a Block in St Agnes 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.
Inside the World Heritage Site, with Workings Beneath
Three areas in the parish: St Agnes covering the village centre, Mithian and Mingoose. The St Agnes conservation area was designated on 31 March 1987. At 12.8 hectares it is small and lies wholly inside the built-up area, covering 7.8 per cent of the town. No appraisal is registered against it. Historic England's list holds 151 entries in the parish, of which just one is grade II star, the church of St Agnes, and none is grade I. Without an appraisal, consent for external works on a block in the area is best discussed with Cornwall Council before a major works specification is fixed.
77 entries on the National Heritage List fall inside the built-up area and 43 inside the conservation area. There is no Grade I building anywhere in St Agnes, and a single Grade II*, the Church of St Agnes, listed in May 1967. A block in a listed building still needs listed building consent before works to its character are specified.
The settlement itself sits inside the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site, in the St Agnes Mining District. The official area statement calls it a fine mining settlement, its fortunes reflected in its shops, pubs, hotels, chapels and public buildings. It records that the engine house at Thomas' Shaft, West Wheal Kitty, is a surviving reminder of the labyrinth of workings beneath the heart of the settlement. For a block here, workings under the settlement are a ground condition to account for in any structural survey or major works specification.
Detached Homes Dominate, at 53.1 Per Cent of the Town
Low. At the 2021 Census 185 of the 2,896 households in the St Agnes division were flats, 6.4 per cent. Of these, 124 were purpose-built, 26 in a converted or shared house, 17 in another converted building and 18 over commercial premises. The built-up area itself has 1,419 households, of which 754 are detached, 53.1 per cent. Only 67 are in purpose-built blocks, 4.7 per cent, with 18 in a converted or shared house, 11 in another converted building and 13 over commercial premises. Even a small block carries the full set of compliance duties, from fire risk assessment to buildings insurance.
Trevaunance Cove Is Left to No Active Intervention
Open coast, Atlantic-facing. The World Heritage Site statement for the area says this is very much a coastal area and the sea is never far away. It also records that the extreme exposure of Trevaunance Cove made the harbour difficult to construct and work. The harbour had to be rebuilt on four occasions after being destroyed by storms. The shoreline management policy for Trevaunance Cove is no active intervention in the first two epochs, moving to no active intervention with managed realignment in the long term. The undefended cliffs on either side are no active intervention throughout. Exposed blocks need railings, balconies and fixings on a planned maintenance cycle, and no public defence should be assumed for a building near the cove.
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 St Agnes block sets the inspection interval, and the reserve fund follows the inspections rather than a standard cycle.
Tidal Exposure Confined to the Cove, Not the Settlement
No Environment Agency flood area names St Agnes. The coast is covered by the north Cornwall area from Chapel Porth to The Rumps, whose description names Trevaunance Cove and whose southern limit is Chapel Porth, both in the parish. No fluvial warning area reaches the settlement and no defence scheme is published. The West Cornwall Rivers alert reaches 3.83 per cent of the built-up area, but its description names Penzance, Porthleven, St Ives, Hayle and Perranporth, not St Agnes. The north Cornwall coast areas touch just 0.08 per cent of the town, at Trevaunance Cove. So the tidal exposure is real but confined to the cove rather than the settlement. A block near Trevaunance Cove should state its position to the insurer.
No Ground Below Class 5 Anywhere in St Agnes
High, and consistent with the mining country around it. Class 6 covers 76.9 per cent of the built-up area, where maximum radon potential is greater than 30 per cent of homes at or above the action level. Class 5 covers the remaining 23.1 per cent, at 10 to 30 per cent. There is no ground below class 5 anywhere in the town. Every block here should have radon measured in ground floor flats and communal areas, with results and any remediation kept on the compliance record.
Made Neighbourhood Plan in Force Since September 2019
Decided under the Cornwall Local Plan, with the St Agnes Neighbourhood Development Plan made on 5 September 2019. The referendum result is not published, as the plan pre-dates the council's published results. Consents for alterations to a block are tested against both plans.
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St Agnes Questions
Is St Agnes Inside the World Heritage Site?
Yes. The settlement itself sits inside the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site, in the St Agnes Mining District. The official statement calls it a fine mining settlement and records that the engine house at Thomas' Shaft, West Wheal Kitty, recalls the workings beneath the heart of the settlement.
Does the Environment Agency Issue Flood Warnings for St Agnes?
No Environment Agency flood area names St Agnes. The West Cornwall Rivers alert reaches 3.83 per cent of the built-up area but names other towns. The north Cornwall coast areas touch just 0.08 per cent of the town, at Trevaunance Cove. The tidal exposure is real but confined to the cove rather than the settlement.
Are There Grade I Buildings in St Agnes?
None. 77 entries on the National Heritage List fall inside the built-up area and 43 inside the conservation area. All are Grade II except the Church of St Agnes, listed Grade II* in May 1967. The conservation area, designated on 31 March 1987, covers 12.8 hectares and has no appraisal registered against it.
Nearby Areas
Talk to Us About Your Building in St Agnes.
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