Block Management in Truro
A listed city centre near Flood Zone 3, and second homes paying double council tax.
Truro is 56 miles from our Plymouth office, and we act as managing agent there, providing block, estate and leasehold property management for residents' management companies, RTM companies and freeholders as part of our block management across Cornwall. Flood Zone 3 comes within 100 metres of the city centre, where the Kenwyn and the Allen meet the tidal Truro River.
Around 280 listed buildings, including the Grade I cathedral, sit inside the conservation area, so external works routinely need consent.
Proposals are for developments of 50 or more units. Smaller building? Talk to our team.
Flood Zone 3 Within 100 Metres of the City Centre
Truro sits at the head of the tidal Truro River where the Kenwyn and the Allen meet. Environment Agency Flood Zone 3 comes within 100 metres of the city centre, and the river is diverted and culverted through the centre. For a block in the centre, ground-floor plant, electrical intakes and basement storage need a considered position, and the exposure should be disclosed to insurers.
Ground-Floor Plant, Listed Consent and Radon in Truro
Review Ground-Floor Plant and Intakes
Flood Zone 3 comes within 100 metres of the city centre, so ground-floor plant, electrical intakes and basement storage need a considered position. We would include them in the inspection schedule and reflect the exposure at insurance placement.
InspectionsObtain Consent for External Works
The Truro conservation area, designated in February 1969, covers the city centre, so external works there routinely need consent. We would obtain it before specifying repairs and run Section 20 consultation on an approved scheme.
Major works and Section 20Measure Radon in Communal Areas
Central Truro is in radon band 6 of 6, where more than 30 per cent of homes are estimated to reach the action level. We would arrange radon measurement in ground-floor communal areas and hold the results on the compliance record.
ComplianceNote Second Homes When Consents Come Through
Cornwall has charged a 100 per cent premium on second homes since 1 April 2025, with exceptions such as a flat marketed for sale, or for let as a main residence, for up to twelve months. When subletting consents or sales come through we would note occupancy for the directors.
Leasehold managementCornwall Council, a Tidal River and Band 6 Radon
- 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
- Approx. 56 miles by road
- Setting
- Tidal river (Truro River)
Page last updated . Sources: ONS Census 2021, accommodation type (TS044); Environment Agency flood map for planning; Historic England, National Heritage List for England; UKHSA UK radon map; GOV.UK council tax premiums guidance.
Moresk and Trehaverne Is 27.5 Per Cent Flats
Flat density varies widely by ward at the 2021 Census. In Truro Moresk and Trehaverne 27.5 per cent of households were in flats or converted buildings, in Boscawen and Redannick 18.8 per cent, and in Tregolls 15.0 per cent. For a converted building, fire separation and the extent of each demise need checking at handover.
Truro Block Management Fees and Start-Up Costs
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 how our block management fees work and what changing your managing agent involves.
ARMA ACE Awards 2022, Managing Agent of the Year (1,000 to 5,000 units). ISO 9001:2015 certified. Member of The Property Ombudsman. Google reviews.
Service charge or accounts query? Email accounts@
Two Conservation Areas, with the City Centre in the Older
Two conservation areas cover Truro: the Truro area designated in February 1969 and extended several times since, and Kenwyn Road designated in March 1991. The city centre sits inside the first of them. For a block in the centre, external alterations such as windows, roofs and frontages fall under conservation area control.
Around 280 listed buildings stand inside the Truro conservation area. The cathedral is Grade I, five are Grade II* and the remainder Grade II. For a block in the centre, listed status should be confirmed and consent obtained before external works are specified.
No Principal Residence, Second Home or HMO Policy
Truro and Kenwyn's neighbourhood plan was modified and made in June 2023. It has no principal residence requirement, no second home or holiday let policy and no HMO policy at all. A conversion, subdivision or change of use in Truro is therefore decided on the county local plan and its design policy. That policy treats height and mass as one criterion among several rather than setting a limit. For a block, subletting and conversion requests are judged against those county policies.
New Estates Planned Around Truro
Langarth Garden Village is being built on the western edge of Truro beside Threemilestone, with Cornwall Council as the primary developer. The council allocated £159 million in January 2019 for the masterplan and key infrastructure, the compulsory purchase order was confirmed on 6 December 2024, and the scheme is planned for between 8,000 and 10,000 residents.
A development on that scale is managed as an estate rather than a block. Open space, drainage features and roads that are not adopted are usually owned by a management company and paid for through estate charges written into each transfer, so the questions that decide the running costs are settled at handover: what will be adopted, what stays private, and what the first budget has to cover. That is the estate management work, as distinct from managing a single building.
Second Homes Pay Double Council Tax Since April 2025
Cornwall Council has charged a 100 per cent premium on second homes since 1 April 2025, so a furnished flat that is nobody's main home pays double the standard council tax. The council's exceptions include a flat actively marketed for sale, or for let as someone's main residence, for up to twelve months, a flat where probate has recently been granted, and job-related accommodation. Figures released by the council in March 2026 put Cornwall's second homes at 10,740 of just under 289,000 dwellings.
Cornish Buildings in Our Care Nearest Truro
- Rialto Court, St Austell, about 13 miles away in a straight line.
- Polmear Apartments, St Austell, about 13 miles away in a straight line.
- Brunel Mews, Saltash, about 38 miles away in a straight line.
Truro Districts and Villages
Threemilestone, Shortlanesend, Chacewater, Perranwell, Devoran.
Truro Questions on Planning and Our Trading Name
Does the Truro Neighbourhood Plan Restrict Second Homes or HMOs?
No. The Truro and Kenwyn Neighbourhood Development Plan, made in December 2016 and re-made in June 2023, has none of those policies, so a request to convert or subdivide a flat is judged against the county local plan and its design policy instead.
What Is Happening at Langarth?
Cornwall Council is the primary developer of Langarth Garden Village, on Truro's western edge beside Threemilestone. Its compulsory purchase order was confirmed on 6 December 2024, and the scheme is planned for between 8,000 and 10,000 residents.
Which Truro Conservation Area Is Our Block In?
If the block is in the city centre, it is in the Truro conservation area, designated in February 1969 and extended several times since. The other is Kenwyn Road, designated in March 1991. In either, external alterations such as windows, roofs and frontages fall under conservation area control.
Is Truro Block Management Part of Plymouth Block Management?
Yes. It is a trading name of Residential Block Management Group Ltd, the company behind Plymouth Block Management, and Penstraze Business Centre in Truro is the business address for that trading name. The team works from our staffed Plymouth office, and meetings in Truro are arranged by appointment.
Around the Fal and Truro Rivers
Ask About a Truro Block.
A free, no-obligation proposal, written so it can be circulated to a board.
Truro Block Management, Penstraze Business Centre, Truro, Cornwall, TR4 8PN
Business address for our Truro Block Management trading name.