Groundworks, structural concrete, retaining walls and hard landscaping across Falmouth, Penryn and the creekside villages, delivered under one contract from site clearance to finished build. Matt Richards prices the work, runs it and operates the machine. Steep ground and a difficult way in are what this business was built on.
Falmouth is a deep water harbour town built down a hillside. The ground falls from the ridge to the water in steps, and almost every plot worth building on sits on a slope, so the first question on a Falmouth site is rarely what goes on top of it. It is what holds the ground back and where the water goes.
This is granite country. The quarries at Mabe supplied the stone that built much of the town, and that same rock comes up hard and shallow under a dig, which is what turns an excavation into a rock job and a garden wall into a designed structure. Steep gardens above Gyllyngvase and Swanpool, terraced plots behind the Prince of Wales Pier, and ground running down towards Flushing and Mylor all end up in the same place: retained, drained, and set out to a level.
The commercial work has its own character. Falmouth Docks and the marine trades, the university and the accommodation that has followed it, and the high value waterside property around Pendennis Castle all generate jobs where getting plant and material in is the constraint rather than the volume of work.
Falmouth work leans structural. These are the services the town, Penryn and the creekside villages ask for most.
site clearance, muck away, excavation, foundations and setting out, on plots where the way in is the hardest part of the brief.
structural concrete, formwork and shuttering, steel fixing, foundations and cast in situ steps, poured to the drawing and checked before the wagon arrives.
extensions, renovations, timber frame and turnkey construction, including propping and steels, run as one contract with the groundworks below.
surface water, land drains behind retaining structures, soakaways and attenuation, taken off the slope and away from the structure rather than left to find their own route.
terraced gardens, patios, steps and garden walls on ground that has to be held before it can be finished.
reinforced concrete retaining built to an engineer's design, for steep gardens, split level plots and the ground behind a new build.
Retaining is a design job here, and it is treated as oneWalls are set out to the engineer's drawing, with the reinforcement, the capping and the drainage behind them designed as a single thing.
The director prices it, runs it and operates the machineMatt Richards is owner and sole director, and he is on site for the job he quoted.
One contract from clearance to finished buildDemolition, groundworks, concrete and construction sequence under one contractor, so the programme does not stall in the gap between two trades.
£5m public liability, including groundworks and demolition up to 15 metresThat single exclusion is worth checking on anyone pricing a strip out for you.
Falmouth is the eastern edge of the area we work every weekJobs here are booked into the programme against your own dates rather than fitted around them.
The photographs below are recent jobs from across the area we cover, from Blackwater and St Agnes to Penzance and Sennen Cove. Falmouth sits at the eastern edge of that area, and the same crew, plant and method travel to every job here, priced and run by the director who turns up on site.
Everything published about us sits on our Google Business Profile, pulled live rather than typed out here.
Based on 5 Google reviews
Great company to work with. Professional, reliable and well organised from start to finish. Communication is always clear, sites are well run & the team are a pleasure to deal with. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them and look forward to working together again!
Read more on GoogleCornwall Civils have been working on a complex external works package for our project in St Ives. Their works have included an extensive concrete retaining wall, in-situ concrete stairs and an in-ground modular drainage system.
Read more on GoogleCornwall Civils handled a tricky concrete shuttering, steel work, and pour for us on an emergency job. They stepped in at very short notice and worked through nights and weekends to get it done. The quality of their work was excellent, and their commitment was outstanding.
Read more on GoogleI recently had the pleasure of working with Matry at Cornwall Civils and Construction, and I couldn’t be more impressed with the service provided.
Read more on GoogleOne further five-star rating was left on Google without a written review.
Send the address, the drawings and the stage the site is at, and Matt will come and look at the access, the levels and what is holding the ground before anything is priced. One contractor, from clearance through to the finished build.
Call Matt Richards on 07958 102538 · Get a free quote online
14 The Strand, Newlyn, Penzance, TR18 5HN
Phone: 07958 102538
Email: info@cornwallcivilsandconstruction.co.uk
Hours: Mon to Fri 07:00 to 17:00 · Sat 08:00 to 12:00
Sunday: emergency call out only
Last updated: 22 September 2026
