Almost every site in St Ives is on a slope, and most of them are reached along a street a wagon will not turn in. We settle the access and the retaining before anything gets priced.
Groundworks in St Ives is governed by two things before anyone opens the ground: the fall of the site and the way in.
The town is granite, and it is built on a hill. From Porthmeor round to Porthgwidden, down past the harbour and Tate St Ives, and on to Porthminster, the ground drops towards the water from almost every direction, so a plot here is rarely flat and a level is rarely free. The centre is a conservation area of narrow streets, which means access is the first question on a job rather than the last: what machine fits, where a wagon can legally stand, and where the arisings go. Carbis Bay, Lelant and Halsetown sit either side of the town on the same ground and behave the same way.
On a slope, groundworks stops being a dig and becomes level making. Stepped foundations that follow the fall, shutters cut to the step, and a structure holding the difference so the loads are carried safely into the ground, which is what Building Regulations Part A asks of any structure. That is the ground the 45 metre reinforced concrete retaining wall was built on.
St Ives work splits between structural packages for architects and developers, and level changes on the high value homes and holiday lets above the beaches.
Controlled demolition and strip out with neighbouring property close on both sides.
Setting out, excavation and foundations where the access decides the method, including smaller plant and hand dig where a lane will not take a machine.
Structural concrete, stepped foundations, formwork, steel fixing and cast in situ steps, with shutters made to fit a stepped site rather than pulled off a rack.
Land drains behind retaining structures, surface water runs and attenuation sized for what a hillside sheds through a Cornish winter.
Terracing, steps, garden walls and level changes on steep plots above the town.
Reinforced concrete retaining structures to a structural engineer's design, which on a St Ives hillside is often what turns a slope into a buildable plot.
One contract from strip out to finished structureClearance, demolition, groundworks, drainage, concrete and the build sit under a single contract, so no stage of a St Ives job stands waiting on somebody else's programme.
The director is the machine operatorMatt Richards prices the work and then runs it, so the person who walked the access is the person who has to get the gear down it.
Set out to the engineer's designReinforcement, cover, concrete grade and setting out delivered to the drawing, including work under external structural engineers' direction.
£5m public liability that includes demolitionCover of £5m public liability, including groundworks and demolition up to 15 metres.
A written quote with the sequence on itScope, order of works and the conditions that would change the price, set out so it can be read against a tender.
The largest retaining structure the business has delivered is here: 45 linear metres of 250mm reinforced concrete, two layers of mesh with capping bars, on a stepped foundation two metres wide, in traditional timber shutters handmade to fit each step. Self consistency grade concrete, pumped by SprayRend Concrete Pumping, delivered through the run in to winter.
Our Google reviews are public, and among the people who have left one are the architects we deliver structural work for.
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.
St Ives sits at the top of the area we work, so the towns either side are on the same run.
Send the drawings, the postcode and the stage the site is at, and tell us how you reach the plot. On a St Ives job the way in shapes the price as much as the structure does.
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
