Single mum left homeless after relationship breakdown

A single mum was left homeless after a relationship breakdown. Jennifer Bellinger and her daughter Penny had nowhere to go and the young mum was forced to move back in with her parents in Morwenstow in North Cornwall.

But now the pair finally have their own home, thanks to a new social housing scheme being built nearby. Jennifer was overjoyed when she was offered one of the affordable homes built by LiveWest in Kilkhampton.

She said: "This is mine and my daughter’s first house together. It was a relief to find somewhere. She absolutely loves it. She loves going out in the garden and there's like a little play park out the front."

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The 32-year-old added: "The homes are absolutely fantastic. It's a nice, quiet estate and luckily all the neighbours are friendly as well and the room sizes are amazing in the houses. Everyone's always really nice and friendly and it’s great to see that percentage of affordable living houses going in with the private rentals as well."

The house Jennifer and Penny have now moved into is one of 10 built by the social housing provider in Kilkhampton. Over the last two years, LiveWest also built 28 rural homes in Blackwater and 17 in Probus Wain. The completed homes are part of a £36m investment to build 193 rural homes across the South West in the last 12 months.

The housing association said it aims to build 241 homes in rural areas across Cornwall over the next three years. A partnership with Vistry will see 195 affordable homes provided at a site in Hay Common, Launceston.

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Gareth Jones, development director for LiveWest, said: “Building rural homes changes lives and helps to strengthen communities. Housing prices everywhere, including in rural areas, continue to rise which is why our commitment to affordable housing is so important to offer people the chance of a new home and to sustain vibrant rural communities."

He added: "Our development plans mean we will be working in a broad range of rural communities across the South West to deliver homes that people can afford to live in. Alongside our ambitious plans to build around 766 rural houses in the next three years, we are also focusing on their energy performance to ensure that all our new houses offer energy-efficient comfortable homes for our customers."