Moving into a new home at Foxes Field in Penzance has given Caitlin, Chris and their young family a fresh start in a home designed for modern family life.
Talking to us about their move, Caitlin and Chris shared the positive difference their new energy-efficient and affordable home has made to their lives.
Chris, a LiveWest resident at the new development, reflected on their new home and lower energy bills. He said: “Before, we were going through something like, and it was a really old house, something like £60 per week and now it’s around £60 a month. It’s that different. It’s way more efficient.
“I can’t complain about it… this is night and day compared to what we used to have.
“It means we have more money spare as a family to do things that actually matter rather than just keeping the lights on at home. It’s excellent.
“Once I got the settings dial down on the air source heat pump it really made a difference. LiveWest were really handy. They came out and showed us how to do it all and they give you a real good guide.
“You know all these little things, they add together and overall it means you have more family time and more time to do things that matter.”
Foxes Field in Gulval is a 100% affordable housing development delivered by LiveWest, offering a mix of social rent, affordable rent and shared ownership homes for local people.
The development comprises 23 social rented homes, 27 affordable rented homes and 29 shared ownership properties.
The family moved into their new affordable home last December after successfully securing the property through Cornwall’s Homechoice.
One of the things that attracted them most to the development was the opportunity to be closer to family and local facilities.
Being close to amenities has made a real difference for the family, particularly with young children and work commitments.
Caitlin said: “It was quite an easy move and it's a lot closer to all the facilities. Brilliant.
“It’s really close to mum and dad. They literally live on the old estate so it's nice that we can be closer to them.
“We are really happy with the house aren’t we and the few neighbours that we’ve spoken to, they seem really lovely. It’s really nice as you see the kids out playing. It’s really lovely.
“We are close to everything, the shops, the train stations not far, town and it’s really nice.”
Reflecting on the housing need in Cornwall, Chris added: “I think we need, honestly, another 100 estates like this at least. This is what people need. Young families need places like this, especially with the way things cost now.”
The couple also shared their thoughts on the move in process with LiveWest and how excited their children were to have their own bedroom.
Caitlin said: “It was pretty easy. They gave us our move in date and we filled in a few forms online and then we got our keys and we just moved in.
“LiveWest were really supportive and quite easy to contact as well.
“We’re very happy, very pleased. And they’ve been very good as well with the reporting system, if there’s any little faults or things that pop up as the house settles they’ve been pretty quick on that so it’s been really good.
“The kids were really excited. We kind of got everything ready and in place and from the old house so they settled in quite well to it all.
“They love it because she was always sharing with us in the old house and now they’ve got the bedroom together and it’s big enough to have one side of the room each so they really enjoy it because they’ve got their own space.”