A single mum and her three children have finally found a new home after being forced to live in a single Travelodge room for half a year. Charlene Pascoe, 34, and her kids - Freya, 12, Kieran, ten, and Darcy, two, were left with nowhere to go having been evicted from their rental property in March earlier this year.
From St Blazey, Cornwall, Charlene struggled to find anywhere else to live due to living in a county where some areas have up to 40% of properties used as second homes. It left the quartet with no option but to squeeze into one Travelodge hotel room for months on end while the council tried to rehome them.
Six months down the line and they have finally been able to move into a house of their own. Ocean Housing, a social and affordable housing association based in St Austell, has been able to provide the struggling family a home in the local area.
"To say we were elated would be an understatement,” Charlene, a support worker for adults, said. "Myself and three children sharing one room was possibly the hardest period of our lives.
''That was until September 8 when I received a call from Ocean Housing to say we'd been shortlisted for a new build house in our chosen area. It really is the most beautiful home and I still can't quite believe we are lucky enough to call it our home. It is beyond our dreams."
The hotel room where they resided for six months featured just three beds, a bathroom, a kettle and a cool box - with no kitchen or living area. They were reliant on their nearby family and friends for meals and play time away from the Travelodge. As time passed by confined to this one room, the family were quickly losing hope, with no idea of when they’d be able to leave.
Bringing up two-year-old Darcy also proved a challenge as the noise from other rooms and the car park prevented her from getting to sleep. She was paying £3.10 per night as a service charge for the room, with Cornwall Council covering the rest.
Charlene was concerned her children would have to move school as she couldn’t find anywhere in the area that was affordable. She previously admitted to seeing “no light at the end of the tunnel".
However, the nightmare finally came to an end courtesy of their new home, which is within an ongoing multi-million pound social housing development known as Polgrean Place, a former council estate. In total, a group of 60 homes are being built, all of which are a combination of social housing and purchasable shared ownership homes.
After having to rely on her mum, Sonia Johns, to do much of the cooking and clothes washing whilst living at the Travelodge, Charlene has described her move as a “dream come true”.
"Ocean Housing has been absolutely amazing, explaining all of my questions and giving us support when we've needed it,” she added. "I just want to say thank you to Ocean for making our dreams come true.”
Mark Gardner, Ocean’s group chief executive, said: "We are delighted that Charlene and her family have settled into their new home and are grateful for the support of Cornwall Council and Homes England for their support in making the delivery of these new build properties possible."
