A young couple with a new born son are to lose their home in Millbrook at the end of January, and are afraid that Caradon Housing department will move them into a bed and breakfast in Plymouth.
Twenty four year old Chris Woodley has lived in Torpoint all his life and since the birth of baby Jack a month ago, has been sharing rented accommodation with his 21 year old partner Amber Leniham, together with her stepfather and his 15 year old daughter who is studying for exams.
Until the baby was born the couple had lived apart, but had placed themselves on the council housing list in April in the hope of having their own home. Chris was living with his grandparents, Peter and Sylvia Woodley in Torpoint, who have brought him up. However, now the couple are a family they can no longer live apart, and there is no room for the three of them at the Woodley's home.
But Amber's stepfather can only help out until the end of January as his tenancy agreement does not include children, and the couple, with no hope of a council house in the near future, fear the worst.
'We are desperate not to go into bed and breakfast in Plymouth' said Chris, 'as we want to stay in the Torpoint area near our family and friends. We are also worried that we would eventually end up on a Plymouth council estate, as we believe other local people have done'.
For Caradon Council the Principal Housing Officer, Ivor Grove, said he was aware of Chris and Amber's case, and confirmed that the council was in the practice of placing people from the Rame area into emergency accommodation in Plymouth. However he said he could assure the couple that Plymouth was only used for its convenience. 'We work closely with Plymouth City Council' he said, 'but that does not discharge us of the responsibilities of people on our housing list. It is always very difficult for us to find a home or temporary shelter for anyone wanting to stay within the Rame Peninsula, as we haven't a lot of housing there. There is also virtually nothing for us to place people into in the private sector.'
Mr Grove said the couple had been awarded an extra five points since the birth of Jack which now put them on 60 points, and in the top three of the most needy cases in Torpoint. 'The housing department greatly sympathises with this young couple, and unfortunately we have many others in similar circumstances. We are doing everything we can'.
However, the prospect of ending up walking the streets of Plymouth with their baby in the cold of winter is now a real threat to the young Woodley's.
'I am presently unemployed but I am doing my best to find a job' said Chris. 'I am an experienced tyre fitter but I am willing to do anything if it will help to put a permanent roof over my family's heads'.