The new housing will become available for those registered on Homechoice to express an interest in allocation this Saturday. An advertisement will be placed in the Western Morning News this Saturday.

This expression of interest is called a “bid”. Whichever way you bid, you will need to have your unique login number (found on your assessment letter or given to you when you apply online) and your memorable date.

You can look for the properties online at www.cornwall.gov.uk/homechoice  Go to Login/My Account and enter your unique login number and memorable date and you will see how many properties you can bid for.

Choose which property you would like to bid for, click “Apply Now”, confirm your current contact details and then click “I wish to be considered for this property.”

For the Gerrans scheme, people will bid for property types e.g. 2-bed 3-person house. So a bid for a property type will count as one bid.

Bids can also be placed via an automated telephone system. Call 08455 051 460 and follow the simple instructions. You will need your login number, memorable date and the property reference numbers of the properties you wish to bid on (these are below).

Bids will be accepted from midnight Friday 24th September until midnight Wednesday September 29th.

ALL BIDS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MIDNIGHT WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 29th 2010.

As indicated in the advert, all bands can apply. Applicants must meet the Section 106 Parish connection criteria which are as follows:

A person who lived 10 years in the Gerrans Parish up to the age of 16 (First preference will be given to this criteria) and then, a person who currently lives or works in Gerrans Parish and has done so for the past 5 years consecutively.

There are 30 properties in total. 23 for rental and 7 for shared ownership. If there is a lack of applicants for the shared ownership properties, these will become rental properties and will be advertised at a later date.

There is still further work to be carried out on the properties but we hope that they will be ready for people to move in by December.

Please note: one of the houses will be used prior to residents moving in as the Devon and Cornwall Housing Association shared ownership show home. This will allow DCHA to show people in Cornwall, who are eligible for a shared ownership property in their local parish, to view the type of home DCHA build on affordable housing developments within Cornwall, and see it complete and furnished. This will mean that there will be people from outside the Parish viewing this property, and this is the reason why, not because allocations are being made to people outside of the Parish.

Reference Numbers:

10 x 2 bed house 3 persons: Ref 1902 (N. b.: 5 of these will be allocated to 1 bed need)

6 x 2 bed house 4 persons: Ref 1900

6 x 3 bed house 5 persons: Ref 1909

1 x 4 bed house 7 person: Ref 1899

Gracie Is Saved!

 After days of waiting, Gracie, the stowaway cat, has finally returned home thanks to a Roseland Online reader.

Following our urgent email appeal and article (below) to help find Gracie – a stowaway cat from the Newquay area – we had contact from a Roseland Online reader to say she had been seen in Lanhay.

Now, days later and much searching, Gracie has been reunited with her mother and returned safely home. Her owner wants to personally thank everyone for their help in finding her. She wrote:

“Thank you so much Mary Alice [Pollard], for all your help + posters etc, without them I don’t think we would ever have been re-united.

The bond I have with Grace is indescribable with words, and I have been so angry, frustrated and upset, yet today it all melted when she was in my arms. So glad she was just as happy to see me!!!

“Please thank the whole community for me, I have been utterly astounded by the kindness and warmth shown by the residents, both for the Grace issue as well as just generally being there. I live in a small village, and so few people even wave or say hello, and its been mighty refreshing to be welcomed by so many people.

“From the splendid Jim who fixed my puncture to the people who have made contact about Grace, the online news of the Roseland, its been incredible and very touching, and I am just so utterly thrilled to have my Grace home where she belongs.

A huge and very warm Thank You from the bottom of my heart!!!”

Well done everyone for keeping and eye out and making sure our little Roseland visitor has found it back home to the north coast!