Jamie Hanks

Spending your spare time surfing in Cornwall is an attractive prospect for many, but Jamie Hanks found he spent more time sleeping on friends’ sofas than riding the waves.

Unable to find accommodation he could afford in his home village of Down Ampney in
the Cotswolds, Jamie, a qualified fish filleter by trade, moved to Cornwall to help a friend
set up a catering business by day, while ‘sofa surfing’ by night.

“I didn’t want to leave Down Ampney in the first place,” says Jamie. “I grew up and went to school in the village and my family and most of my friends are here – but it’s a very expensive place to live.”

He was only able to move back home recently thanks to Fosseway Housing Association’s Linden Lea scheme, which has built nine new affordable homes for local people in the village.

“Now I have been able to rent a new one-bedroom flat here,” he says.

“It’s also much easier for work, especially since I’ve taken on two jobs to get in front with the bills – cheffing in the evening at the local pub and supervising a team of cleaners at the local airbase in the day. They’re both just a short bike ride away.”