Community comes together in St Dennis

We hosted a Community Action Day in St Dennis earlier this month, bringing together residents from the village to talk about their homes and community.

Held at Manson Place on Wednesday 1 September, the event was the first of its kind that the social housing provider had staged since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

It provided an opportunity for residents to meet staff from Ocean Housing, dispose of unwanted items from their homes in skips hired for the event, and gain free advice from other local agencies.

The event was organised by Ocean Housing’s tenant partnership co-ordinator, Abigail Vercoe. She said: “It was fantastic for us to get back out into the community and engage with our residents in person.

“Days like this help us collect area-specific feedback, and we’ll now be working with our teams to explore how we can use this to improve our service delivery within the community.

“We were very pleased to be joined by so many residents and staff from other agencies, and would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who attended to make it such an enjoyable and productive event.”

Advice was available from agencies including Cornwall Council, Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, Devon and Cornwall Police, Citizens Advice Cornwall, Safer Cornwall, and fellow housing association Live West, which also has properties in the area.

Younger residents enjoyed a visit from a children’s entertainer, as well as a chance to look inside a fire engine. Free refreshments from a mobile barista were also provided.

Dick Cole, Cornwall Councillor for St Dennis and St Enoder, attended the event. He said: “I was very grateful to Ocean Housing for organising the community day.

“It was a wonderful opportunity for me to meet with a number of local residents and to hear about what issues need to be addressed in their area.

“I look forward to working with Ocean and other partners to address the matters brought to my attention.”

We have plans to host further Community Action Days in the near future in other locations across Cornwall. Updates will be communicated via our social media channels and website.