Phil Jones, head of planning south west at Turley, explores the necessity of developing the later living sector to modernise UK housing distribution
The older generation, key residents of the later living sector, currently have the lion’s share of housing wealth in England.
In fact, figures from Savills estimate that the UK’s over 65 population holds over £1 trillion worth of housing equity.
These houses, however, tend to be bigger than required, and more suited to the needs of families.
In the International Longevity Centre UK report ‘The Mayhew Review: Future Proofing Retirement Living – Easing the care and housing crises’, leading academic on the ageing population, Professor Les Mayhew, estimates that the number of over-65’s in the UK population is set to race past 17m by 2040.
To relieve the pressure this will put on communities, Professor Mayhew states the Government should be looking to help developers and providers accelerate the delivery of later living accommodation by 50,000 new retirement homes a year.
At present, we are delivering just 7,000 homes annually. This impacts most regions across the UK, however there are growing hotspots in areas like the North East of England where demand is at an all-time high.
What are the benefits of the later living sector?
There are numerous benefits to a successful later living scheme. Firstly, it creates jobs, not just through the construction process and the staffing of the development, but in the value it brings to the local community.
Harnessing the spending power of the cash-rich generation who live in retirement communities can contribute towards maintaining shops and services on the high street. In 2021, a typical 45 apartment retirement development generated £500,000 of spending, with as much as £347,000 going directly to local businesses at the very heart of communities.
In addition, a successful later living development programme will unlock crucial housing stock back into the market, as the older generation downsize from their multi-bedroom homes and free them up for the families who need them.
Importantly, there’s a distinct wellbeing element to later living development. Occupants find companions in other residents and are generally safer and healthier as a result of the care on offer, improving their quality of life while reducing pressure on the NHS and community social care.
Research by ARCO found that 90% of residents thought they had moved into a retirement community at just the right time in their lives, with 6% claiming that they would rather have moved in sooner had they realised the benefits.
With the UK in the throes of both a cost of living and housing crisis, being able to make the most of good quality housing is critical, while simultaneously ensuring our plan for delivering more homes is adequate for our growing population.
Planning challenges are holding back development
The later living sector is relatively immature in the UK, which means it continues to evolve and the rigid rules of the planning system are insufficiently flexible to provide a framework that enables and encourages delivery of homes in this sector.
The evolution of this sector also means that there is a lack of understanding among some local planning authorities about the positive effects of development and the benefits it can deliver.
That has led to adverse planning outcomes which adds further challenge for developers and operators in this sector.
There are different forms of housing for older people to meet differing needs. These include care homes, age-restricted homes that may be for sale or rent, and integrated retirement communities.
While these all meet different housing needs for older people, they are treated differently in planning use class terms, with care homes falling within Use Class C2 as ‘Residential Institutions’, and other forms of later living development where residents require less care sometimes being considered as Use Class C2 and sometimes Use Class C3, which covers general housing.
A lack of a standard planning approach disadvantages senior housing
The implication of an unclear and varying approach creates a lack of certainty and an unlevel playing field compared to other forms of housing.
For example, general market housing schemes typically include an element of affordable housing and there are specialist providers that help to deliver those homes and have access to grant funds and other financial assistance. That is not the case for later living developments, which creates additional financial burdens and skews competition for land purchase.
Infrastructure contributions captured through the planning process, such as Community Infrastructure Levy and S.106 costs, also often fail to recognise that later living developments generally reduce the burden on local services and infrastructure.
These developments are then hit with the costs of ‘in-house’ provision that helps improve the health and wellbeing of residents, while also being required to contribute to local services.
As it stands, the more inconsistency there is between local authorities, the harder it is for investors to put money towards later living schemes, and the longer it takes to finally get them underway.
Reforms to the planning system could be made that reflect the need for these types of developments and provide a more consistent and fairer set of rules and policies that remove obstacles and encourage delivery.
The necessity of a robust later living sector will only grow
The later living sector is an essential part of long-term economic growth across the UK, however, sustained under provision is causing structural problems in the housing market and preventing the ability to realise economic benefits.
If we can show support for later living developments by advocating for more consistency within Local Plans and planning applications, then we will continue to see the much-needed economic benefit that they can bring.
As the UK’s population ages, the demand to downsize will only increase. As planners, we need to ensure that we are doing everything in our power to drive interest in the sector, so that we can quickly and successfully provide the next generation of housing.
You can read the The Mayhew Review: Future Proofing Retirement Living – Easing the care and housing crises’ here.
