New report highlights urgent need for age-appropriate housing solutions

The report, title “Our Future Homes: Housing that promotes wellbeing and community for an ageing population” provides an in-depth analysis of the challenges faced by older people in accessing housing that supports their independence, well-being and community engagement. With the number of people aged 65-79 predicted to increase by nearly a third in the next 40 years and those aged 80 and over set to more than double, the findings highlight the pressing need to rethink housing strategies and priorities.

Chris Thompson, Managing Director of Beechcroft and a member of the Older People’s Housing Taskforce believes that it is critical to provide suitable later living homes in this country, not only for the well being of the older population but also to free up under-occupied mainstream housing which will help tackle the under supply of housing which has been described as a ‘key driver of the UK’s weak economic performance.”*

“Beechcroft was founded over 40 years ago with the specific intention of creating high quality housing for the over 55s.  Over the years, we have remained committed to selecting suitable locations and creating the type of housing that appeals to those looking for a more manageable, energy-efficient home in later life  but there is still much to be done.  The report emphasises the importance of increasing the volume, quality and choice of age-friendly, dementia-inclusive, faith and culture-sensitive later homes and neighbourhoods for later living.”

Beechcroft remain committed to building high quality retirement housing with service charges that are provided on a not-for-profit basis. We won’t charge event fees that are usually associated with retirement villages or independent retirement communities unless they are directly reinvested back into a development.

Key findings from the report include:

Our older population is growing and becoming more diverse. Over 65’s are 18.6% of our population (up 2% points in ten years) with 8% born outside UK

Limited supply of older people’s housing. We need an estimated 30-50,000 new later living homes per annum to meet this growth – but only build around 7,000 per year

Living in under-occupied housing. Nearly 9 in 10 people aged 65-79 live in under-occupied housing, with over 50% living in homes with two or more excess bedrooms.

Current offer is unaffordable for most senior citizens. New research by the Taskforce shows that some private older people’s housing options are unaffordable for the majority of English households aged 75 years and over, with particular regard to service charges in Integrated Retirement Communities.

Internationally behind. Around 0.6% live in Housing with Care in the UK – a tenth of the proportion in more mature markets such as USA, Australia and New Zealand.

Benefits of later living homes. The vast majority of over 65s – more than nine out of ten – currently live in mainstream housing – risk individual health benefits of older people’s housing and potential to save costs due to avoidable hospital admissions.

Living in age-inappropriate housing. Only 12% of senior citizens had level access to the entrance of their building; less than half a bathroom on the entry level of their home.

Not planning for the future. Older people are unaware of the options available to them and admit to ‘burying their heads’ as to their future housing needs.

Professor Julienne Meyer CBE, Professor Emerita of Nursing: Care for Older People, City St George’s University of London and Chair of the Older People’s Taskforce (2023-2024) says:

“I am delighted the new government have decided to publish this report, as I believe it could help solve the general housing crisis in England today. Having championed older people issues for nearly forty years, my worry is that we will all continue to bury ours heads in the sand and marginalise the ageing population. We need to be brave and give it our urgent attention. This is why we are calling for the establishment of the ‘Office for an Ageing Population’ to not only help address the crisis in older people’s housing, but also, to encourage government to develop a long-term strategy to address the rapidly changing needs of our society. The report is a call to action for all stakeholders to create solutions that address these urgent needs. We all need to ‘think housing’, ‘address ageing’, ‘promote wellbeing’ and ‘create inclusive communities’.”

The Taskforce outlines nine key recommendations and one overarching recommendation to change the dial on older people’s housing.

On their own, the nine recommendations are not enough to make the difference that is required. The Taskforce urges the Government to adopt all ten recommendations and show strong leadership from the front and a real commitment to change. Recommendations include:

Core recommendations

1. Standardise definitions of Older People’s Housing/Later Living Homes (OPH/LLH)
2. Incentivise a wide range of OPH/LLH options
3. Ensure more housing is designed for later life
4. Create age-friendly, dementia-inclusive, faith and culture sensitive communities
5. Expand OPH/LLH at scale and ensure it is affordable to live in, and viable to finance, build and operate
6. Strengthen planning policies
7. Establish a national information platform and local hubs
8. Build consumer confidence
9. Enhance innovation, research and professional development

Overarching recommendation

10. Create collective leadership to drive change

The independent report was published by Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government in collaboration with the Department for Health and Social Care. You may view the report here.

A statement made on 26^th November by Matthew Pennycock, Minister of State for Housing and Planning is available by clicking here.

Beechcroft is creating retirement housing in Berkshire,  Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Oxfordshire and Surrey.  For current and forthcoming developments, please visit the links below.

* Policy Exchange - Homes for Growth

For media inquiries, interviews, or further information, please contact:

Sheila Frampton

PR Consultant for Beechcroft

Mobile:  07789-275868

Email:  framptonsheila@aol.com

About City St George’s University of London

One of the great strengths of the Taskforce has been the breadth and depth of expertise assembled among its membership and wider consultation including the housebuilding industry, planners, the retirement housing sector, investors, social housing, local government, academia, the charity sector, health and social care.

One of the Taskforce members working alongside the Chair (Professor Julienne Meyer CBE) was Professor Les Mayhew, Professor Julienne Meyer CBE, Chair of the Older People’s Taskforce (2023-2024) was Professor Les Mayhew, part-time Professor of Statistics at Bayes Business School (formerly Cass) and author of The Mayhew Review: Future-Proofing Retirement Living, demonstrating that City St George’s is one of the major London centres for influencing policy and practice and rethinking health and social care.