BOURNEMOUTH, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--McCarthy & Stone, Britain’s leading provider of retirement homes, has written to MPs to urge them to support the recently published draft National Planning Policy Framework, which proposes to make vital changes to the planning system and address the housing crisis engulfing older people.
In the letter, McCarthy & Stone notes its first-hand experience of how the chronic shortage of housing is affecting those in later life. The letter states that although there is an undersupply of all forms of housing, the problem is particularly severe for the elderly.
According to McCarthy & Stone, housing provision for older people has not kept pace with the UK's ageing population. The number of people aged over 65 currently stands at 10 million and is set to grow to 16.7 million by 2035. 60% of all household growth by 2035 will be by people aged over 65 - that's 3.5 million extra households. However, the UK has built just 105,000 specialist retirement homes for owner occupation to date, significantly less than other developed countries, and it is building fewer homes now than in the 1980s. Without specialist housing for older people, many older people are being forced to live in conditions unsuited to their needs, adding pressure to public health and care budgets. The shortage also makes it harder to release large under-occupied homes back onto local housing markets. Overall, the social consequences of the lack of house-building are becoming serious and significant.
“The Government’s focus on housing delivery is absolutely the right one,” said Gary Day, Land & Planning Director for McCarthy & Stone. “This is why we have written to each MP to urge them to support the Framework. We have outlined how we feel it will help address the chronic housing pressures facing older people.
“By building more specialist homes for older people, whether in the private or public sector, we can ease the housing crisis and help more people to benefit from this form of housing. Without strong direction from the Government, this simply isn’t going to happen.”
McCarthy & Stone’s letter to MPs notes how the NPPF underlines the Government’s commitment to evidence-based planning to meet local housing needs. McCarthy & Stone is pleased to have formed a technical stakeholder group working with DCLG and other bodies to produce a ‘housing toolkit’ to assist local authorities in collating this evidence base and planning for their older populations’ housing needs.
A range of similar guidance notes are expected to be produced by other development sectors and this is one example of how the NPPF is stimulating a partnership between the development sector and local authorities to increase housing delivery.
McCarthy & Stone has also submitted its formal response to the Government on the consultation on the NPPF. As well as highlighting support for the Framework, it also makes detailed recommendations for how it can be strengthened further.
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Notes to editors
McCarthy & Stone is the market leader in providing retirement and Extra Care apartments, having delivered more than 40,000 such dwellings and currently has 150 schemes across the UK either selling or in the development pipeline. With over 30 years’ experience, it offers a range of award winning one and two bedroom apartments exclusively for the over-60s. For further information, visit www.mccarthyandstone.co.uk
McCarthy & Stone’s Retirement Living developments offer independence combined with the peace of mind of additional security, low maintenance and companionship. The company also offers Assisted Living (Extra Care) developments, which offer an additional range of facilities and support services to help residents retain their independence and home ownership.