Turn old stores into low-rent flats for homeowners looking to downsize

SIR – As a retiree, I wholeheartedly agree with Peter Iden (Letters, February 10) on the need to provide flats for the elderly, rather than bungalows. As well as taking up more building land, bungalows are more costly to maintain.

Older citizens need to be close to urban amenities and not all are able to buy a property, or would prefer to rent. Here in the centre of Salisbury, and I’m sure in many other cities, there are several large, vacant shop premises that could be developed into flats available at economic rents, perhaps with financial help from the Government. William Cousins

Salisbury, Wiltshire

SIR – It can be very lonely living in a flat, especially a high-rise one. A small bungalow or a house with built-in stairlift, a patch of garden and a parking place is just as accessible to care staff and gives the occupant the opportunity for gardening, chatting to neighbours and feeling part of the community. Living in a flat is like being tucked out of sight in a drawer. Jane O’nions

Sevenoaks, Kent

SIR – Those designing and building bungalows specifically for elderly people should consult the potential users.

I dream of living somewhere that does not have a window above the sink and draining board. How are disabled or short (and sometimes shrinking) folks supposed to open the window without balancing precariously on steps or on the draining board itself? Anne Jappie

Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

SIR – The opportunities for increased social contact make flats far more valuable than isolated bungalows for elderly people living alone.

However, poor design (usually to save money) leads to flats being built without lifts and with useless “Juliet” balconies, rather than ones where an elderly person can sit outside. There also need to be facilities available to recharge mobility scooters. My mother, who is currently living in a purpose-built block for the retired, could never haul a heavy battery up to her flat.

Finally, many retired people are perfectly happy to downsize, but that doesn’t mean they want to be squashed into a tiny space. Retirement flats have to be of a decent size. AG Whitehead

St Leonards-on-sea, East Sussex

SIR – I would love to downsize to an apartment with the advantages described by Peter Iden, but I want my cat, Katisha, to come with me.

I am 80 years old and at present

I live in a four-bedroom house with my eight-year-old feline companion. I have looked at otherwise suitable apartments, but all have “no pets allowed” in their conditions, and I love Katisha too much to consider any kind of separation. Thelma Ramsey

Rainhill, Lancashire