Bungalows need to come back for sake of elderly
Britain’s ageing population requires more one-storey properties in our housing policy, say MPS and peers
BUNGALOWS should “make a comeback” to help our ageing population, MPS and peers have said.
A nine-month inquiry found that Government policies are “overlooking the housing needs of older people” in rural areas.
It recommended that all new houses should be built with the elderly in mind and bungalows should be considered by developers to make sure the UK’S rapidly ageing rural population is not left living in misery.
The report warned growing numbers of elderly people could be left isolated and their health adversely affected because of family homes becoming increasingly unsuitable for their needs.
The All Party Parliamentary Group on Housing and Care for Older People recommended developers should be told to build all new homes to the Lifetime Homes standards of accessibility while small “scraps” of land should be earmarked for bungalows. Lord Best, the chairman of the group, said: “Our underlying concern is with the growing numbers of older people in rural communities who will face a huge challenge to their independence and wellbeing if their homes are no longer suitable.
“Their needs can be met by both small village developments – perhaps six bungalows on an unused scrap of land – or by larger scale retirement schemes in towns close by.
While we concluded that both these solutions can work well, we were particularly keen to remove the barriers to helping people remain in their own locality.
“We recognised that there are extra costs of delivering care to those in rural areas, we were clear that tailor-made homes will, of themselves, reduce the need for care at home and help older people stay well for longer.”
The Lifetime Homes standard consists of a variety of criteria designed to ensure housing can be easily used by people as they get older. For example, it calls for doorways to be wide enough to be used by people in mobility aids while flights of stairs should be suitable for a stair lift to be installed.
The report highlighted that many older people who live in the countryside are used to “non-urban, low-rise environments” and that the “much-derided bungalow may need to make a comeback” to provide them with a suitable place to live.
The report also recommended that measures should be taken to preserve the remaining social housing in rural areas.
It suggested councils should be given the power to withhold Right to Buy sales while an exemption from the Right to Buy for housing association
‘Older people in rural areas will face a huge challenge to their independence and well-being’
tenants should be considered in areas where it is difficult to replace the homes.
The Conservative Party’s 2015 manifesto pledged to extend the Right to Buy to tenants in housing association properties but no implementation date has been announced.
A Government spokesman said: “We have ambitious plans to deliver the homes this country needs including for elderly people.
“We are strengthening planning rules so that councils must address the housing needs of older people. We will be publishing further guidance on housing for older people through planning reforms later this year.”