What we need are more bungalows

Single-storey living is in demand, says Ian L Handford. But who will build them?

ACOUPLE of years ago Prime Minister Boris Johnson ended an announcement on the relaxation of planning controls with the mantra: “Build, build, build.”

Last week retirement home developers and operators McCarthy Stone revealed there is a huge demand – so far unmet – for bungalows.

They say some 30,000 bungalows are required across Britain to meet that demand while a second housing specialist said “bungalows are today an endangered species”.

The Government’s target for new homes currently stands at 300,000 a year. That has to be good news for the builders of houses or flats on new sites everywhere – but where are the bungalows?

Years ago we actually saw complexes of single-storey properties being built.

Today this is rare, as are homes specifically for retirees. Many prefer bungalows. Until recently they were substantially cheaper than two storey houses and were generally constructed on substantial plots. They are certainly more convenient and easier to maintain than any conventional home.

With the acute shortage of homes in Britain, particularly in the social housing and affordable sectors, the shortfall takes no account of our ageing population.

That is perhaps why a buyers’ battle now often rages every time a bungalow comes to market.

More people now want to downsize or just make life easier, especially those in their senior years. Families and those in the 45-65 age range also see bungalows as having potential for development changing buyers’ perspective.

Larger gardens, parking for several cars and often the possibility of creating an extra floor by converting a roof space means many bungalows today are no longer the sole preserve of senior citizens who can’t easily manage stairs.

During the 1950s and 60s planners in the West Midlands took a decision to allow builders to construct a retirement bungalow on every corner of every new estate built.

They laid down planning rules that made these “special corner homes” only available for sale or lease to those of retirement age.

In Solihull my grandparents were among the first homeowners to change their large home and purchase a “special corner bungalow.” The concept was very forward thinking.

The term bungalow arrived in Britain in the late 1860’s derived from the Indian word bangla – a colonial style “house in the Bengal style”.

Today the growth of families has consistently fallen during the past six decades with couples opting for fewer children, and the overall population is still ageing.

Even the Government accepts it is unlikely the country can sustain sufficient taxpayers to meet the needs of an ageing population after 2050 – especially when it comes to community care provision or health matters. Between 2007 and 2021 the number of bungalows being built each year has fallen by 45%, according to statistics from the “New Homes Building Council”.

Just 2,464 were built nationally in a year. Estate Agents Hamptons discovered that between 2016 and 2021 the sales of bungalows nosedived by 44%”. And while McCarthy Stone confirms there is a dearth of bungalows being built they do provide around 7,500 flats for senior citizens every year.

Bungalows of course take up more land than houses or flats – and the price of land is one of the major factors now determining the cost of property – one reason fewer bungalows are constructed.

But as demand rises, will someone come along to meet it, with more single-storey dwellings built?

If our Prime Minister is serious about delivering his “Build-BuildBuild” concept then the question he first needs to answer is “build for whom?”

His senior citizens – the fastest growing group within the population – are still crying out for a nice little bungalow while families see the benefits of living on a larger plot with the potential to extend, upwards and outwards.

Legislation is needed that would give power to planners, to achieve a small percentage of bungalows being built into every future plan as part of the national housing stock.

Ian L Handford is a political activist and a former National Chairman of the Federation of Small Business while locally is President of Torbay Civic Society.

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Bungalows are in demand, says Ian Handford