UK’S first LGBT retirement flats get £5.7m from London Mayor

THE UK’S first LGBT retirement community has got the go-ahead after being granted a £5.7million loan from the Mayor of London.

Tonic Housing has used the loan to purchase 19 flats at Bankhouse in Vauxhall, which will be available to buy on a shared-ownership basis in late spring, with the first residents expected to be moved in by midsummer.

The one- and two-bedroom apartments will be coupled with care, events and activities, which the housing association says will “celebrate LGBT identities”, working with established LGBT organisations and support providers.

Heterosexual people will not be prevented from entering the scheme, but it is designed to be affirming for members of the LGBT community.

Tonic Housing said services will be “genuinely affirming of the lives, histories, needs and desires of LGBT people”, adding this “does not imply exclusion of those who do not identify as LGBT but actively values those who respect and celebrate LGBT people”.

Bankhouse, run by One Housing, is an assisted living facility designed by renowned architect Norman Foster which overlooks the River Thames and features an on-site restaurant, floating garden and roof terrace.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan is an avid supporter of the LGBT community and last year granted emergency funding for 11 LGBT venues hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. He said he is “delighted” and “proud” to be helping to open the retirement community, adding: “London is an open, diverse, inclusive city and I’m delighted to see these long-held plans come to fruition with the help of this loan and my Community-led Housing Hub.”