Wigan Housing Summit 31.01.14
Demographics Workshop Summary
Ange Workshop 1
Ageing population in projection going forward.
Types of properties - are there properties available for those types of people.
Incentives to move from large houses to a better aged population.
Sheltered out of date, need an offer in between.
Can be part of s106.
Assisted living, one beds how many would we take on. Risk level.
Flexibility in design, conversion from 2 to 1.5.
2 beds as bedroom tax doesn't apply.
People will stay until they need to be incentivised
Trade off flexibility on s106,
Social private sector mix, community led.
Removal of stigma.
Mixed tenure works..
Concentration of affordable units on large plots, don't want to build.
Wanting the expertise from other parts of the industry.
Agreed mixed tenure model, social cohesion.
Developers need plan to stack upsides around elderly specialisms
Don't see council as a target market , need to deal offers of land.
Guaranteed income difficult due to risk.
Products on offer,
Geared to younger market. Issue of equity for elder people on older provision.
Older people want a total support network.
Re provision of sheltered., conversions.
Affordable housing can be a barrier due to 106 rules. Flexible.
Retirement villages a good option – caters for a range of needs, modern offer, not “sheltered housing”
Space needs to be flexible 1 bed plus, or 2 bed minimum (1 bed too small)
Bungalows are a good solution, costly – could be a trade off between level of affordable housing and bungalows in S106 schemes.
Process of moving can be difficult for older people, needs to be smooth and quick – think about products and support on offer.
Need to consider home ownership products catering for older buyers, those with equity and those with maybe not enough equity to buy outright.
Volume house builders are probably not that interested in specialist provision, need specialist providers. McCarthy and Stone type developments.
Viability may be difficult, would need incentives to build eg. free council land, guarantee incomes.
Need to look at how we can make use of existing stock to meet needs eg. conversions, tower blocks converted to extra care.
Case study –Eldonian village, mixed community approach including older peoples provision.
Ange workshop 2
Extra care may not be viable, creates low land value due to standards/ cost to develop. Need flexibility over S106 on wider site to make extra care viable.
Need an affordable solution in the private sector, McCarthy and Stone type too costly.
Care villages are good but expensive, could be better to have cheaper, local solutions mixed in community.
Conversions potential, but would need some financial support to develop – pension fund. Potential to tap into GM pension fund private rent model. Funders need rental income guaranteed.
Need to focus on existing homes, can’t meet every need through new provision, care and support into own home needs to be flexible and across all tenures.
Council/ providers should do more work consulting with older people/ potential downsizers to see what they require.
Council could consider a planning requirement for all residential developments to provide a %age for older people, all developers then being asked to contribute equally.
Should not forget the younger demographic, Wigan, like many other areas, is losing its younger residents to the big cities, we should do more to retain and attract younger residents, wider than housing – education, jobs, leisure, wider economy. This would help re-balance the demographic profile and aid the economy.
Peter Workshop 1
Homes for the disabled leased to RP.
Extra care links to RP but with a percentage available for ownership.
Option to use funding incentives to release equity for older home owners.
Older home owners and tenants are reluctant to move out of homes they’ve occupied for no of years, how do we make the move to alternatives more attractive? –Running costs – can stimulate people to move as becoming increasingly un-affordable for some people.
Case study – 70 bed residential home with ordinary housing around it in the south of country.
Need to look at the language we use (sheltered, extra care) either doesn’t mean anything or fills them with apprehension, therefore marketing and branding needs to make it an attractive move. Highlight the positive aspects of how it could improve peoples lives and experiences.
Could investment come from health to reduce health admissions?
Experience of providing what looks like 4 bed house but is actually quartered into 4 apartments.
Bungalows are expensive to build, could the council offer land or reduce cost to offset the additional cost.
Caution about developing mixed sites and making some properties (using DFAZ)??? Which don’t work for others???
Find out from other developers who are doing these developments for older people ie Formby etc and get their input.
Planning for domestic homes have lots of stipulations on what you have to do for people on a social level, do retailers have the same stipulations on their social impact in creating local jobs.
Incentivise first time buyers to buy the smaller terrace properties that the older generation move out of to stimulate both markets.
Consult home owners/ tenants on what would make them move from their current home to different models.
Peter Workshop 2
Info from estate agents is there is a lack of bungalows for sale for older people, warden controlled developments.
Suggestion made that developers are allowed to develop a single site for the market and then offer an off site contribution towards affordable housing on an alternative site.