A third of English councils ‘unprepared’ for senior housing

Almost one-third of councils across England remain unprepared to provide suitable housing for their ageing populations, a report from Knight Frank and Irwin Mitchell has found. The Unlocking Potential – Real Estate: Unlocking Potential for Seniors Housing Development report found planning remains one of the largest challenges for senior housing. It found 32% of local authorities still don’t have clear policies in place to support housing for seniors, while the number of people aged over 65 will increase to more than 15m by 2043. The survey builds on research carried out in 2017, 2020 and 2022, which ranked local authorities according to the provisions in their local plans towards seniors housing. Those local authorities with an A rating had clear policies indicating details of the required number of dwellings and care home beds and how it will be achieved, together with specific site allocations for such development. Those with a D rating had neither clear policies nor site allocations.  Knight Frank and Irwin Mitchell’s report in 2024 found that out of 326 local authorities in England, 23% were graded A, 33.7% were graded B, 14.4% were graded C and 31.9% were graded D.   Oliver Knight, partner and head of residential research at Knight Frank, said: “While previous research has shown significant progress, our latest analysis suggests that over the past two years, the pace of change has stalled. A third of local authorities are still to adopt specific planning policies and site allocations addressing senior housing. Some 34 have moved backwards over the past two years. “The appetite from investors and developers to deliver more age-appropriate housing is clear and growing. A more consistent and supportive policy environment will unlock more supply, more propositions and more choice for seniors.” Hope as new entrants and policy emerges The report said “a sense of urgency over the need to get behind the sector does finally seem to be taking hold”. It said the Older Person’s Housing Taskforce is due to report later this year, and the government’s support for the sector has been recognised both in greater recognition in the National Planning Policy Framework and in the Levelling-Up & Regeneration Act 2024. LURA contains provisions which, when brought into effect, will place the secretary of state under a legal duty to provide detailed guidance on how local authorities should plan to meet the needs of the elderly population. The introduction of National Development Management Policies, which sit alongside and, in some cases, override a council’s local plan policies, have the potential to make a huge difference to the sector and could, if the government chose, render this research completely redundant. In terms of new homes, the supply of new senior housing stock across the UK is increasing. In 2023, more than 9,140 later living homes were built, up by 19% on the previous year’s delivery and the strongest year for new supply since 2016. Delivery was weighted towards homes within integrated retirement communities, with an increase in the volume of private capital entering the market. Knight Frank and Irwin Mitchell have updated their research to reveal the 15 opportunity areas for the development of senior housing across England. Using a matrix looking at the planning scores and local economic and demographic statistics, the research identified areas where there is clear potential for senior housing to develop, as well as those areas where local factors are creating a barrier to progress.  Among the opportunity areas identified in the report, Kensington & Chelsea, Camden and Wandsworth top the list for private senior housing accommodation, whereas Southwark, Camden and Kensington & Chelsea topped the rankings for affordable senior housing accommodation. [caption id="attachment_1230492" align="aligncenter" width="847"] Source: Unlocking Potential – Real Estate: Unlocking Potential for Seniors Housing Development[/caption] Nicola Gooch, planning partner at Irwin Mitchell, said: “This year’s survey is released in the run-up to a general election and at the end of a period of unprecedented political turmoil. “Since the last report was published there have been two changes of prime minister, three secretaries of state at DLUHC and six housing ministers. We have seen the Levelling-Up & Regeneration Act 2023 enter the statute books, major amendments made to the NPPF, and the publication of more than a dozen consultations on a wide variety of proposed reforms to the planning system.” She added: “Against that background, the policy inertia that we have experienced is disappointing, but probably not surprising. We have seen a decline in the number of new local plans as several local authorities have either delayed or withdrawn their local plans as they try to get to grips with ever-moving and changing government policy. “While the past two years have been extremely challenging for the sector, it is starting to feel as if the supportive policy environment that we need to enable the sector to thrive might finally be in reach. “However, we certainly need both local and national government to take a pro-active approach if we are to unlock the potential of senior housing in England. There is still a long way to go before the necessary support is in place to deliver our population’s elderly housing needs in full.”