Within five years, a
quarter of the English population will be aged over 60. Yet new housing is
being built with little regard to the needs of our ageing population.
The Royal Institute
of British Architects (RIBA) has launched a call for urgent action to tackle
the severe lack of age-friendly housing.
RIBA’s report, A
home for the ages: Planning for the future through age-friendly design,
emphasises the importance of well-designed, purpose built new homes that enable
people to play a more active role in their communities as they age.
The report includes
new data from Centre for Towns and ComRes for RIBA revealing:
- Populations in towns and
villages all over the country, inland and coastal, have aged significantly
in the last 40 years – a trend that is set to continue;
- The cost to the NHS of
inappropriate housing for people over-55 is projected to reach £1billion
per year by 2041 in first year treatment alone;
- A quarter of over 55s are
currently considering moving home but over half feel that the housing
options available are inadequate;
- Demand for age-friendly
housing outstrips supply.
Age-friendly design
brings wide positive impacts for all generations; enabling people to keep
socially and economically active for longer and reducing dependence on public
services.
Failure to plan for
an older population is putting a huge strain on the public purse due to the
health and social care costs of inappropriate housing, and fails to realise the
untapped potential to the economy of supporting people to relocate. The RIBA is
calling on the UK Government and the construction sector to tackle this
‘hidden’ housing crisis.
The RIBA report
recommends:
- ‘Mainstreaming’ age-friendly
design so that all new build housing is accessible and adaptable;
- Removing barriers in the
planning system that restrict the delivery of age-friendly homes
- Providing better information
and support for people who want to move home, including signposting
accessible housing; and piloting fiscal incentives to support older people
to move home;
- Ensuring better integrated
public services so that people can be more actively engaged in living,
working and socialising in their own communities.
- Introducing Government funded
design awareness training for planners and local councillors and new
settlement programmes incorporating Lifetime Neighbourhood principles.
RIBA President, Ben
Derbyshire, said: “Our society is changing dramatically – we are living longer,
our families and communities are dispersed, and in too many cases we are cut
off from public transport and social infrastructure. Change is necessary in the
way we plan, design and build houses to meet the challenge.
"Prioritising
age-friendly design not only benefits the over 55s, it is central to tackling
the wider housing crisis. Local authorities have largely ignored this need and
opportunity, focusing instead on basic, short-term solutions. This is England’s
hidden housing crisis. We must encourage more innovation and plan properly for
the future.
"Older people
should not feel that they need to move if they don’t want to, but they should
have options available to them. We urge policy makers and local authorities to
modernise their thinking on housing and consider the differing needs in this country.”
Co-founder of Centre
for Towns and MP for Wigan, Lisa Nandy, said: “We urgently need to get to grips
with the scale of the challenge facing us. An aging population and a widespread
failure to understand and deliver the type of housing we need is causing a
crisis and our aging towns are at the sharp end.
"A decent,
suitable home in your own community is one of the best ways to combat
loneliness and prevent conditions like dementia from deteriorating. Communities
matter. We need to treat this report as a wake-up call and ensure they are
shaped in the interests of the people who live in them.”
