Economic Regeneration & Transport Scrutiny Panel
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ECONOMIC REGENERATION & TRANSPORT SCRUTINY PANEL
18th January 2011
WHAT IS THE COUNCIL DOING TO INCREASE THE SUPPLY OF OLDER PEOPLE’S HOUSING IN MIDDLESBROUGH
KEVIN PARKES: DIRECTOR OF REGENERATION
SUMMARY
1. The Economic Regeneration and Transport Scrutiny Panel has requested information on the supply of housing for older people in Middlesbrough and what the Council is doing to increase that supply.
Middlesbrough Older People’s Housing Strategy (OPHS) 2007
2. The Council’s Strategic Housing Service and Department of Social Care, in partnership with Middlesbrough Primary Care Trust developed the Older People’s Housing Strategy in 2007. Stakeholders, including Registered Social Landlords (RSL), partners and community groups were consulted and a one-day event to review the Strategy was held. This included statutory and non-statutory organisations and representation from older people. A Steering Group would carry out the monitoring and delivery of actions and a periodic review of the underlying direction of the Strategy to ensure that it remained up to date.
3. The Strategy acknowledged that there would be an increasing number of older people over time with a prolonged life expectancy and potentially longer periods of ill health. A more recent estimate suggests that 140,000 residents aged 60 and over live within the Tees Valley and this group is projected to rise to 213,000 by 2031 while in Middlesbrough the same age group is expected to reach 37,000, or just over 27% of the population. In addition, more than one in ten Middlesbrough residents will be aged 75 or over, along with an increasing numbers of older people with physical disabilities; a larger proportion will have learning disabilities; and, dementia and other long-term conditions will be more prevalent. It is anticipated that the demand for housing, social care and health services, including adaptations to enable independent living, will grow.[1]
Existing accommodation and service provision
4. The Council and its RSL partners continually seek to develop housing to meet the needs of older people, considering designs that are adaptable to changing needs and to help them to remain in the home for longer.[2] However, the Council has not fully adopted the national Lifetime Homes Standards for new housing construction, as this could potentially disadvantage Middlesbrough in the present housing market conditions and make development in other areas more financially viable to a potential developer. In the past when local authorities have offered sheltered accommodation it has often been in the form of one bedroom, warden managed units that have with limited space and little scope for adapting, as needs change. The OPHS proposed an evaluation of existing sheltered housing through discussions with RSLs about raising standards to support an older age group than the original design specification and offering more mobile support services tailored to individual needs.
5. A recent discussion with local RSL partners on the condition and sustainability of their sheltered housing stock suggested that they had become difficult to let. One RSL was planning to improve the layout in a number of units while another suggested conversions for use as short-term, assessment units for older people coming out of hospital after illness, or a fall. This would prevent bed blocking and give time for the individual and the support services to identify appropriate housing and support needs to aid recovery and maintain independence.
6. There have been recent examples of new accommodation developments for older people in Middlesbrough, which include:
a) St Francis Close, Acklam Green (36 x 2 bed bungalows with 1 being wheelchair standard) with a mix of social rent and New Build Home Buy;
b) Trinity Crescent, North Ormesby (8 x 2 bed bungalows for social rent with 2 being wheelchair standard) and (6 x 2 bed apartments with 2 being wheelchair standard for social rent): and,
c) Tregarth Close, Saltersgill (18 bungalows for social rent).
7. Extra Care Housing is purpose built accommodation with varying amounts of care and support offered on site and where some services are shared. Many residents are able to remain in this type of accommodation as their health fails, making use of increasing levels of support without the need to move on. The OPHS identified a shortfall in Extra Care Housing provision in Middlesbrough, siting as many as 184 additional units needed by 2025/26. Pennyman House (North Ormesby) is the only extra care, housing scheme within the town, which provides 42 apartments and is over subscribed resulting in some admissions to more costly residential care places. The scheme received grant funding from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) but, following the Comprehensive Spending Review, there has been a 60% cut in affordable housing funding nationally, making future schemes reliant on other partners to contribute, e.g. local authority offering free land, or RSLs increasing their contribution.
Maintaining independence to live in their own home
8. Many older people want to maintain their independence by living in their own homes with an appropriate level of care and support necessary to achieve that independence. The Council offers a range of initiatives to support them, including:
a) Staying Put Agency (SPA) - enables access to Disabled Facilities Grants, and minor aids and adaptation and manages Middlesbrough Mobile Adapt and Mend ( MAMMS) handy person service (minor essential repairs adaptations and essential and minor repairs adaptations) and will assist owner occupiers in identifying funding for larger repair issues to their home;
b) Telecare - uses a range of electronic sensors in the home to automatically alert and organise an effective response should a problem arise;
c) Integrated Falls Service - offers a multi-disciplinary approach focusing on increasing appropriate exercise interventions for those at risk of falls, health promotion and education strategies; and,
d) Occupational Therapy Service - provides a range of initiatives that have reduced assessment waiting times, including self-assessment for equipment and minor adaptations.
Working with partners to increase the supply of housing for older people
9. The Council will continue to work with RSLs, HCA and/or private developers, using contributions secured through planning obligations, to provide a range of purpose built homes for older people. Since Middlesbrough has a limited supply of development land, which is often the subject of planning constraints and obligations, careful negotiations are required to ensure that the diverse needs of all residents are met within the limited resources available.
10. In addition to providing affordable housing, social and intermediate rent, there is a need to explore options for some older people, who already live and wish to remain in the private sector. This would ensure that they can invest their capital in a property that best meets their changing needs; reduces the pressure on funding for some support services (see paragraph 8); and, allows the release of under-occupied private sector dwellings, including those at the higher end of the housing market. Middlesbrough has one such private, supported housing development at Constantine Court, Linthorpe Road.
11. A future social rented scheme is currently being developed through partnership working across Council departments. An opportunity was identified to develop a scheme that would provide older people’s accommodation and a short break service for people with learning disabilities, on the same site at Levick House, Cambridge Road. Strategic Housing successfully bid for £1.14m Homes and Community Agency (HCA) grant funding to build 20 apartments for older people, including two fully wheelchair adapted and 2 partially adapted, with the opportunity to access some of the facilities within the short break development. This scheme replaces a residential home and a number of bungalows for older people that were no longer fit for purpose.
future proposals to increase the supply of housing for older people
12. Future development of older people’s housing could be met by building on a larger scale on a specifically allocated site, rather than using small, pepper-potted sites across the town. At the present time, a retirement village style approach to older people’s provision is thought to be the way forward and a report was taken to the Executive in July 2010, considering this option. This type of development would provide a whole range of services to meet individual needs and circumstances. The retirement village could be anything from a small estate to a large village-sized development of bungalows, apartments, or houses with extra care being a key component. There would be a range of services available that could be accessed by the wider community to encourage integration. Research has been carried out for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) and there are a number of examples of retirement villages across the country. Potential sites in Middlesbrough have been put forward, for example, Middlehaven and Hemlington Grange but this proposal is at a very early stage.
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[1] Tees Valley Strategic Housing Market Assessment (2009)
[2] Lifetime Homes Standard contains a set of 16 design criteria that provide a model for building accessible and adaptable homes.