Comment

Representation ID: 10086

Received: 28/07/2022

Respondent: Churchill Retirement Living

Agent: Ziyad Thomas

Churchill Retirement Living are independent housebuilders specialising in sheltered housing for older people

Paragraph 1 of the PPG Housing for Older and Disabled people states

"The need to provide housing for older people is critical. People are living longer lives and the proportion of older people in the population is increasing ....... Offering older people, a better choice of accommodation to suit their changing needs can help them live independently for longer, feel more connected to their communities and help reduce costs to the social care and health systems. Therefore, an understanding of how the ageing population affects housing needs is something to be considered from the early stages of plan-making through to decision-taking".
Paragraph: 001 Reference ID: 63-001-20190626

In the first instance, we commend the Council for taking active steps to increase the delivery of specialist older persons' housing We note the supporting text to this policy and the requirement for all developments of 500 units and above to provide self-contained housing to meet the needs of older people.

We note however that the accessibility standards for specialist older persons' housing are higher than those for 'general needs' housing, with the policy advising all units must be M4(3).

Footnote 49 of the Framework clearly sets out that planning policies for housing should make use of the Government's optional technical standards for accessible and adaptable housing, where this would address an identified need for such properties

Paragraph 002 (Reference ID 56-002-20160519) of the Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) reiterates that local planning authorities have the option to set additional technical requirements for accessibility and adaptability, however, they will need to gather evidence to determine whether there is a need for additional standards in their area, and justify setting appropriate policies in their Local Plans.

The supporting text for this policy advises that

6.32 Around 35% of the growth in households during the Plan period comprises households aged 75 or over. It is likely that many of these households would also be identified as needing specialist housing for older persons The analysis of the needs of older people identified a need for almost 5,000 specialist older person housing units for households aged 75 or over, whilst the analysis 76 ID: 63-009-20790626 updated on 26 June 2079 707 of disability and mobility housing needs identifies an increase in need of around 720 wheelchair adapted dwellings for households in the same age group

6.33 Whilst not all households aged 75 or over needing wheelchair adapted housing will live in specialist older person housing, at any point in time it is likely that up to a third of those living in specialist housing may need wheelchair adapted homes. However, it is important to recognise that as individual household circumstances change, it is likely that some households will start using a wheelchair whilst living in specialist housing if their health deteriorates. On this basis, a higher proportion of specialist older person housing units will need to be wheelchair adapted The evidence in the LHNA supports the need for a target for all specialist housing for older people to meet Category 3 requirements

The Bedford Borough Local Housing Needs Assessment (2022) does not provide evidence of the need for older person's housing or the need for wheelchair accessibility housing.

7.52 Earlier analysis of housing for older people identified a need for 5,000 specialist older person housing units for households aged 75 or over in Bedford Borough. Whilst not all over 75 households needing wheelchair adapted housing will live in specialist older person housing, it is likely that at a proportion of those living in specialist older housing will need wheelchair adapted homes. The dwelling-led household projection based on 7,305 dwellings per annum (the LHN) that underpins the calculations in this chapter indicates that there will be approximately 72,200 households aged over 75 in 2040. Therefore, the 7,600 75+ households requiring wheelchair adaptations (Figure 76) form 73% of the total 75+ households in 2040. However, given that it is also likely that some older households will progress to using a wheelchair whilst living in specialist housing due to a deterioration in their health, there is a strong case for the percentage of specialist older persons housing that is wheelchair adapted to be at a higher level.

It is the respondent's view that a requirement for wheelchair adaptions in 13% of households aged 75 and over is insufficient justification for 100% of specialist older persons' housing to be built to M4(3) While the policy was written with good intentions, we are strongly of the view that the presumption that just because an individual is over 75 they will require a wheelchair is an inappropriate generalisation.

Churchill Retirement Living have been building retirement living apartments since 1994 and have accrued significant expertise in building specialist housing that enables older people to live independently Recent research into existing Churchill Retirement Living developments has resoundingly demonstrated that there is no need for our apartments to meet M4(3) requirements with less than 1% of our occupiers using a wheelchair full time.

People with long term mobility disabilities would be in a different setting and as such would not occupy an independent living retirement development. Given the lack of demand for the requirement for M4(3) in this form of accommodation it would simply be a cost to development and ultimately an increased purchase cost whilst serving no identified need.

Building to M4(2) provides sufficient accessibility and adaptability for all our current users and future users and is very much in keeping with the product of providing an independent retirement living lifestyle for those aged 60 and over.

Additionally, Paragraph 009 (Reference ID. 56-009-20750327) of the PPG sets out that local plan policies for wheelchair accessible homes should be applied only to those dwellings where the local authority is responsible for allocating or nominating a person to live in that dwelling.

There is no policy requirement or control that the LPA can impose over open market private apartments that could mandate that they must be sold to a wheelchair user.

To that end, I refer the Council to Paragraph 67-69 of the attached appeal decision at Stanford Hill, Lymington (APP/B1740/W /20/3265937) This sets out a view on Optional Technical Standards and in particular a Local Plan policy requirement for 100% of specialist older persons' accommodation to be built to M4(3) dwellings, with the Appeal Inspector concluding

I am mindful also that the design of the appeal scheme seeks to achieve the f'v14(2) Optional Building Regulations standard for accessible and adaptable dwellings - albeit that without a condition specifying this, I accept that the Council could not enforce this standard In any event, the proposed development would cater for a range of occupants, and not only those with impaired mobility. Consequently, I am not persuaded that a requirement for the higher optional standards to be deployed in all of the proposed dwellings would be either reasonable or necessary in this case.

It is clear from this decision that, despite having an adopted policy, the Inspector considered the provision of M4(2) sufficient to cater for a range of occupants and that this technical breach of the policy was not so significant to outweigh the very significant benefits of the scheme.

We are aware that a small number of emerging and adopted Local Plans have introduced policies requiring 100% of specialist older persons' accommodation to be built to M4(3). There may, accordingly, be the mistaken assumption that such policies constitute best practice however for the reasons set out in this representation, we strongly advise the Council that this is not the case. The specialist older persons' housing sector is increasingly challenging such policies at Examination in Public and, in the rare instances they have been adopted, at Appeal

Finally, we would respectfully remind the Council that the PPG states that "The role for viability assessment is primarily at the plan making stage. Viability assessment should not compromise sustainable development but should be used to ensure that policies are realistic, and that the total cumulative cost of all relevant policies will not undermine deliverability of the plan" (Paragraph: 002 Reference ID: 10-002- 20190509)

We have reviewed the Bedford Local Plan 2040 - Borough-Wide Viability Study (2022) undertaken by BNP Paribas in which they test the viability of specialist older persons' housing in the Borough

In our response to Policy Df'v17(S) Affordable Housing we detail fully how the viability testing for sheltered housing typologies in the Local Plan Viability Study clearly show that the proposed planning policy regime in Bedford will render this form of accommodation unviable. These conclusions should have prompted the Council to revisit the policy requirement for this form of accommodation so as to not jeopardise its delivery of the Local Plan period.

Conversely however, the planning policy requirements for older persons' housing are higher than for other forms of housing. Policy Df'v13(S) Housing Mix stipulates a requirement for all units of specialist older persons housing to be built to M4(3). The Local Plan Viability Study advises the cost of flats to meet M4(3) is fll,000 per flat (which the respondent considers to be a conservative figure) resulting in an increase to the build cost of a typical SO-unit scheme of £550,000

As such I would respectfully highlight that imposing a 100% M4(3) requirement for all specialist older persons' housing would be unlawful and would not meet the tests of soundness in the NPPF accordingly

In the event the Council does not make the necessary amendments to the above policy then the respondent would like to present their case at Examination in Public.