The recent Further Alterations to The London Plan examination sparked a lot of debate about potential changes to planning policy on older person housing. These changes could have a very significant impact on how we plan for an ageing population in the capital.

The number of older people in London is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years. Population projections for London covering the period 2011 to 2036 show:

- The number of people aged 65 and above is expected to increase by 64%;

- There will be an additional 89,000 people aged 90 and above; and

- London’s older population will increase at twice the rate of the capital as a whole.

Clearly this does not mean that everyone in this category will need some form of specialist housing. However, the GLA’s evidence suggests up to 42,000 special housing units for older people will be required over the next 10 years. This level of growth cannot simply be addressed by delivering more units which meet the Lifetime Homes standards. The key to addressing the challenge of an ageing population is to offer choice - and not just a choice between ‘care at home’ or ‘care in a home’.

The Mayor is proposing to include ‘indicative requirement benchmarks’ for the delivery of specialist housing for older people for every Borough, based on tenure, including private sale. The London-wide target is 3,900 units per annum over the period 2015 – 2025 (based on the findings of the 2013 Strategic Housing Market Assessment and supplementary research). In the last few years, delivery in the capital has been around 1,200 (net) units per annum, so this emerging policy represents a significant step-change in delivery.

It is important to note that the policy is driven not just by need, but also by changes in national planning policy.  The NPPF now explicitly requires local plans to assess the need for specialist housing for older people and plan for it accordingly. The emerging London Plan policy represents a more pro-active approach to meeting the requirements of the NPPF than we have seen elsewhere in the country. London Boroughs don’t completely ignore this issue in planning policy, and there are some excellent examples in the capital for delivering older person housing. However, the coverage is often patchy and this new policy will essentially force the hand of all London Boroughs to address this issue in detail at the local level.

There are numerous way of doing this, but the most obvious is to allocate specific sites backed by planning policy. However, it will be important that developers are involved to ensure that these policies are viable and deliverable, particularly as different housing and care products require different locations.

Should this emerging policy be adopted, it presents a significant opportunity to ensure that the delivery of new housing in London responds to the ageing demographic, but it will require local authorities to think differently about the delivery of this form of development.

If you would like to discuss the implications and opportunities of this emerging policy, then please contact Jamie Sullivan.