This post follows on from my last, on my favourite subject 🤡 BUNGALOWS. It’s obviously popular with journalists because they keep writing about it and with politicians, who keep talking about it. Older people too, keep dreaming about it. Sadly as I explained previously, they are all going to be disappointed. There is not going to be an explosion of new bungalows all over the countryside.
However, in those dreams and aspirations there is a golden key. DOWNSIZING and EQUITY RELEASE.
These two issues have the solution to some older peoples better later lives, if they have the courage and opportunity to use them. Downsizing gives them a smaller property to manage and the release of equity provides money for care should they require it in the future.
But the answer lies in the sky not on the ground. You have to build upwards not outwards. In other words you need to build much higher density housing to offset high land acquisition costs.
Large scale Retirement Villages have long been a feature of housing in America and Australia, but their adoption in the UK has been slow. Partly because of “the bungalow illusion” and also because in the UK private housing sector it has become an expensive option, only available to the wealthiest pensioners.
Government intervention in this market has been very cautious, for fear of upsetting voters. A bolder policy would be to promote retirement housing as a way of freeing up under occupied family housing.
However, either capital subsidy would be necessary if the accommodation is to be affordable to all, or guaranteed social insurance for care costs. Successive Governments have been reluctant to provide either option. Until they do we will continue to have beds blocked in the NHS and poor quality social and domiciliary care.
GrumbleSmiles 