New figures obtained by ILC-UK from NHBC (National House-Building Council) reveal that the private sector started building 3,235 retirement/sheltered homes in 2006 (England). This figure fell dramatically to 2,602 in 2007, 1,499 in 2008 and just 313 in 2009. The statistics also reveal that only 4 regions in 2009 saw new build – East Midlands (52), Eastern (26), South West (114) and South East (121).
There are of course other builders of specialist homes (RSL’s/and those registered with other warranty providers) but these figures do highlight a very worrying trend over recent years and a serious mismatch between supply and increasing demand in this sector.
Of course the main reasons will be associated with the economic challenges of the past few years. Older people wanting to move to private retirement housing may have found it difficult to sell their homes for example, so developers stopped building new schemes whilst experiencing difficulties in selling existing stock. However, developers also cite the planning system as a major frustration and constraint on delivery.
It looks like we are turning a corner with providers such as McCarthy and Stone beginning to identify and buy sites for new homes over the next few years. But it will take a while (perhaps another 4 years) to get back to the 2006 levels of build. And in the meantime, it looks like capital funding for publicly funded housing will be squeezed.
Clearly the private sector needs to be incentivized and supported to build more (and better) retirement housing to meet the needs of an ageing society. But perhaps at the same time, both local and national government need to look to the barriers to new build, consider how these can be removed and what extra support the sector should get. For example, a formal presumption in favour of planning applications for private specialist housing for older people would go a long way towards encouraging more developers into this market. It would also encourage greater innovation in design and increase the supply and choice of retirement housing for older owner-occupiers.
David Sinclair