Creating Intergenerational Communities: the launch of our APPG inquiry
A crucial aspect of ensuring our communities are fit for the future is housing for our ageing population, write Lord Best and Anna Dixon, co-chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Housing and Care for Older People
“Housing providers are failing to understand that the population is ageing. The provision of age-friendly housing for later living is being badly neglected.”
“Older people don’t want accommodation that segregates them and separates them from the rest of society.”
Both of these quotes come from recent discussions at meetings of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Housing and Care for Older People.
We desperately need to build more housing tailor-made for older people and to explore the value of creating mixed-age communities.
These twin themes form the basis of the APPG’s Creating Intergenerational Communities inquiry that launched in parliament this week. Riverside Group and Places for People are supporting the inquiry, and the Housing LIN is acting as secretariat.
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We have spent our careers trying to improve outcomes for older people, and we are delighted to launch this inquiry as we consider how to create homes and communities that bring people together from different age groups.
The inquiry comes at a time when the government has committed to building 1.5 million new homes over the term of this parliament. Solving the housing crisis requires a multi-pronged approach. One crucial aspect of ensuring our communities are fit for the future is housing for our ageing population.
“Social housing providers – which in times past built tens of thousands of homes in ‘sheltered housing’ – have pulled back from delivering homes for the older generation”
In recent years, the small number of volume house builders have largely failed to include accommodation designed for older citizens. And social housing providers – which in times past built tens of thousands of homes in ‘sheltered housing’ – have pulled back from delivering homes for the older generation.
The APPG has argued for the government’s new national housing strategy, due to be published later in the year, to include a commitment to older people’s housing. At the local level, we have called for requirements for retirement housing and extra-care schemes to be incorporated into all local plans
The special question for our new inquiry is whether this provision should always be seen in an intergenerational context?
We want to explore how to avoid ‘ghettoisation’ of older people, identify the health and well-being benefits of living in mixed-age communities, and understand what barriers must be overcome to achieve the best results for young and old.
The inquiry will look at schemes that incorporate adjacent apartments for different generations in the same building; developments that incorporate adjacent blocks for older people and younger families on the same site; and age-exclusive ‘retirement villages’ that can be integrated into the wider community and foster intergenerational connections.
“We also want to explore how mixed-age developments can help address issues such as loneliness and care in the community”
We also want to explore how mixed-age developments can help address issues such as loneliness and care in the community.
A panel comprising parliamentarians, representatives from the private and social housing sectors, and experts in planning and design will assist the APPG throughout the inquiry. We will also invite expert witnesses to provide evidence and discuss examples.
We hope the APPG’s inquiry report next year will shed light on the potential merits of mixed-age communities, the obstacles to delivering intergenerational developments and how to achieve the best outcomes for older people.
Lord Best and Anna Dixon, co-chairs, All-Party Parliamentary Group on Housing and Care for Older People
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