Councils resist retirement housing

Councils have been accused of resisting development plans for retirement housing because they are concerned about the mounting cost of care.

Housing associations claim some council planners are blocking proposals because they are wary of older people moving into their area and placing more strain on social care budgets.

The cost of care could be set to spike as a result of proposed legislation outlined in the Care Bill, which is currently going through parliament, under which older people will pay up to £72,000 in total for their care with the council paying the rest.

Michael Voges, executive director of Associated Retirement Community Operators, said the proposed cap had ‘exacerbated’ councils’ opposition to new retirement developments.

He said several of ARCO’s landlord members had reported schemes being turned down by planners due to fears about the strain they will place on council care budgets.

One housing association chief executive, who did not wish to be named, said he knew of 250-home and 40-home developments that had been turned down by separate north London councils due to concerns about the impact an influx of older people would have on the boroughs’ budgets.

Both schemes have now received consent - one last month, after being forced to change the tenure of the housing to include more general needs stock.

Dave Tobutt, property development manager at Anchor, said planners on several occasions had cited ‘the potential strain on local services’ when presented with applications for new developments by the 30,000-home landlord, which also manages 96 care homes.

Mr Tobutt said councils could face accusations of ‘discrimination’ against older people and ‘dictating where people live’.

Bruce Moore, chief executive of 17,500-home Housing 21, said some local authorities were ‘almost in denial’ about the necessity for specialist retirement housing.

Councils have expressed anxiety about the care cap, which is expected to be implemented in April 2016 if the Care Bill is passed by MPs this year.

In its 2014/15 business plan, Camden Council said: ‘[There is a] high degree of risk that the plans will present significant new burdens for councils that will either be underfunded or not funded at all.’

Documents published by Slough, Bromley, West Yorkshire and West Sussex councils also flagged concerns. Bromley Council warned in November that the proposed cap would ‘significantly reduce’ the local authority’s income.

The Local Government Association declined to comment.