Third of councils 'do not have clear policies or sites for older people’s housing'

One in three councils do not have clear policies for providing housing for older people or allocated sites, according to research published today.

The report, published by consultancy Knight Frank and law firm Irwin Mitchell today, surveyed 326 councils across England.

It assigns councils from ‘A’ to ‘D’. The top score, ‘A’, means the council has clear policies detailing the required number of homes and beds and how this will be achieved, along with specific site allocations.

‘B’ means it has a clear policy but no land or sites allocated, ‘C’ means it has site allocations but no clear policy and ‘D’ means it has neither a clear policy or allocations.

The research found 23% of councils were ranked ‘A’, 34% ranked ‘B’, 14% ‘C’ and 32% ‘D’.

According to the Office of National Statistics, the number of people aged 85 years or older is expected to almost double to 3.1m by 2045.

Nicola Gooch, Planning partner at Irwin Mitchell, said: “We certainly need both local and national government to take a pro-active approach if we are to unlock the potential of senior housing in England.

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“There is still a long way to go before the necessary support is in place to deliver our population’s elderly housing needs in full.”