Retirement Living

What Does NPF4 Mean for Retirement Living?

NPF4 is required by law to meet the housing needs of people living in Scotland including, in particular, the housing needs for older people and disabled people.

There is a focus within NPF4 towards facilitating older people staying in their own homes as they age (Policy 15 (Local Living) refers to providing the “ability to age in place” in new housing). The provision of adaptable homes, which can be modified to suit changing requirements of their occupants as they age, is therefore likely to be an important consideration for new applications for mainstream residential development.

This raises potential longer-term implications for housing supply if older people are living in their homes for longer, which may serve to take-up an increasingly larger proportion of available mainstream homes. There may also be implications on healthcare services if a greater proportion of society requires at-home care. However, that is maybe a discussion for another day.

Notwithstanding, under Policy 16 (Quality Homes) there is support for “homes for older people, including supported accommodation, care homes and sheltered housing” where gaps in provision have been identified.

NPF4 also places a requirement on Local Authorities to prepare Evidence Reports which explain the actions taken to support and promote the construction of housing to meet the needs of older and disabled people. Further detail on these Evidence Reports is not yet known – however, it appears likely that a Statement of Need will be required to accompany planning applications for new care home development where it has not been specifically allocated within LDPs.

Key Considerations for Future Development

ƒ Likely to be a stronger requirement for new build housing to be adaptable to enable “ageing in place”. The detailed requirements for this are likely to be set out in future LDPs.

ƒ There will be a requirement for Local Authorities to monitor construction of housing meeting the needs of older people, and publish their findings in ‘Evidence Reports’.

ƒ Detailed analysis and a ‘Statement of Need’ may help to justify future applications for care home development.