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How do we support independent living for older people? Learning from Fortune Place
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FOREWORD We are seeing an ageing population and increasing prevalence of dementia and social isolation in later life. In a climate of austerity across public services and growing pressure on health and social care provision, these factors presented an opportunity for Castle Rock Edinvar, together with colleagues at Places Development, to consider a refreshed approach to the development of affordable housing for independent living for older people. In 2012, as a result of the demolition of the St Barnabas sheltered housing development and the Craigour care home in Edinburgh, we had a blank canvas on which to consider and develop our response. Bringing together a multi-disciplinary team including architects Smith Scott Mullan Associates, informed by research and a desire to adopt a preventative approach, our shared vision was to create a new blue print for affordable homes for older people. A home which they would be proud of, in a welcoming and caring place designed with ageing in mind, and which still felt modern, connected and active, reflecting the diversity of potential residents. Securing funding to fulfil our vision was essential. Our thanks to the City of Edinburgh Council who, on behalf of the Scottish Government, provided Housing Association Grant to build the new homes. Innovation to test an affordable Wi-Fi solution to each household was supported by a Demonstrating Digital Grant from the Scottish Government, and would not have been possible without it. Recognising that for a development to promote physical and mental well-being it needs more than well designed and well-built housing, it also needs a sense of community, resources were kindly secured from the Big Lottery Fund to develop our approaches. Without our collaborative approach and associated funding Fortune Place would not be the award winning, vivacious community it is now. Heather Macnaughton Castle Rock Edinvar Housing Association Part of the Places for People Group Eugene Mullan Smith Scott Mullan Associates
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APPROACH Our starting point was to examine the key messages published in emerging strategies and research to draw out the issues relating to older people that need to be addressed.
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In 2009 HAPPI published Housing our Ageing Population and identified key design elements which should be emphasised when developing new homes for older people. In 2011 the Scottish Government and COSLA published Age Home and Community: A Strategy for Housing for Scotland’s Older People which advocated policies to enable people to remain at home independently for as long as possible and encouraged mobility in the housing system. Increasing focus was being placed on the rising prevalence of dementia with Dementia Services Development Centre based at Stirling University promoting for improvements in design and understanding. There was also a growing awareness of the importance of direct sunlight exposure for Vitamin D to aid bone density in later life and to be outdoors connected to a nature rich green environment to improve health and wellbeing outcomes. Age UK identified that social isolation and loneliness was seen by many as one of the largest health concerns leading to depression, obesity and premature death and to combat this there was a need to build cohesive, resilient and supportive communities. The Scottish Household Survey identified that older people living in areas of deprivation and in social housing are most likely to be materially deprived and digitally excluded.
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So, in developing Fortune Place and looking to influence the future of affordable housing for older people, we sought to answer how we would:
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design homes with ageing in mind encourage people to go outside design shared spaces for an ageing community promote greater social interaction and prevent loneliness maximise income in later life and prevent poverty increase digital participation implement co-production
Resource Research was appointed in 2017 to hear from residents and other stakeholders about their experiences. This publication shows how we answered these questions and the lessons learned and will hopefully go some way to helping create more new homes to be proud of.
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This is a nice new place. It’s central for everything and I’ve got good neighbours.
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How do we design homes with ageing in mind?
What We Did
What We Learnt
We sought to provide a home for life.
People are very happy living at Fortune Place, with 95% of people surveyed say they have no future plans to move.
The development and homes were future proofed by using dementia friendly principles such as open plan layouts and glass panelling to increase visibility and aid memory, and contrasting flooring to prevent accidents. There are two bedrooms in most homes so that family, friends and carers could be welcomed to stay. Bathrooms are modern and spacious which enables supported care, and future adaptations, if needed. Jack and Jill doors are included and positioned in such a way that there is visibility from the bed that helps orientation.
Our future proofing design elements are not being used by all residents at the moment, but are appreciated and know they will be of value in the future. Support workers have stated that those they support are happy in the development, and are sufficiently supported and do not wish to move. Both residents and support workers are satisfied with the layout of the flats, especially the bathrooms, as it helps them to assist the people they care for.
Kitchen and living spaces are open, light and spacious.
Open plan layout makes orientation easy.
Glazed doors to en-suite bathrooms create a visual connection.
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We have a wee garden and really love pottering in that.
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How do we encourage people to go outside?
What We Did
What We Learnt
We prioritised private outdoor space for each home.
The private outdoor space was a real design success. People say it is a ‘must have’ and that they ‘love it’. Almost everyone with private outdoor space uses it at least once a week, and 34% use it daily.
A useable balcony or private garden space, large enough for a small table and chairs and other small garden items, is part of as many homes as possible. By providing private outdoor space and large windows, we brought the outside into the home. The detailed design of the balconies strikes a careful balance between creating a comfortable space protected from the weather and providing residents with great views of the shared gardens and the adjacent Gilmerton Park.
The few who do not have this space notice its absence so every effort needs to be made to provide this space for everyone.
As well as private space we created secure communal landscaped gardens to encourage movement. Seating has been introduced as well as access to an outside toilet to increase confidence in using the space.
Balconies are popular and well used.
Large windows help bring the outside in.
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I am much happier and feel so much safer.
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How do we design shared spaces for an ageing community?
What We Did
What We Learnt
Shared spaces were designed with safety, security and accessibility in mind.
People are very happy with the safety and security at Fortune Place.
In the attractive communal garden, circular pathways connect spaces and landscaping helps create visible boundaries. We also designed a modern indoor space called the Garden Room used for socialising, activities and meetings.
The landscaped gardens are used by a fifth of households every week. Some people do not use the shared gardens at all but the majority appreciate having an attractive garden to look out on, especially when they are ill or housebound.
Communal spaces are future proofed and dementia friendly with wide communal stairways (to accommodate future stair lifts) and storage space for buggies and other mobility aids. Entrance doors are differentiated through building form and colour, and glass panels used throughout the development to help people with orientation and visibility.
The Garden Room is recognised as a valuable and beautiful space. However, the space does not always feel fully ‘owned’ by the residents as support workers have had the use of it also.
Future proofed communal stairs have been designed to allow the addition of a stair lift.
Dinstinctive entrances and coloured front doors help residents to recognise their home.
People would like more storage in communal areas, which could store larger personal items and not just mobility aids.
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I just love the place, love seeing and meeting all these people. I just didn’t have that before.
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How do we promote greater social interation and prevent loneliness?
What We Did
What We Learnt
Social engagement was a key objective of Fortune Place with a dedicated temporary member of staff, a Community Capacity Builder, who developed neighbourliness within the new community, and connected new residents to local facilities and activities.
Living at Fortune Place made people feel less lonely with almost half of residents saying they now feel more socially connected than before, improving their quality of life.
A Garden Room with kitchen and toilets was provided in the shared garden, this has large glazed screens so the room can be opened to the garden. The Garden Room enabled a programme of social and wellbeing events, bringing people together. The extensive use of glass gave people a visible connection to each other, to see if they might want to get involved, or watch from a distance.
The concierge role contributes significantly to the residents’ feeling of safety. The role is now seen as very important in any future development for older people. Fortune Place has provided the opportunity to get involved, and three quarters of residents participated in at least one event. People could get involved if they wanted to, or they could just watch if they didn’t want to take part.
To facilitate greater interaction we employed a permanent onsite concierge who is a constant, friendly face on the development, carrying out health and safety and cleaning tasks, alongside small DIY tasks for residents.
Creative group activities are held in the communal garden room.
Tai Chi was introduced to promote health and wellbeing.
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Financially things have improved and this security is an advantage.
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How do we maximise income in later life and prevent poverty?
What We Did
What We Learnt
We put in place a comprehensive range of measures to prevent poverty in later life.
The communal heating and flat rate charge was a success with 93% of residents satisfied with their heating system. All residents noted that their properties are warm and they found that heating their home was affordable.
Sustainable rent and service charges were set within the local housing allowance, alongside a communal heating system and high insulation levels, to ensure utility bills are reduced, predictable and manageable. All residents were offered advice on money, debt and benefits to help maximise their income.
The impact of rare technical problems with the communal heating system was a concern for people as all homes could be affected.
Communal services, including Wi-Fi, are included in the rent to aid budgeting.
A Combined Heat and Power (CPH) Unit provides communal heating.
Outdoor space provides opportunities for interaction.
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I can Skype my son in Abu Dhabi and my granddaughter in Canada - I couldn’t even switch on a computer before that.
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How do we increase digital participation?
What We Did
What We Learnt
Cost, connectivity and capability are the three main digital barriers older people need to overcome to become digitally enabled.
The combination of communal Wi-Fi provision into homes and digital skills classes saw internet access and usage at Fortune Place rise from an average of 2 devices per day, to 60 and still growing.
Wi-Fi was installed in all homes from the outset and categorised as communal landlord supply, at an affordable cost of no more than ÂŁ1 per week.
This is a significant result in a segment of the population generally regarded as the most digitally excluded.
Classes were provided to build tenants’ digital confidence and skills and we monitored Wi-Fi use to measure progress and adapt activities when needed.
Certain insulation materials impacted on strength and reach of WiFi signal meaning boosters were required.
Density of development enables Wi-Fi at scale.
Digital skill classes were held for residents.
Once connected, application choices and behaviours were broadly in line with the general population. We have seen a significant increase in the amount of data usage over time.
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We would look to establish guiding frameworks for co-production next time to enable expectations to be managed and realised.
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How do we implement coproduction?
What We Did
What We Learnt
Co-production was a key approach from the beginning of the design process and brought experts in housing, architecture and academia together.
Nearly everyone is satisfied with the communal garden, however, the perception is that it has taken a long time and the process has been difficult for all involved.
Once onsite, the Community Capacity Builder led a coproduction approach to designing the landscape for the communal gardens. Starting with a blank canvas, residents, staff and therapeutic experts worked together on the plans and implementing features.
While the co-production concept is believed to be good practice, a ‘blank canvas’ approach should be avoided as it raised expectations and led to disappointment when not all requests could be delivered.
By the end of the landscaping project a number of improvements were complete. A summerhouse, pergola, benches, patio and paths had been installed, along with additional planters and planting and a BBQ area.
There had been an aspiration to establish a residents group to take forward future landscaping, and other activities. In reality people did not want to spend their valuable time in this way and despite best efforts no residents came forward to sustain this. Future co-production should be set with careful frames of reference and management of expectations, with basic practicalities such as clothes drying facilities and accessibility for wheelchairs provided as standard.
The residents, staff and therapeutic experts co-produced the communal landscaping.
The residents, staff and therapeutic experts worked together on the plans.
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Castle Rock Edinvar is part of the Places for People Group. Places for People is an awardwinning placemaker. With over 50 years’ experience, it is one of the largest placemaking and regeneration companies in the UK. The Group owns or manages over 195,000 homes, operates over 120 leisure facilities and provides services to more than 500,000 people. Places for People is committed to creating places that work for everyone. The Group makes a long-term commitment to its communities and works to provide what they need to thrive – whether it is new schools, shops, leisure facilities, job opportunities, access to learning and training or specialist support services. It is a not-for-dividend organisation with a strong social purpose, using commercial methods to deliver social outcomes and reinvesting any financial surplus back into its core business of creating and maintaining sustainable places.
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CONCLUSION
Ageing, with its challenges, should not be seen as a negative but as a fantastic opportunity to embrace later life with a positive approach. Five years on Fortune Place is an award winning established place within the community, providing 54 homes for independent living. It feels vibrant, connected and very much a home where residents are proud to invite friends and family. This has been the result of continued effort and enthusiasm from our staff, other professionals and residents to work together to make this a success. There is little doubt that customer satisfaction has been improved and turnover reduced but most heartwarming is the impact that good design and effective place-making and management has made on the quality of life residents are experiencing at Fortune Place. We are using the findings from this research to determine our future developments for older people. We will continue to be forward thinking and work collaboratively with other organisations to design quality places that will support older people to stay independent in their homes for life.
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Published by Castle Rock Edinvar and Smith Scott Mullan Associates
Castle Rock Edinvar 1 Hay Avenue Edinburgh EH16 4RW
Smith Scott Mullan Associates 378 Leith Walk Edinburgh EH7 4PE
www.castlerockedinvar.co.uk 0131 657 0600 customer@castlerockedinvar.co.uk
www.smith-scott-mullan.co.uk 0131 555 1414 mail@smith-scott-mullan.co.uk
A Scottish Charity No. SC006035
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