Planning
Later living: keeping building and development on the agenda
Later living development must meet the challenge of an ageing population, asJonathan Rainey, deputy CEO, and Bridget Westcott, associate town planner at Pegasus Group, explain
The government has repeatedly affirmed its ambitions to get Britain building. We have seen a variety of updates and announcements, with new policies and reforms launched which place a far greater emphasis on planning, development, and a particular focus on housing and infrastructure development. Measures such as the tabled Planning and Infrastructure Bill, the National Housing Bank, as well as the Infrastructure Strategy and Industrial Strategy have placed comprehensive development at the forefront of government concern. However, the care and later living sectors
have not received equivalent attention or the same level of urgency, despite the pressing need driven by the UK’s rapidly ageing population. This oversight poses a significant challenge, as the demographic
shift demands a strategic response in planning and development.
An ageing population Over the course of the last 40 years, the number of people aged older than 50 has risen by around 6.8 million, constituting an increase of 47 per cent, while the number of those aged older than 65 has risen by over 3.5 million, an increase of 52 per cent. It is reported that there are more than 10 million people currently aged 65 and over in England, which comprises 18 per cent of the population. The pressures of this older population are only getting more and more evident – according to the ONS and Age UK, the proportion of people aged above 50 is forecast to rise by as much as 20 per cent by 2045. The fastest-growing demographic is those
aged 85 and above, whose care needs are more complex compared to those aged 50 and above. Yet even with the demographic representation of the population starting to skew towards the older end, the housing market as a whole has not yet adjusted. Later living and care consumer needs remain unmet in the market. Considering there are still likely to be further increases in the age of the population at large, this will naturally drive up demand in these sectors. Despite rising demand, the supply of new
care homes and specialist housing remains insufficient. Crucially, the planning system is proving to be one of the biggest hurdles to the delay in development related to specialist housing. Knight Frank has reported statistics estimating that in 10 years, there will be a shortage of 58,000 care beds, and in 25 years there will be an additional need for 350,000
November 2025
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com 23
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