connectivity. It is not a surprise that if you connect people to the jobs all of a sudden they get the chance to work.”
And he added: “Regeneration is an opportunity – it is back on the agenda and we would like that to continue.”
Sandy said that the housing association would continue to commit to the development of new homes. And when it comes to the green agenda he stressed the massive opportunity that retrofitting homes to deliver energy-efficiency offered both Lancashire and the wider UK in terms of “economic renewal”.
Onward will start on the retrofitting of 600 homes next year and has a target to deliver 5,000 by the end of the decade. Sandy added: “We have to do it to provide houses that are affordable to live in and of the quality we need.
“We also have to make sure we don’t miss the boat on this because other countries are going to sail right past us.”
John Winstanley is managing director for strategic land at Story Homes. The private housebuilder is based in Chorley and operates across the north, predominantly on the edge of urban areas.
The delivery has been great but the risk is we could lose that impetus
He said that it was a “tricky time” for housebuilding in Lancashire, despite seeing major strategic allocations such as Buckshaw Village and north west Preston now delivering good quality homes.
John pointed to the economic climate and government’s changing views on the green agenda and national housing targets and added: “The challenge now is planning ahead.”
He said when it came to the national delivery of new homes the situation was approaching the lowest post-war levels of construction with the need to “restart the machine”.
Looking at Lancashire he added: “The delivery has been great but the risk is we could lose that impetus if we don’t start getting our act together and push forward with the same level of ambition we have had in the past.”
He would like to see any Lancashire devolution deal have an element of regional planning and strategic development with “local aspirations”, to make sure homes and jobs are delivered where needed.
Flexibility should also be a part of that to “make sure we can take advantage of any new opportunities that come along in the next ten to 15 years,” he added.
Andrew Atkinson said not enough retirement housing was being delivered locally or nationally. He said: “There’s not enough choice for people who are facing the conundrum that the family home is no longer suitable for them.
“The market is hugely under represented, not only in terms of what’s available to buy but in the conversation. We are trying to put it on the agenda in Lancashire.”
He told the conference that by 2040 the number of people aged over 60 in Lancashire was set to rise by 95,000 and he asked: “How do you even begin to house them and offer them the choice they need?
“There is a whole lot of housing being brought forward, we see the allocations come up, we see the housebuilders move in and development taking place, but precious little of that is age targeted.
“What I would say to policy makers, to developers, is this is a massive untapped market.”
LANCASHIREBUSINES SV
IEW.CO.UK
Fairhaven is Lancashire’s leading provider of retirement villages.
We’re passionate about creating more later-life communities.
If you would like to know more about unlocking the potential in the retirement housing sector, call 01772 747672 or visit
www.fairhavenhousing.co.uk
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