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10.12.2009
The draft London Plan (October 2009) is currently out to public consultation. When adopted it will be the leading planning policy document in London.
Peter Dines, care services specialist and planning partner with Gerald Eve, has identified a new policy in the draft which would be a big problem to the care home development market. The policy states that new Care Home developments (and other forms of development catering specifically for older people) will have affordable housing requirements applied to them.
“This policy is unique in this Country and wholly new to London as it has not featured in any previous London Development Plan. Should this policy be adopted it could see the practical end of Care Home development in London,” Dines said.
“Specialist accommodation for Older People including care, is generally classed as falling within Use Class C2 of the Town and Country (Use Classes) Order, for planning purposes. Such uses compete with general residential developers, in particular, in residential and other appropriate locations for sites. Given the amount of communal and care accommodation which must be included in modern good quality care developments, such developments can only hope to win sites if they do not have the burden of also giving up affordable housing.
“This principle has been accepted on all Use Class C2 care home development in the Country to date, which is not surprising as care homes are acknowledged as facilities required to meet the needs of the community,” he said.
“The draft Plan acknowledges the aging population and the need for more specialist accommodation but addresses this by moving the “goal posts” for care home developers to a point at which they cannot hope to win sites on the open market. It just will not work, and the background studies to the Plan do not explain how it could,” Dines added.
London’s population will change between 2006 and 2026, the over 60’s category will increase by 265,335 people. As an example, the number of people with memory related impairment is likely to increase by 11,833 over the same period, potentially giving rise to the need for 125 more specialist Care Homes on a very conservative estimate.
In Bromley alone over 2006-2026 there is likely to be an increase of around 430 people suffering from dementia, a requirement for about 8 large new homes to exclusively address this issue.
Dines said: “The Plan needs to make it easier to develop new accommodation for older people, providing a range of choices in new high quality, well located developments. That’s the real challenge for London planners.
“By flagging this up now in the consultation period we hope that the final policy document can be amended to address these key concerns. But the consultation period is up in January so time is running out for those who want to fight this change.”
Gerald Eve, chartered surveyors and property consultants, make or save money from property - acting for around 40% of the FTSE100 on property asset management, agency and professional matters.
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