Government policy is explicit in its requirement for Local Authorities to meet the housing and care needs of older people. Many have already published plans on how they will do so but many more need to. In light of the Government’s policy ambition, it is worth considering whether the planning system is doing enough to promote and develop the number and range of homes needed for the growing elderly population.

The wide range of housing on offer means that new development in the sector can fall into several use classes within the English planning system. For example, Retirement Housing with minimal care is usually considered C3 along with most residential development, while Nursing Homes will be considered C2 along with other institutions such as hospitals. Therefore, most older people’s housing is not differentiated from standard residential developments.

This is a particular issue with regards to the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). Local Authorities’ CIL charging schedules generally refer to “residential uses”. This combines older people’s housing with standard residential and sets a cost per square metre linked charge for all new development in that category. This rate should meet the viability test for standard residential sites but that can vary greatly from the viability of housing specifically for older people. This potentially undermines the delivery of older people’s housing and the aims of the Government.

Retirement and older people’s housing has very different densities, build costs, sales rates and requirements for communal and staff areas than typical residential development. As such, any CIL charging schedule should properly assess the viability of specialist housing independently from standard residential.

While some Local Authorities such as Central Bedfordshire, Waltham Forest and Dacorum, have excluded Extra Care or Retirement housing from their CIL charging schedules, many more should consider excluding elderly persons housing from CIL where viability dictates. Doing so is imperative to meeting the housing and care needs of an ageing population.