"Lifetime" homes a welcome move

The government’s plan to create “lifetime” homes, outlined in Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods: A National Strategy for Housing in an Ageing Society, released yesterday (25 February 2008) by Communities Secretary Hazel Blears, so more people can stay in their homes close to friends and family for as long as possible is a welcome move.

Encouraging older people to remain in their own homes makes good sense from three perspectives:  firstly, it means that residents will continue to be a part of the communities they know and who will continue to give neighbourly support as time goes by. Secondly, their children and grandchildren will continue to be able to visit their relative in congenial rather than institutional surroundings and, thirdly, it will be cheaper for the public purse.

The only downside I can envisage is the size of the property: it may be too large for the resident to manage easily as they grow more frail and may block the re-use of it by a larger family, particularly in areas of high family demand for larger properties, such as in parts of London.

For more information about the Strategy, visit the Communities and Local Governments website here.

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