Property Developer Plans 5,000 UK Retirement Homes In City Centres

A property developer owned by a French investment management group has announced an ambitious £2bn plan to build 5,000 retirement homes across 40 urban sites in the UK over the next decade. As town and city centres are being reshaped as a result of the changes to UK high streets accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic, Retirement Villages Group (RVG) said it had won planning permission for a £110m retirement community of 196 one and two-bed apartments to rent or buy in central West Byfleet in Surrey, on the site of a 1960s office block with shops and a car park, which will be knocked down. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/apr/12/property-developer-plans-5000-uk-retirement-homes-on-urban-sites 

Councils Urged To Build Thousands of New Bungalows

Councils will need to build thousands more bungalows to deal with a ‘critical’ problem in housing Britain’s elderly, ministers say.  Advice to be issued to planners will highlight the need to match the supply of local accommodation to the needs of an ageing population looking to live independently for longer. The number of bungalows being built has almost come to a halt in recent years. As well as bungalows, councils will be told to consider retirement villages of 100 or so houses with activities for residents; sheltered homes with a warden on duty or on call; Extra Care, a form of retirement housing with 24-hour personal care and meals; and nursing homes.  Read more on the Daily Mail website.