Adult Care and Housing Specialist Housing Addendum to the Market Position Statement June 2024

While the numbers of those with care and health needs in the age group between 16 and 64 are forecast to remain similar in the period to 2040, their expectations and lifestyles are different to those of older generations and there will still be changes in their needs as they age.

The range of needs that supported housing residents may have are even more variable and extensive than those of older people and, given that the scale of provision is much smaller than that for older people, planning new supply should be driven by commissioners based on known current gaps and shortfalls in provision, rather than being led by population derived forecasts.

The council's objectives for supported housing are therefore to:

• Replace existing stock where it is incapable of fully meeting its intended residents' care and health needs and preferences
• Continue to develop relatively small schemes (of up to 12 units) as the most appropriate for care ad health needs of those in the 16-64 age group, rather than combining multiple needs into larger schemes where operational difficulties are more likely to occur
• Actively review Out of Boundary (OOB) cases to identify where their needs could be met appropriately and cost effectively within the district 
• Target development to even out the geographical distribution of provision across the district (refer to figure 7a)

Note that in meeting the above objectives the co-location of multiple forms of specialist housing provision on one site may well not achieve a satisfactory living environment due to the diversity of residents' needs. Co-location will only be considered where there is a demonstrable benefit to residents and the risk of incompatible expectations and behaviours can be reduced to an acceptable level.