The Gateshead Housing Standard for Ageing Well

The location of our homes is extremely important and critical to supporting us to age well. This section focuses on the key factors in relation to the location of our homes that need to be considered. 

It highlights the importance of accessible public transport, nearby amenities, and essential facilities to support independence and well-being for older people. It emphasises adequate parking, access to green spaces, considerations for topography, and maintaining air quality and cleanliness in creating age-friendly neighbourhoods conducive to healthy living. 

70% of survey respondents said that it was very important that their home is well located.

Services and amenities 

Living in a location that meets our needs means that we can maintain our independence, support networks and access services and amenities should we need them. It is therefore recommended that homes are: 

• well served by public transport, for example, bus stops, train stations, metro 
• close to shops and amenities 
• close to key local facilities, for example, health facilities, post office, public services
• close to facilities that support us to maintain a healthy lifestyle 
• Close to cultural and/or religious amenities

Service and amenities in specialist housing 

The Gateshead 2021 Local Plan, Making Spaces for Growing Places (PDF, 8 MB) states that specialist and supported accommodation and care schemes will be expected to: 

1. Provide on-site, or have good accessibility to, shops, services, community facilities and open space appropriate to the needs of the intended occupiers, their carers and visitors and/or 

2. Have good accessibility to public transport routes. 

In determining whether the accessibility to shops, services, community facilities, open space and public transport routes is good, the Council will have regard to the distance, gradient, simplicity of navigation and the security and safety of the route taking into account the extent to which it is overlooked or has other natural surveillance and the need to cross roads.   

Good accessibility uses a starting point of a maximum 400 metre distance from any home within the proposed development to the identified services and/or facilities. 

In some cases, amenities can be met onsite within specialist schemes where there is a lack of availability in the local area, as per the case studies below. 

Case study: Angel Court, Gateshead
Angel Court is an extra care scheme in the south of Gateshead and is within easy travelling distance to the centre of Gateshead and Newcastle City Centre. Angel Court was built in 2011 and has spectacular views of the world-famous sculpture the Angel of the North. There are 45 two bedroom flats over six floors. There are a range of communal facilities such as a café, hairdresser and a communal lounge. The location of the scheme has been taken into consideration when deciding on the communal spaces. Due to the limited amount of shops in the local area, a shop has been provided on site. Angel Court also provides access to the green space with a well-landscaped communal garden with planting, seating areas, a walk-way and greenhouse. 

Parking 

The availability of adequate parking is crucial, cars are one of the last things that we are prepared to give up in later life and they can support us to remain independent, even where there is public transport available. Our homes need to have space for visitors and guests to park. 

The Gateshead 2021 Local Plan, Making Spaces for Growing Places (PDF, 8 MB) states that in new residential development parking should be provided at the following levels: 

Levels of parking provision will be averaged across the site as a whole. 

In relation to sheltered accommodation, Making Spaces for Growing Spaces states that flats/houses with permanent on-site staff presence may also need to make provision for staff car parking. Lower levels of resident and higher levels of visitor parking are likely to be appropriate depending on circumstances. This could be linked to the availability of local amenities within walking distance. 

For residential institutions such as residential or nursing care, the maximum requirement is 1 space per 3 residents for visitors and space for 1 ambulance. 

Electric vehicle charging

Our homes and neighbourhoods should consider the availability of electric vehicle charging stations; this is increasingly becoming required as the number of electric vehicles in the UK increases. 

The Gateshead 2021 Local Plan, Making Spaces for Growing Places states that within major developments, provision should be made for car club vehicles and/or electric vehicle charging points. The most appropriate location for any such provision within the site will be discussed a part of the design process. 

'It is important for us to be able to park close to our property as my wife has mobility issues.' - Gateshead resident 

Green space 

Having access to public and private green space is important for health and wellbeing. This means that homes should have access to: 

• plants, trees, and the natural environment 
• external shared spaces 
• private external space

"I want to live in a clean well maintained area with lots of green spaces / flower beds" - Gateshead resident

 "At the moment we are isolated due to lack of public transport" - Gateshead resident

Topography 

65% of survey respondents said that an accessible home should have level external terrain.

The immediate surroundings should be easily accessible, whilst it is recognised that Gateshead has a hilly terrain, as far as practically possible the topography should promote ease of use by ambulant older people, wheelchair users and mobility scooters. Including features such as dropped kerbs and pedestrian road crossings will enable areas to be more accessible. 

Air quality and cleanliness 

Homes for ageing well should be considerate of air quality and pollution levels. Ideally not located right next to a busy road with lots of traffic. However, our homes should be sufficiently close to public transport, a balance needs to be struck here. 

There should be adequate space and easy access to refuse points. 

Neighbourhoods should be well maintained and free of refuse; people are seeking a pleasant outlook that is easy to get around. 

The elements above are applicable whether living in conventional or specialist housing. 

Case study: Limelight, Manchester 
Limelight, located in Trafford, Manchester, is one of the first 'integrated hubs' to be delivered in the UK, and is a model for future age friendly developments. As such, it is an extra care scheme that has considered the availability of local services in its development and provided services that were not available in the local community. The 81 extra-care apartments are integrated with a GP surgery and community facilities, including a café, event space, library and nursery, as well as offices for council services and social enterprises. As a mixed-use site, the scheme has become an asset to the local community as well as providing door-step services to residents.
By providing mixed tenure housing, it also addresses the need for affordable housing in the local area. There are 21 two-bed extra care apartments offered on an Older People's Shared Ownership basis and 60 one and two-bed properties available to rent. 

Case study: Oakfield, Swindon (opens new window)
Oakfield is a new eco-friendly neighbourhood that will provide 239 homes in Swindon and is being developed by Nationwide Building Society, in partnership with Swindon Borough Council, Igloo and GreenSquareAccord. 
The design of the neighbourhood has been carefully considered to enable residents to feel part of a community. Shared communal spaces where local people will gather and build connections, includes two acres of new public park, a terraced amphitheatre which will be a flexible space that can be used for community events and informal sports. Residents can also choose between a traditional private garden, or a smaller private garden with access to a shared garden. 
The neighbourhood also provides a mix of housing types and tenures, enabling young and older people to live alongside each other in the community. Apartments for those aged 55+ are designed for a variety of accessibility needs, and sit alongside larger family homes so people of all ages and life stages can live side by side. 71 homes (30%) will be available as Affordable Rent and Shared Ownership through the housing association partner GreenSquareAccord.