Older Peoples Housing (Adult Social Care)

HOUSING Page 35

(c) housing for older persons, and the specific policy options highlighted? If not, what changes would you wish to see?
We support Rother's planning approach to meeting the needs of older people.
Additional comments:

* Should Rother adopt the building regulation standards as proposed above it should not need a policy to specify older persons housing in developments of 100 or more as the needs of older persons would have already been met by providing accessible, adaptable homes.

* As well as new developments of residential, nursing, sheltered, Extra Care etc housing Rother needs to factor in losses. Many of the providers' premises in the District are Victorian homes which are difficult to maintain and adapt. Is there the possibility of having a more flexible policy to incentivise care home owners to change use of existing premises and facilitate extensions of small scale units that may be unsustainable?

* The County Council would promote the development of Extra Care housing as an alternative to residential care homes. Although there is a need in rural areas of Rother it is difficult to sustain the design principles of Extra Care in these locations as they are usually not close to facilities etc.

* The County Council would support the development of short term care ready older persons housing that can be used for respite care and to prevent admissions to acute care. This requirement could be factored in to new developments for older persons housing with a requirement to consult with the County Council on requirements for short term placements in the locality.

* It is thought that a policy specifying bungalows for older people would not have much of an impact as that is already the target audience for that style of development. What could be policy led is the requirement to have the infrastructure in place within the vicinity to meet the care/ health needs of the residents in the locality i.e. space provided on the development for mini health hubs etc.