NORTHAMPTON BOROUGH COUNCIL Sheltered Housing Services ... · 1 All sourced in CIH’s Housing, Health and Care report, but see also Lifetime Homes. Lifetime Neighbourhoods: A National

REPORT

NORTHAMPTON BOROUGH COUNCIL

Sheltered Housing Services

Operational & Strategic Review

CIH consultancy Octavia House Westward Way

Westwood Business Park COVENTRY

CV4 8JP t: 0844 561 1758

e: [email protected] w: www.cih.org/consultancy

Contact:

Richard Medley Director

e: [email protected]

February 2012

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Northampton Borough Council | Report – Sheltered Housing Review |

Table of Contents

Section 1 Introduction & Background 1

Section 2 Sheltered Housing - Drivers for Change 4

Section 3 Overview of Older Persons Housing in Northampton 12

Section 4 Demographics, Needs & Demands 17

Section 5 Housing Management, Sheltered & Repairs Services 22

Section 6 Scheme Conditions & Standards 26

Section 7 Understanding the Needs & Demands of Current & Future Residents 48

Section 8 Pulling Together the Key Findings 57

Section 9 Exploring the Options 64

Section 10 Developing a Forward Strategy 70

Section 11 Recommendations 77

Appendices

Appendix 1 Schedule of all Older Persons Accommodation across Northampton

Appendix 2 Schedule of all Northampton BC Sheltered Accommodation

Appendix 3 Sheltered Housing Staff – Focus Group

Appendix 4 Sheltered Scheme Assessment Standard

Appendix 5 Existing Residents Questionnaire

Appendix 6 Potential Residents Questionnaire

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Northampton Borough Council | Final Report – Sheltered Housing Review | 1

1.0 Introduction & Background

Northampton Borough Council is considering the strategic and operational options available to

it for improving upon the Council’s existing service model for the provision of sheltered

housing accommodation and services in the Borough.

The Council is the largest provider of sheltered or older person’s housing in the Borough,

owning and managing over 2,200 units of stock that are currently designated for occupation by

older, disabled or otherwise vulnerable people, equating to around 18% of its total housing

stock of circa 12,200 units. The substantial majority of these sheltered units are located in

blocks of self contained flats or in clusters of self contained bungalows. Housing related

support is provided by mobile Scheme Coordinators or ‘wardens’ none of whom are resident

within the schemes.

Like many other landlords/providers the Council has identified a requirement to review the

appropriateness of its older person’s housing stock and the services it provides to its residents

in the light of changing patterns of demand, changes in the external funding for housing

related support services and the need to respond more flexibly to government agendas on

prevention and personalisation of care. Thus, the purpose of the Review has been to develop

a range of options for future accommodation provision and service delivery, developed within

the framework of local and national agendas, with reference to identified funding opportunities

and in line with other relevant strategic objectives of the Council.

In carrying out the Review there has been a particular focus on:

• The condition, performance and sustainability of the current accommodation

provision against a ‘fit for purpose’ standard

• Current and future demand/supply issues within the local and national framework

• Current and future customer housing and care needs, aspirations and

expectations, coupled with the views and requirements of wider health , social care

and Supporting People partners

• Emerging funding and policy environment including the implications of Housing

Benefit changes, reductions in Supporting People funding, the impact of the

Personalisation and Right to Control initiatives and the new commissioning

arrangements for health services.

Through both quantitative and qualitative analysis of the sheltered housing accommodation

and support service provided this report presents:

• A comprehensive profile of the quantity, type and characteristics of the stock

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• A detailed analysis of the quality and sustainability of the current sheltered housing

accommodation, including an assessment of how ‘fit for purpose’ the Council’s own

older persons housing stock is in terms of meeting best practice standards and the

current and future needs, demands and aspirations of residents

• An analysis of both current & projected population/demographic information and

the implications of this for future accommodation and housing related support

provision

• An analysis of the views/opinions of current and prospective residents about their

current and future housing needs and the implications of this for future

accommodation and service provision

• Conclusions on the appropriateness of the current sheltered housing service

• Options for how the Council can best provide a housing stock and housing related

support service which best meets the needs of residents, within the changing

funding and operating frameworks

• Conclusions, recommendations and an action plan for implementing a programme

of change and modernisation

Naturally, the project has been undertaken in the context of the national and local policy

agendas and priorities. It has particularly had reference to the likely impact of the new

operating framework, in particular those changes relating to revenue funding (including

Supporting People funding), rental incomes, housing benefit changes, the introduction of

affordable rents, the introduction of HRA self financing, personalisation, right to control and

payment by results.

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Figure 1.1 Map of Northampton Borough

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2.0 Sheltered Housing - Drivers for Change

The Council recognises that an ageing population locally presents a challenge but also that in

responding to this challenge it must do so using approaches which reflect the shifting national

and local agendas and funding frameworks.

National Policy Context

Our society is ageing, a fact that has important implications for the strategic plans that need to

be made for housing and related services in local areas. A more detailed knowledge of the

needs and aspirations of older people and those approaching older age is therefore necessary

to maximise the benefits from the restricted funding available, and to ensure that older people

are supported to remain active members of civic society and active consumers.

Currently 30% of households are headed by someone over 65; by 2026 this will have

increased by 48%, which equals an additional 2.4 million households. By 2036, 2.3 million

people will be over 85, an increase of 184%. The additional household numbers will increase

by 23% in urban areas and by 36% in rural areas.1

Housing and related services are a critical element in helping people to maintain healthy and

independent lives, preventing potentially huge increases in health and social care costs.2 This

has been increasingly acknowledged by government and has led to a gradual shift towards

favouring accommodation and service models that promote independence, provide greater

choice and that offer opportunities for more flexible provision of care. Accessible and suitable

housing is also a significant support to maintaining the contribution that older people make in

society, such as the estimated £87 billion in unpaid care given by people over 50.

Developing an attractive range of housing options for older people - in terms of size, type,

tenure and location - can not only support healthy and active lifestyles, but also encourage

older people to consider moving to alternative properties and release family accommodation in

all tenures, particularly important in areas where demand for and costs of new development

are high.

There has been a significant policy shift from government over recent years in recognising the

importance of older people as a population group within the housing market. Lifetime Homes

Lifetime Neighbourhoods (2008) made a key contribution in developing an approach for

1 All sourced in CIH’s Housing, Health and Care report, but see also Lifetime Homes. Lifetime Neighbourhoods: A

National strategy for an Ageing Population, (CLG, 2008). 2 This was recognised by the previous Government in its White Paper on Building a National Care Service (DH,

2010).. It will be an important consideration for the current government in its Long Term Care Commission. For more details, see also Housing, Health and Care (CIH/Housing LIN 2009).

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both existing and new homes to be ‘sustainable’ in the long term, including how they meet the

needs and demands of older people as their circumstances change. It advocates using stock

to its fullest potential and cautions spending money remodelling stock which, either now or

looking forward, is not fit for purpose. The Homes and Communities Agency, in its aims to

raise the standards of specialist housing, brought together examples from England and the

rest of Europe in its Designs for later life (HAPPI) report. Many of these schemes were

developed with the active involvement of the people housed there. This is also a strong

underlying principle of the Coalition government in how local authorities and partners should

develop services. It gives the opportunity for specialist housing to develop partnerships in the

use of communal spaces in schemes, which can be of particular value in areas where

facilities, such as GP surgeries etc, are not nearby.

Across the UK there is a general shift in the way in which care and support is provided to

residents in sheltered accommodation, with resident wardens being increasingly replaced by

‘floating’ support from visiting staff and support provision being provided through ‘hub and

spoke’ approaches. In response to concerns about this shift, Help the Aged undertook

research, publishing a report ‘Nobody’s Listening – the impact of floating support on older

people living in sheltered housing’. They forecast that by 2012, only 61% of sheltered housing

will still have a warden type service with 38% of schemes having floating support, up from only

5% in 2007. However, in some instances there have been significant levels of opposition to

this shift and some local authorities, notably Barnet and Portsmouth, have faced legal action

over the way in which it has been introduced.

CIH advocates stronger strategic integration of housing with health and care services in a local

area, to maximise the impact and benefits for local people. Our Housing, Health and Care

report looks at how housing and related services can meet the goals of social care and health

agendas. Older person’s housing has a key role to play in delivering on this agenda, with

schemes having the potential to be inclusive, vibrant places in the community, tackling social

exclusion and promoting active ageing within a ‘sheltered’ environment where support is on

hand to meet personal requirements as and when it is needed. It is a significant part of CIH’s

programme to support the strategic housing role of local authorities and ensure that housing

and support providers/agencies deliver against the various policy agendas.

CIH has strong links and networks with other organisations interested in housing for older

people (including ERoSH, the Home Adaptations consortium etc.) and produced the

Complaints Guide for residents in sheltered housing, which was commissioned from the last

Government’s ministerial working group on sheltered housing.

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Housing Revenue Account Self Financing

On 1 April 2012, the Government is set to abolish the Housing Revenue Account subsidy

system and introduce self-financing for council housing. This represents one of the most

radical reforms of public housing policy for many years, and the effects will be far reaching.

Under the new system, it is forecast that over the next 30 years councils will control over

£300bn of rental income, and they could build up some £50bn of new investment capacity

(£25bn in today’s money). They will have increased capacity to invest in housing assets but at

the same time they will be responsible for long term investment planning and will have to work

within centrally imposed funding constraints. In a time of funding cuts and weak market

confidence, HRA reform is seen by some councils as a viable means of delivering much

needed investment in new and improved social and affordable housing.

HRA reform will put councils in control of their housing assets and has the potential to open

many doors around proactive asset management, investigating opportunities for development,

redevelopment asset acquisitions and disposals, may be even different approaches to rent

setting, as well as the basic of future stock maintenance and renewal

Welfare Reform

Changes in national policies relating to housing benefit payments, Supporting People and the

introduction of Affordable Rents are all likely to have an impact on the accessibility and

affordability of older persons’ accommodation in the Borough. It is also likely that the

proposed changes detailed in the current White Paper: Equity and Excellence: liberating the

NHS will impact on the housing options for older people.

Public Health

Good housing is acknowledged as a critical foundation stone in building and sustaining

healthy people and communities. This has become even more important with the increased

emphasis on providing health and social care services to people in their communities, so

avoiding the need for expensive institutional treatment and care, including hospitalisation and

admittance to residential/ nursing care.

High quality sheltered housing is a key component in providing homes where people can be

supported to remain healthy and independent for as long as possible. The preventative nature

of sheltered housing is an important component in helping to improve the health of older

people and must therefore part of the Public Health agenda. The White Paper, Healthy Lives,

Healthy People has set out how funding from the overall NHS budget will be ring-fenced for

spending on public health – a recognition that prevention is better than cure. Early estimates

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suggest that current spend on areas that are likely to be the responsibility of Public Health

England could be in the range of £4 billion.

For the first time in a generation, central Government will not hold all the purse strings. The

majority of public health services will be commissioned by Local Authorities from their ring-

fenced budget, or by the NHS, all funded from Public Health England’s new public health

budget.

“People’s health and wellbeing will be at the heart of everything local councils do. It’s

nonsense to think that health can be tackled on its own. Directors of Public Health will be able

to champion local cooperation so that health issues are considered alongside housing,

transport, and education.”

“Everyone should have services tailored for them, at the right times in their life from the

professionals closest to them. With local authorities in the driving seat, supported by the latest

evidence on behaviour change from Public Health England, we will start seeing significant

improvements in the nation’s health.”

Andrew Lansley, Health Minister

Directors of Public Health will be employed by the Local Authority and be the ambassadors of

health issues for the local population. In practice, this means that they will lead discussion

about how the ring-fenced money is spent to improve health. This will include influencing

investment decisions right across the Local Authority, with the goal of enhancing health and

well-being.

Crucially, they will be able to make sure that public health is always considered when local

authorities, GP consortia and the NHS make decisions.

Historically, money for public health has disappeared into other services. Under new

arrangements, the flow of money will change so that: money will be allocated from the NHS

budget and ring-fenced for public health; part of this will be used by Public Health England for

population-wide issues; another part will provide a ring-fenced budget to Local Authorities.

A new health premium will take into account health inequalities and reward progress on

specific public health outcomes, and there will be consultation on how to this and to get the

detail right. The premium will be simple and driven by a formula. Disadvantaged areas will

see a greater premium if they make progress, recognising that they face the greatest

challenges.

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“By joining up the local work done by the NHS, social care, housing, environmental health,

transport and leisure services and focussing on public health at a local level, this paper lays

out a strategy to improve the health and wellbeing of the nation, and addresses the issues of

health inequalities.”

Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer (Interim)

“This is a tremendous opportunity to put health at the heart of public service. We see the

Public Health White Paper as a significant opportunity to deliver an effective local public health

system, which has at its heart people’s health and wellbeing.”

Professor Lindsey Davies, President of the UK Faculty of Public Health

Local Policy Context

Northampton Borough Council has a retained housing stock and, as a second tier authority,

has the statutory duties in respect of issues such as homelessness and housing advice.

Meanwhile, Northamptonshire County Council has a duty to ensure that it has appropriate

arrangements in place for the funding of housing related support and for adult social care.

The key council strategies that provide the framework for older person’s housing and related

services are as follows:

Northampton BC Housing Strategy 2010-15

This document sets out the Council’s priorities for housing over the current five year period,

recognising the Council’s key role in creating communities and its coordination role in ensuring

future growth as well as maintenance of existing dwellings.

The Strategy has four priorities:

i. Manage supply & growth for the future of Northampton

ii. Creating resilient and cohesive communities

iii. Delivering well designed, high quality homes, neighbourhoods and services

iv. Improving customer access, opportunity and choice

The strategy notes that the demographics of the town are changing with Northampton having

seen an 11.4% increase in the number of retirement age bringing a requirement to provide the

right type and choice of housing for older people. To meet these challenges, the Council’s

approach is to support independent living, providing homes where people can remain

independent without the stress of moving home or expensive adaptations.

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The strategy notes that the Council has a ‘large amount’ of sheltered housing but that some of

it is ‘hard to let’.

Northampton BC Housing Asset Management Strategy 2010-15

This document records the considerable challenges the Council faces in bringing its housing

stock up to and maintaining it at the Decent Home Standard (DHS), given inadequate financial

resources. The Government’s target was for all social housing to meet the DHS by 2010 yet

only 48.2% of Northampton BC’s stock reached the standard in April 2010, with a further 2,041

dwellings due to become non-decent by 2015. The strategy records that £43.3m is needed to

bring the stock up to the DHS by 2015, with a further £86m needed to address general poor

condition. Since the drafting of the strategy, the Council has received an allocation of £4.5m

for 2012/13 and an indicative allocation of £34.7m for the years 2013/15 to help meet this

funding shortfall. The three principal items requiring investment to bring them up to the DHS

are ‘services’, ‘heating’ and ‘kitchens’. These align closely with tenant’s priorities which are

identified in the strategy as being for new kitchens, new heating systems to bring fuel bills

down and new bathrooms.

The strategy records the opportunities that Housing Revenue Account Reform will afford the

Council from April 2012, with the expectation that the Council will be able to manage its debt,

investing sufficiently in its stock over the long term (30 years). The strategy notes the

availability of stock condition survey information that will play a major role in informing future

asset management decisions.

As part of the Council’s investment programme, about half of all its homes have been

identified for review before the Council makes any investment decisions. The Council uses a

Stock Appraisal Process to identify unsustainable stock before significant investment in

properties. Properties found to be unsustainable are reviewed to identify the most effective

mechanism to remodel, or renew them. The outcome of this Sheltered Housing Review is

intended to help inform this process in respect of the sheltered housing stock.

Northampton BC Independent Living Strategy 2011 (Draft)

This draft strategy is being developed to progress the Council’s commitment to ensuring that

all disabled people, including those with significant learning disabilities or other forms of

impairment, are able to have a choice and control over how their support needs are met.

The strategy has five principal objectives:

• To enable vulnerable older people and those with support needs to remain living

independently for longer

• To reduce isolation and exclusion for vulnerable and older people

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• To promote greater dissemination of information of available services

• To enable better access to services for hard to reach vulnerable older people

• For the Council to enter into greater partnership with other agencies to help support

the needs of vulnerable and older people

The actions within the strategy which relate specifically to housing include items such as

increasing the number of properties which meet the Lifetime Homes Standard, maintaining a

database of ‘accessible’ homes and continuing to provide disabled facilities grants to enable

more people to remain living in their existing home.

Consultation with Northamptonshire County Council

The County Council is facing severe financial constraints and in seeking to make budget

reductions have expressed a wish to ensure that the housing related support services that

continue to be funded are:

• meeting identified needs

• targeted at the most vulnerable people in communities

• flexible and housing tenure neutral

• add value to other service provision from a wide range of service providers in the

voluntary and statutory sectors

The County wants to make sure that housing related support services, including those

currently provided to Northampton Borough Council sheltered housing tenants, reflect best

practice and make better use of community facilities in or near sheltered housing schemes for

the benefit of older people from the wider community, providing a community hub.

The County Council has concerns over the equity of current access arrangements to housing

related support for older people. They are concerned that this is currently tenure specific and

would like to see the development of a tenure neutral approach with need being the key

determinant of accessing a service. Northampton Borough Council is responding to this

concern through the development of the Gateway project. The Gateway Approach has been

developed to give intensive support initially with a view to providing a lower level of ongoing

support – a one stop shop approach which gives support at least cost but with maximum

benefit, with a view to lessening support over time. There are risks to making changes like

this but actions can be in place to help reduce the impact of these.

The County Council’s approach to monitoring the quality of the housing related support in the

Council’s sheltered housing services lacked rigour during the lifetime of the Supporting People

Grant Programme, 2003 – 2010. The opportunities to monitor and assess the quality of and

outcomes from the investment being made were not fully exercised and this was a lost

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opportunity to work in partnership to develop service standards and assess the impact and

outcomes of the support for service users.

The County Council recognises the contribution that housing related support and sheltered

housing provides for vulnerable older people but wants to see a better coordination of

services between different agencies to avoid duplication, improve efficiency, achieve improved

value for money and achieve better, and more sustainable, outcomes for service users. They

wish to see housing related support services integrated into the personalised approach to

service delivery. This would place the service user at the centre of the commissioning

processes where choice is given about the services on offer and there is transparency about

the cost. Where service users receive direct payments it would be up to the individual to

decide if they want to purchase a service and the level to be provided.

The County Council has expressed a wish to learn from best practice in this area including the

impact and outcomes achieved by commissioners and providers who have funded and

delivered a ‘hub and spoke’ model of sheltered housing. The County Council has been

undertaking consultation on the future challenges of commissioning on a locality model

(consultation began 15th June). This will help inform recommendations for the County and

Northampton BC have been in the first wave.

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3.0 Overview of Older Persons Housing Accommodation in

Northampton

The project has identified the current levels of older person’s rented and owned (leasehold)

housing within the borough of Northampton, as at 1 August 2011. The information has been

obtained from a number of principal sources including Northampton Borough Council, other

social landlords within the borough, private sector management firms and through internet

based research.

Definitions

In looking at provision across the Borough, ‘older person’s housing’ is taken to include any

accommodation that is specifically designed for older people and/or that has a sales or lettings

provision which restricts occupation of the premises by persons under the age of 55 or 60.

Traditionally, within this definition, there are various forms or types of older person’s

accommodation as follows:

Sheltered Housing (Housing with care) - specifically designed grouped housing supported by a warden or scheme manager, with access to 24-hour emergency assistance via an alarm system and which often provides communal facilities and/or community room. Conventional sheltered housing is principally for older people who are able to live independently with low support needs.

Older Person’s Housing (or Non-Sheltered Housing, without care) - grouped housing schemes designated for older people and linked to an emergency alarm system but without a support service or communal facilities and often not considered to constitute ‘sheltered’ housing. This category would include Leasehold Retirement Housing, usually provided by private developers who specialise in providing this type of accommodation. It is primarily designed to meet the needs of older home owners who wish to retain ownership when they move.

Extra Care Schemes - (also sometimes known as very sheltered and enhanced sheltered) which offer varying levels of care and support available on site which can respond flexibly to the changing needs of tenants.. There is no universally accepted definition of Very Sheltered, Enhanced Sheltered or Extra Care housing. However, this kind of housing gives older people who might otherwise consider residential care the chance to stay independent through the provision of greater support and/or care.

Older person’s housing is not taken to include accommodation providing residential or nursing

‘care’.

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Overview of Provision

The research has identified 3,567 units of older persons housing accommodation in

accordance with the definitions set out above. The vast majority of these units (3,042,

equating to 85%) are in the social rented sector with the remaining 525 units (15%) being in

the private sector.

Of the 3,042 social rented units Northampton BC owns and manages over three quarters

(2,307 or 76%). Other Registered Providers (RPs) and voluntary sector landlords make up the

rest of the social rented stock, with East Midlands HA having 301 units (10%), Hanover having

101 units (3.3%) and other RPs and voluntary sector landlords having 333 units (9%) between

them. Peverel Retirement Homes is the main provider/manager of leasehold accommodation,

with 4 schemes providing 225 out of the 525 units (43%) in the private sector and St Crispin’s

Retirement Village containing a further 150 units for purchase (28.5%) leaving just 150 units

(28.5%) being provided across four other schemes.

Sheltered accommodation (housing with support) comprises by far the largest category of

accommodation with 3,028 (85%) of the units having on site or visiting warden support. Of

these units, 2,685 (89%) are in the social or voluntary housing sector leaving only 343 (11%)

being provided in the private sector in leasehold schemes.

In addition to the sheltered accommodation, there are 199 non-sheltered units (housing

without care) comprising just 5.6% of the 3,567 total older person’s units with 84% of these

being provided in the social or voluntary housing sector. This is a very low proportion

compared with many other LA areas.

In addition to both the sheltered and the non sheltered stock there are also three Extra-care

schemes containing 340 units. Over half of these, 190 (56%) are in the social/voluntary

housing sector whilst the other 150 (44%) are private/leasehold.

In terms of unit type the total older person’s housing stock in the Borough is dominated by

flats and bungalows. Only 35 bedsits/studios have been identified accounting for just 1% of

the total older person’s housing stock.

Northampton BC Stock

Northampton BC is the largest provider of older person’s accommodation owning and

managing 2,307 of the 3,567 total units in the Borough, equating to nearly two thirds (65%) of

the stock, or over three quarters (76%) of the total rented stock in the social and voluntary

sector. All its 2,307 units, with the exception of one scheme, are classified as ‘sheltered’ both

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by the Council and in accordance with definitions above with residents receiving one of four

‘levels’ of ‘warden’ support from Sheltered Housing Coordinators.

Unusually, not least for a housing stock of its size, there is only one ‘traditional’ sheltered

housing scheme (Eleonore House) albeit this is classified by the Council as ‘Very Sheltered’ or

‘Extra-care’. There are also only 24 bedsits/studios, a very low number given the size of the

sheltered housing stock. This is probably a direct consequence of there being only one of the

more traditional types of sheltered housing scheme. Instead, the bulk of the stock comprises

bungalows and flats of which there is roughly a 50:50 split. Of the 1,188 bungalows two thirds

(786) have one bedroom and the remaining third (402) have two bedrooms. This gives a

relatively high proportion of two bed bungalow stock. Of the 1,087 flats, just over three

quarters (76%) have one bedroom whilst 250 (24%) have two bedrooms, again quite a large

proportion for sheltered housing stock.

A summary breakdown of the Council’s sheltered housing stock is provided in the table below:

Figure 3.1 Northampton BC Sheltered Housing Stock

Rented stock

Bedsit/Studio 1 bed flat

2 bed flat

1 bed bungalow

2 bed bungalow

house

Number 24 837 250 786 402 8

% 1% 36% 11% 34% 17.5% 0.5%

A detailed schedule of all the Council’s sheltered housing accommodation is provided at

Appendix 1.

Looking at comparator organisations, Northampton BC has both a much larger number and

percentage of properties designated for older persons. At 19%, it is more than double the

average of 8.76% for the 8 authorities.

Figure 3.2 Older person’s housing stock – comparator organisations

Local authority Total stock Older person’s stock % of stock which is for older persons

Ashford 10,518 516 4.91%

Colchester 15,841 1,292 8.16%

Harlow 12,307 715 5.81%

Hounslow 13,653 366 2.68%

North Tyneside 15,839 1,941 12.25%

Portsmouth 15,301 1,480 9.67%

Stockport 11,954 915 7.65%

Northampton 12,244 2,307 19%

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Other Provider’s Accommodation

Other providers own/manage a total of 1,260 units of older person’s accommodation across

Northampton borough, equating to just over a third (35%) of the total older person’s stock of

3,567 units. Of these 1,260 units, 735 (58%) are for rent in the social/voluntary sector whilst

525 (42%) are leasehold. Of the 1,260 units, over half (721, 57%) are sheltered, 199 (16%)

are non-sheltered and 340 (27%) are extra-care.

Looking at the social/voluntary sector rented stock of these other providers, 378 (51%) of

the 735 units are sheltered, accounting for just over half, 167 (23%) are non-sheltered and 190

(26%) are extra-care. The principal providers are East Midlands HA with 301 units (41%) and

Hanover Housing with 101 units (14%). A summary of the social rented accommodation of

other providers is given at Figure 3.3.

Figure 3.3 Other Providers – Social Rented – Scheme Details

Organisation Name Scheme Name No.

units

Unit

type/s

Scheme

category

Murray House 41 Flats NS

Garfield House 29 Flats S

Collingwood House 25 Flats S

Abingdon Lodge 42 Bungalows S

Elizabeth House 46 Flats S

Chapel House 20 Flats NS

Carol Trusler Mews 10 Flats NS

Byron/Shelley St 20 Flats NS

Addlecroft Estate 43 Flats S

Carey Court 7 Bungalows NS

Crispian House 14 Flats NS

East Midlands HA

Lower Adelaide St 4 Flats NS

Camberley Close 39 Flats S

Hanover Court 39 Flats S

Hanover HA

Runnymede Gardens 23 Flats S

Simon de Senlis 36 Flats C

Howard Biley Gardens 10 Bungalows NS

Hyde Housing

Candace Court 30 Bungalows NS Northampton Municipal Church Charity St Thomas House 17 Flats S Abbeyfield Society Dorcas Court 11 Studios S Midland Heart - run by Extra Care Charitable Trust St Crispins Retirement Village 120 Flats C Muir Group Benham Court 40 Flats S

Avery Healthcare Brampton View Care Village 34

Mixed flats &

bungalows C St Giles Charity Estates Edward Watson Close 11 Bungalows NS Gharana Asian Housing Semilong, 89 Semilong Road 24 Flats S

735 Key: S = Sheltered, NS = Non-Sheltered, C = Extra-care

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In the private sector, 343 (65%) of the 525 units are sheltered, accounting for nearly two

thirds of the units. 32 (6%) are non-sheltered and 150 (29%) are extra-care. The principal

providers/managers are Peverel Management, who manage 6 leasehold schemes and an

Extra Care Charitable Trust with connections with Midland Heart who manage 150 leasehold

units.

A summary of the private sector accommodation is given at Figure 3.4.

Figure 3.4 Other Providers – Private Sector – Scheme Details

Organisation Name Scheme Name No.

units

Unit

type/s

Scheme

category

Sheraton Close 57 Bungalows S

Albion Court 58 Flats S

Lalgates Court 40 Flats S

Brampton View 14 Bungalows S

Brampton View 20 Flats

Peverel Management

Old School House 36 Flats S Retirement Security Ltd

King Richard Court 52 Flats S Orchard Block

Management Burlington House 39 Flats S

Fairway Oak Management Fairway Oak 27 Bungalows S Midland Heart – run by St Crispin’s Extra Care Charity

St Crispin’s Retirement Village 150 Flats C

Management Agency Manning Court 32 Flats NS

525 Key: S = Sheltered, NS = Non-Sheltered, C = Extra-care

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4.0 Demographics, Needs & Demands

Local Demographics

The most recent (2001) Census data, shows Northampton Borough Council having a

population of 194,458 (Source: 2001 Census, Office for National Statistics website). In 2001

just over 44,500 people were aged 55 or over (23% of the total) and just over 25,000 were

aged over 65 (13%)

The population pyramid at Figure 4.1 shows the age split across Northampton at the time of

the 2001 Census. The blue line represents the UK average and this clearly highlights an

above average population in the 15-34 age range and below average population in the 55-75

range. Ten years on, the 50-54 age range will now be 60-64 and some will possibly be

considering changing their housing situation.

The Department of Communities & Local Government and the Department of Health’s

‘Projecting Older People Population Information System’ (POPPI) has been used to

extrapolate out the population information for Northampton. In 2001, there were 81,000

households in the borough; by 2008 this was estimated to have increased to 90,000 (11%

increase on 2001) and the long-range estimates are that by 2033 the number of households

will have increased to 127,000 (a 41% increase on 2008)3.

Figure 4.1 Population Pyramid (Source: 2001 Census, Crown copyright)

3 Source: Department of Communities & Local Government

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The POPPI data breaks the population down into age ranges over 65, allowing a more

detailed review. The table at Figure 4.2 shows the projections to 2030.4

Figure 4.2 Northampton Projected Population by age bands over 65

Population Groups 2001 (Census)

2010 2015 2020 2025 2030

People aged 65-69 7,022 8,600 11,200 10,100 11,200 12,900

People aged 70-74 6,609 6,800 7,900 10,300 9,400 10,400

People aged 75-79 5,826 5,500 6,100 7,200 9,400 8,700

People aged 80-84 3,845 4,400 4,500 5,200 6,200 8,100

People aged 85-89 2,122 2,800 3,000 3,300 4,000 4,900

People aged 90 and over

1,091 1,400 1,800 2,300 2,900 3,800

Total population 65 and over

26,514 29,500 34,500 38,400 43,100 48,800

Percentage increase from 2001

11% 30% 45% 62.5% 84%

(Figures may not sum due to rounding, Crown copyright 2010)

The projected 2010 figures suggest an increase of 11% in those aged 65 and over. The

estimates also suggest a further 30% increase in this age range in the ten years after 2010.

This is a faster rate than the average for England, which runs at 23% for the same period.

This rate quickens and the difference between the increase in over 65s in Northampton,

compared with the average for England, is even greater by 2030.

For 2010, the projected figures expect the over 65s to make up 14% of the overall population

in the borough and over 85s to make up 2.8%. Within 20 years, the over 65s will account for

18% of the borough’s population and the over 85s will have increased to 3.25%.

The ageing of our population is well documented. Recent research by DCLG suggests that

20% of children born today will live to be over 100. In December 2010, research by the

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) predicts that the number of centenarians will rise

steeply in the next 70 years, with 17% of the UK's current 62 million residents reaching that

landmark age.

The ageing of the population within Northampton is evident from the table above, with the

number of people over 90 expected to increase from 1,400 in 2010 to 3,800 in 2030, an

almost two-fold increase. This will have serious socio-economic issues for Northampton but,

more importantly in relation to this Review, it could result in a significant increase in demand

for appropriate older person’s housing across a variety of tenure types.

4 POPPI

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Ownership

In 2001, Northampton Borough had 80,822 households5, of which 18% were in social rented

housing. 71.25% of households either owned their property outright or had a mortgage on the

property.

National research has identified that the clear majority of older person households (where the

household reference person was someone aged 50 and over) in the United Kingdom were

owner-occupied in 2007. More than half of the older people households own their homes

outright and just under a quarter are buying their home with a mortgage. But the percentage

of owner-occupied households decreases with age from 79 per cent for those aged 50-64, to

63 per cent for those aged 85 and over. A fifth of older people households rent from the social

sector but only one in 20 rent privately. The percentage of older people households that are in

social rented accommodation increases with age. Among those households where the

household reference person is aged 50 to 64, 16 per cent are social renters. This percentage

increases to 22 per cent for those aged 65 to 84 and to 32 per cent for those aged 85 and

over.

At the time of the 2001 Census, Northampton had a higher percentage of owner occupiers and

a lower percentage of social renters than the average for England.

With the growth in the number of older people in the UK and with increasing numbers of them

living in owned homes, it is important that their accommodation remains suitable for their

needs. Two thirds of the oldest households (where the household reference person is aged

85 and over) have very or fairly easy access to a corner shop, a large supermarket, post office

and to a doctor, compared with more than 90 per cent of households where the household

reference person is aged 50 to 64. The most common house adaptations in older households

are handrails, bathroom modifications and alerting devices such as button alarms. As could

be expected, the percentage of houses with adaptations increases with the age of the

household. About 30 per cent of the households where a core member is aged 75 and over

have access to hand rails, 26 per cent have bathroom modifications and 14 per cent have

alerting devices installed.6 .

The Census data and the population predictions clearly show a ballooning of the demographic

chart for people over 65. The Office for National Statistics projects that by 2033 nearly 25% of

the population of England will be over 65, whilst just 18% will be under 16. Housing need for

the over 65s will become increasingly important, as will their care and support needs.

5 (Source: 2001 Census, Office for National Statistics)

6 (Source: General Household Survey, 2007, Office for National Statistics; Survey of English Housing, 2005/06,

Department for Communities and Local Government; English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, Wave 3, 2005/06)

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Although the majority of older people are women, life expectancy among men is increasing at

a faster rate than women’s, partly as a result of its lower original base. This means that

whereas in the past, sheltered schemes were often dominated by single women, older couples

are now increasing in number and accommodation provision will need to reflect this.

With advances in medical science leading to people living longer this brings with it a whole

host of health issues, ailments and conditions experienced by people in increasingly older age.

Recent research on the extent of dementia within older people has only served to highlight this

issue. The POPPI database identifies the percentage of people over 65 with a limiting long-

term illness. Nationally, 47% of people had a limiting long -term illness in 2010, with this

expected to rise to 48% by 2030.

Ethnicity

At the time of the 2001 Census, 88% of the population was White British. The other 12% of

the population covered a number of ethnic groups. The POPPI data has estimated that in

2007, Northampton had 905 people between the ages of 65 and 74 from non-white ethnic

groups, 377 between the ages of 75 and 84 and just 60 over the age of 85. Although not high

numbers now, these numbers are likely to increase.

Demand

Looking at how the above overview of demographics and needs translates into current

demand, it has been established that there are currently 3,220 applicants currently registered

on the Council’s Choice Based Lettings System who would qualify for the designated

sheltered housing stock, representing 42% of all applicants.

An examination of the most recent 115 sheltered lettings reveals that each available sheltered

property received an average of 25 bids, but this masks a substantial variation between the

number of bids received, ranging from as few as none (e.g. at Ecton Brook), up to as many as

94 (Sandringham Close, Abington). This is half the average number of bids received for all

properties where, taking all lettings for sheltered and general needs properties over the same

time period, each property attracted 52 bids.

Looking at the relative popularity of areas, an analysis has been undertaken to identify which

areas are the most popular, based of the average number of bids per property within the area.

On this basis, the three most popular areas for sheltered accommodation are Camp Hill

(Parson’s Meade), Hardingstone (Hardy Drive) and King’s Heath (Nene Drive). By way of

comparison, the same analysis for ‘all properties’ reveals the three most popular areas as

being Kingsley, Upton and Great Houghton, with the three least popular areas being Camp

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Hill, Goldings and Thorplands. This seems to indicate that whilst Camp Hill is very popular for

its sheltered accommodation it is amongst the least popular when looking at ‘all properties’.

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5.0 Housing Management, Sheltered & Repairs Services

A recent restructure within the Council has seen the creation of a single housing directorate

that has brought together all the Council’s housing functions, principally management &

maintenance of the Council’s own housing stock (both general needs & sheltered), strategic

housing and private sector housing. A Head of Landlord Services takes responsibility for

delivery of the housing management service, the repairs service and for strategic asset

management issues whilst the Head of Strategic Housing leads on cross tenure strategic

housing issues and management of the housing options and sheltered housing services.

The Sheltered Housing Service

The Council’s Sheltered Housing Service is delivered ‘on the ground’ by a team of Sheltered

Housing Coordinators who, with the exception of two members of staff located at the very

sheltered scheme, Eleonore House, are not scheme based. Rather, they provide ‘floating

support’ working in teams of 4 or 5, covering a number of different schemes across a

particular geographical area. A central control service takes intercom calls from residents in

emergencies and contacts/liaises with the Sheltered Housing Coordinators as necessary.

The role of the Sheltered Housing Coordinators is set out to residents as being to:

• Check on residents’ wellbeing

• Give advice, information and other housing related support

• Help residents to develop social contacts and gain access to other services

• Help residents to establish and maintain security and safety within their home

• Give advice and support when repairs need to be done

• Monitor (but not administer) taking of medication and provide short terms assistance

in times that a resident is unwell

• Develop and monitor individual resident ‘support plans’, with the aim being to

encourage, facilitate and maintain residents’ independence

Individual checks or visits to residents are carried out in accordance with the assessed need of

individual residents, but on the basis of one of four ’levels’:

• Level 1 – visit once a month

• Level 2 – visit 3 times a week

• Level 3 – visit every day

• Level 4 – on site support 9am til 5pm every day (Eleonore House)

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There are mechanisms in place to assess and alter the frequency of visits and intensity of

support as and when individual circumstances change, whether temporarily (such as on

discharge from hospital) or permanently.

As at 24th May 2011, over half (56%) of sheltered housing residents received Level 1 support,

38% received Level 2 support, 1% received Level 3 support and a further 1% received Level 4

support.

The sheltered housing staff took part in four focus groups, run concurrently, in which they were

asked to think about what aspects currently work well, what could be improved and any ideas

for improvements, all in respect of four key issues; schemes in general, individual

accommodation, services to residents and staff & work practice. The combined views,

opinions and ideas from the focus groups is provided at Appendix 3. They demonstrate a

generally good awareness by the staff of what currently works well and of where

improvements could be made or particular opportunities exist, with a very brief summary

overview provided at Figure 5.1.

Good Aspects Areas for Improvement

Some good examples of

good quality schemes

Some stock ‘not fit for purpose’ due to a wide range of

shortcomings, particularly relating to condition, quality,

accessibility, facilities and amenities.

The 24/7 support offer Some poorly located schemes, where residents feel isolated

Knowledge & experience of

staff team

Make greater use of community rooms

Opportunities to extend support services to general needs

stock and private sector

Opportunities to adjust and develop the role of sheltered

housing coordinators, extending into areas such as

allocations

Figure 5.1 Summary overview of sheltered housing staff focus groups

Housing Related Support & Supporting People

Under the current commissioning arrangements between Northamptonshire County Council

and Northampton Borough Council all residents within the Council’s designated sheltered

housing stock are eligible to receive Supporting People funding to cover the costs of the

Sheltered Housing Coordinator and Central Control service, subject to income based eligibility

criteria. Around 89% of sheltered housing residents are currently eligible for and in receipt of

SP funding to cover the housing support charges; the other 11% of residents pay the charges

themselves.

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The County Council is currently working to re-commission its Supporting People contracts

under a new system of ‘Prevention Funding’. This has the potential to affect both the eligibility

and availability of SP funding for the Council’s existing and future residents.

Rents & Service Charges

Current average weekly rents in the sheltered housing accommodation for each of the

following size of property are as follows:

One bed £69.12

Two bed £79.21

Three bed £87.80

Four bed £95.65

Five bed £100.89

No service charges are payable in any of the sheltered flats and bungalows, save for at

Eleonore House, the very sheltered scheme. The current weekly rent at Eleonore House is

£66.00 on top of which is a fuel service charge of £8.16 and a housing related support charge

of £63.27.

The council has not ‘de-pooled’ its rents and service charges and therefore, at present, the

Council is unable to confirm whether the cost of services, principally garden maintenance and

cleaning, is fully recovered by rents and/or service charges.

Repairs & Estate Services

Day to day repairs and maintenance to all the Council’s housing properties is undertaken by

its own direct labour force, with a range of external contractors undertaking specialist trades.

An assessment of the day to day repairs service, including an examination of day to day

repairs costs at sheltered housing schemes, has not formed part of the Review. However, it is

noted that the Council’s stock condition data shows elements of work to deal with a backlog of

poor conditions across the whole stock totalling £69m between 2010-15, works that are over

and above those works necessary

Void maintenance is undertaken against an agreed ‘lettable standard’ to ensure that

properties meet minimum standards in terms of their condition, that they are safe and that

statutory checks are undertaken. The lettable standard does not ordinarily provide for

redecoration works to take place due to the associated high costs, or for replacement of old

kitchens, bathrooms etc. as these tend only to be replaced as part of planned Decent Homes

programmes. Sample inspections of some voids found they met only the most basic of relet

standards and it would therefore be beneficial for the lettable standard to be reviewed.

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Garden and grounds maintenance for the housing properties was undertaken ‘in-house’ by the

Council’s direct labour force until earlier in 2011 when a new external contract was procured

for the carrying out of all grounds maintenance to Council owned land, to include parks,

landscaped areas and the Council’s housing properties across the Borough. The cost of this

service and the service levels are not broken down for the sheltered housing stock and, given

the size/scale of the contract, it is proving difficult to undertake performance management of

the contract either by scheme or even for the whole of the sheltered housing stock. During the

Review, extensive and serious shortcomings were observed in terms of the standard of

garden maintenance being delivered at the sheltered housing properties, with many of the

schemes having very long grass and extensive growth of well established weeds in

flowerbeds, shrubberies and on paths. These observations have been brought to the

Council’s attention and it is understood they are being addressed.

Housing Revenue Account Reform

The government’s reform of local authority housing finance means that from April 2012 all

Councils with retained housing stock will become ‘self financing’ under a framework of

redistributed housing debt. The debt figure to be allocated to Northampton is due to be

announced in November 2011 and this will determine the Council’s potential scope for taking

on additional debt to meet the anticipated costs of maintaining and investing in the housing

stock over the long term, subject to caps on borrowing capacity. The Council is currently

working through its options for how it might best tackle the backlog of repairs and

maintenance, the Decent Homes backlog and the need to maintain the stock at the DHS for

the long term. The options and opportunities for carrying out works will be determined by the

level of permissible borrowing and the confirmation or otherwise of the provisional allocation

for Decent Homes backlog funding. In developing its long term strategic asset management

plans the Council will also need to consider the relative merits of maintaining and investing in

each of the currently designated sheltered housing schemes.

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6.0 Scheme Conditions & Standards

A major part of the Review has entailed the undertaking of an overview assessment of the

condition, quality and attributes of the Northampton BC sheltered housing stock, coupled with

the carrying out of Scheme Assessments to rate the schemes against an agreed range of

criteria for older person’s housing, including wider location and accessibility issues.

The purpose of carrying out these assessments has been to develop an overview

understanding of scheme conditions, quality and attributes and to benchmark each individual

scheme against a wide ranging and comprehensive set of criteria. By assessing each of the

schemes in this way, the objective has been to establish their general/relative condition and

quality, the presence and standard of attributes/facilities, the relative extent to which they meet

the sheltered housing standard and then to draw conclusions as to the future investment

requirement – and potentially sustainability – of the stock.

There are no specific national standards for sheltered housing, albeit that there are general

standards such as Decent Homes, Lifetime Homes and for Extra Care housing. However, CIH

has worked with a number of organisations to develop bespoke scheme standards, having

due reference to best practice in the sector.

The condition and attributes survey assesses and compares the schemes in terms of their

general overall condition, their quality of construction and the standard of their facilities.

Meanwhile, the assessment against the Sheltered Scheme Standard includes for a wide range

of factors including locational issues, external property attributes, internal communal area

attributes, health and safety factors and individual accommodation facilities.

Scope of Surveys

The overview assessment of housing conditions and attributes has been undertaken for all the

Council’s sheltered housing schemes by two experienced house condition surveyors. The

overview assessment has comprised:

• An inspection of each scheme, looking at general property conditions, environmental

conditions and a range of attributes

• A detailed individual internal and external survey of one or more sample property/ies

or ‘unit/s’ in each scheme, undertaking a separate survey for each different property

type within each scheme. (For example, if a scheme contains both bungalows and

one bed flats, one survey has been undertaken for a bungalow and a separate one for

a flat).

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• A detailed survey of common parts, where present.

• A survey of conditions & attributes for all community rooms.

The individual scope of the surveys has covered:

• the general state of repair of the principal external building elements

• the general state of repair of the principal internal building elements

• identification of the presence & standard/quality of various facilities/amenities

• judgements against the Housing Health & Safety Rating System (HHSRS)

• assessment against the Decent Homes Standard

• assessment of the general condition/standard of internal communal areas, where

present

• assessment of the external grounds, including scheme accessibility

For management purposes the Council currently has 65 identified sheltered housing schemes

and a further 12 ‘diminishing’ schemes that have been redesignated as ‘general needs’

housing but that still contain some sheltered residents. As many of the schemes include a

combination of both bungalows and flats this has meant that a total of 106 surveys have been

carried out, 94 of which are at currently designated sheltered housing.

Assessment of the Designated Sheltered Housing Stock

Construction Characteristics

The characteristics of the housing property type groups currently designated as sheltered

housing are summarised as follows:

Property Types/Groups

• Well over half (59%) are bungalows whilst just under half (48%) are purpose built

blocks. (compared with 51.5% of the total units being bungalows and 48.5% being

flats).

• A third (33%) comprise a collection of seven or more separate buildings/blocks, a fifth

(19%) comprise just one building/block whilst the remainder comprise mainly two, three

of four buildings/blocks.

• Just over two thirds comprise only ground floor dwellings, nearly a quarter (23%) are

two storey blocks with the remaining 8% being three or more storey blocks.

• Nearly three quarters (73%) date to the period 1950 to 1979, nearly a quarter (24%)

date to the period 1980 to 1989 with 2% dating to between 1919 and 1949.

• Nearly all (97%) are of traditional brick built construction, with 2% being of concrete

construction and 1% being portal framed.

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• Over three quarters have no evidence of external (cavity) wall insulation.

• The large majority (93%) have pitched roofs.

• Nearly all (96%) have UPVC double glazed windows, with just over three quarters

(76%) dating to post 1990 but with 20% dating to 1980-1989.

Access

• Looking at front door arrangements, the large majority (81%) have their own external

entrance door, 14% have access to the units through communal areas with the

remaining 5% having a combination of own/shared external entrance doors.

• Nearly three quarters (73%) have pathways in the grounds that are either level or safely

sloping. However, a fifth (20%) have units that are all accessed either via pathways

with steps or by steeply sloping ramps.

• Around 15% of flats (equating to around 7% of the total number of sheltered housing

units) are located at first floor level with access only by means of a staircase

• Only a fifth (21%) (19 of the 94 property type groups) have units that all provide either

level access or retrofit ramp access.

• A third (34%) have units where are all accessed by one step up to the front door

• Well over a third of units (38%) have at least some units that are accessed by two or

more steps, with 6% of property type groups having all units with 4 or more steps to

access the property.

• The large majority (84%) have units that are not served by a door entry buzzer/system.

• Over a quarter (26%) have no on site parking provision.

External Conditions

An assessment of the condition of 17 principal external elements is provided at Figure 6.1.

The table gives the percentage of properties that fall within four ‘condition groups’, ranging

from ‘excellent condition’ (no obvious requirement for work) through to ‘poor condition’

(extensive works, repairs, renewals required).

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The table shows that the building elements in the poorest general condition and most

frequently needing the highest level of repair/replacement/renewal are: pathways (85% of

property type groups), gardens/grounds (66%), steps (42%), window frames (37%), entrance

doors (32%), walls/fences (29%) and external decorations (24%).

Element % N/A % Excellent

(no obvious requirement for work)

% Good (only minor works required)

% Moderate (a range of repairs, works, replacements required)

% Poor (extensive repairs, works, renewals required)

Roofs 27 57 14 2

Gutters & RWPs 22 60 15 2

External walls 39 53 6 1

External timbers 2 26 54 18 0

External decorations

24 49 24 2

Entrance door/s 37 31 19 13

Window frames 14 50 26 11

External lighting 20 13 50 13 4

Driveway, lay by & car park surfaces

18 3 39 31 9

Pathways 0 4 11 47 38

Steps 15 10 33 20 22

Ramps 61 9 24 5 1

Garages 95 0 3 2 0

Handrails 62 10 12 17 0

Walls/fences/hedging

29 12 23 29 7

Gardens/grounds 3 5 26 49 17

Garden seating 94 2 2 2 0

Figure 6.1 Condition Assessment – External Elements

External Scheme Overview

An overview assessment has been made for each of the property type groups looking at five

principal criteria with the findings as follows:

Visual Quality

Excellent

14%

Good

48%

Moderate

32%

Poor

6%

Quality of Construction

Excellent

15%

Good

1%

Moderate

77%

Poor

7%

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Condition of Scheme

Excellent

3%

Good

50%

Moderate

45%

Poor

2%

Quality of Immediate/Local

Environment

Excellent

2%

Good

45%

Moderate

39%

Poor

14%

Quality of Accommodation Units

Excellent

2%

Good

45%Moderate

47%

Poor

6%

Internal Conditions

The requirement for repairs or renewals tends to be in respect of fixtures, fittings and services

(e.g. kitchen fittings/flooring, bathroom fittings/flooring and heating systems/controls) rather

than to items relating to the building fabric (e.g. wall surfaces, ceiling surfaces, skirtings and

door frames). There are no particular repair/renewal issues that have been identified for

communal areas.

Thus, the items in respect of which works are particularly required are:

Internal doors Nearly a quarter (23%) have been assessed to be in moderate to

poor condition

Electrical fittings A third (33%) have been assessed to be in a moderate to poor

condition

Kitchen units A third (33%) have been assessed to be in a moderate condition and

a further third (33%) in a poor condition

Kitchen worktops 18% assessed to be in a moderate condition and just over a third

(34%) in a poor condition

Kitchen flooring Just a fifth (21%) are in a moderate condition whilst a further fifth

(21%) are in a poor condition

WC Nearly a quarter 23%) are in a moderate condition whilst 13% are in a

poor condition

Documents

NORTHAMPTON BOROUGH COUNCIL Sheltered Housing Services ... · 1 All sourced in CIH’s Housing, Health and Care report, but see also Lifetime Homes. Lifetime Neighbourhoods: A National