Council bosses asked to back extra care housing plan for Leeds

Council chiefs in Leeds will be asked to approve plans to provide up to 200 new council-owned extra care housing apartments at a meeting next week.

At the council’s executive board meeting to be held at Civic Hall on Monday 17 July, members will be asked to approve a proposal which involves potentially developing six sites in the city for council-owned extra care accommodation.

The sites identified in Rothwell, West Ardsley, Armley, Seacroft, Holt Park and Middleton form part of a commitment by the council to invest £30million in the development of extra care housing in Leeds, and working with partners with the aim of delivering over a thousand new extra care units to meet rising demand by 2028.

The council’s approach forms part of the Better Lives Programme, which aims to modernise how care and support is organised in line with older and disabled people’s aspirations. Extra care housing offers an alternative model to residential care, and is primarily for those who have care and support needs as well as a housing need.

Features of the extra care approach include:

• On-site access to 24/7 emergency or unplanned care
• Access to shared facilities, dining and activities to help alleviation isolation
• Allows people to use personal budgets to make their own arrangements for planned care
• Accommodation can be adapted to support the delivery of personal health and social care services

Extra care provision has also shown to result in savings for individuals and the council as it costs significantly less to deliver than residential care, even when recipients have medium to high care and support needs.

The potential sites for new extra care provision have been identified through the Council House Growth Programme, following on from the first council-owned extra care scheme being completed last November at Wharfedale View in Yeadon which has 45 mixed-tenure apartments.

Leeds City Council executive member for health, wellbeing and adults Councillor Rebecca Charlwood said:

“Increasing extra care provision in Leeds is a key element of the Better Lives Programme which aims to offer a greater choice of care accommodation. We have listened to what people told us they want and that is reflected in the programme as part of our drive for Leeds to be the best city to grow old in.”

Leeds City Council executive member for communities Councillor Debra Coupar said:

“Extra care housing is proving more and more popular because it helps people tailor their accommodation and support needs as they want them. The success of Wharfedale View, which has already won an award for its design, is a perfect example of that, so we are keen to work with all partners and stakeholders to develop this provision across the city.”

Leeds City Council is currently working with landowners, developers, care providers and stakeholders to encourage more extra care housing to be built, and has assessed sites across the city for their suitability in terms of location, proximity to local amenities and facilities plus how accessible they are by public transport.

The sites identified in the plan for the new apartments are at Windlesford Green at Rothwell, Westerton Walk in West Ardsley, Simpson Grove in Armley, the former Seacroft Library on Seacroft Crescent, land off Farrar Lane in Holt Park, and the former Middleton Skills Centre on Middleton Park Avenue.

Should plans be supported and developed the first of these schemes could be delivered by Autumn 2019.

Consultation on the extra care approach for the city has taken place with Voice for Older Leeds Tenants and the Leeds Older People’s Forum, with their views helping to shape the Leeds Older People’s Housing Prospectus produced in autumn 2015. Discussions have also been conducted with local ward members, with further engagement and consultation to follow in the locations for the new proposed accommodation.

Notes to editors:

Wharfedale View won the award for Inclusive Design at the West Yorkshire Local Authority Building Control (LABC) Awards last month.

ENDS

For media enquiries please contact:

Roger Boyde

Leeds City Council communications,

Tel: 0113 378 9164

Email: roger.boyde@leeds.gov.uk