Each month we meet key stakeholders and business leaders in the social care sector. This month we speak to Sarah Roe, Director at Nexus Planning, a leading consultancy focused on planning, policy and research for later living and care developments.
How does Nexus collaborate with care operators, housing associations, and local authorities on projects?
Nexus Planning adopts a collaborative approach to working with all our clients, including care operators and housing associations, throughout the lifecycle of projects. This involves working closely with clients to understand the nature of their developments so we are able to explain and present proposals to local authorities in the best possible way. We also guide clients successfully though the pre-application, application and/or appeals process, providing them with advice on planning strategy, as well as promoting sites through the Local Plan process.
We also pride ourselves on maintaining good relationships with local authorities in order to help smooth the planning process for our clients. Our in-house Analytics and Research team also supports authorities by helping prepare housing for older people Needs Assessments to form part of Local Plan evidence bases, in turn helping inform local planning policies relating to this type of accommodation.
What needs or gaps in current provision are you seeing that local plans should be responding to?
In view of the ageing population, it is my view that there shouldn’t be any policy requirement to demonstrate a need for this form of development. However, many local policies require this even though the authority concerned may not have an up-to-date assessment of need themselves, which puts the onus on developers to demonstrate this as part of planning applications and is an unnecessary barrier to delivery.
Few Local Plans also contain site allocations for housing for older people, meaning there is no long-term planning for their housing needs and certainty of delivery. That said, I’m pleased to see the new draft NPPF place greater emphasis on meeting the housing needs of older people and encourage Local Plans to include site allocations.
How does Nexus engage with housing and planning policy at the national or local level for this sector?
Nexus Planning publishes insights and critiques on national and local planning policy relating to older people, which I like to think has positively influenced the planning system.
We also regularly prepare representations to policy consultations at both national and local level and can attend Local Plan Examinations on behalf of clients, which similarly has helped shape local planning policies.
Our in-house Analytics and Research team also prepares detailed Needs Assessments as part of Local Plan evidence bases, which details the scale of need for each form of accommodation within the sector, again helping shape policies related to housing for older people in emerging Local Plans.
What lessons have you learned about social inclusion and wellbeing in senior living communities?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is how important social inclusion is to the wellbeing of older people (as well as the rest of us!). Loneliness is a key issue facing older people, and multiple studies have shown that feeling socially connected and engaged is linked with reduced depression and greater life satisfaction generally.
Purpose-built senior living communities obviously offer a high standard of accommodation designed with residents in mind, which in itself can provide a mental boost. However, they also foster a sense of community and enable social participation through for example the provision of on-site wellbeing facilities and organised activities, which makes a huge contribution to mental and physical wellbeing.
How do you measure the impact of senior living developments on local communities?
Our in-house Analytics and Research team prepares Health Impact Assessments and Economic Impact Assessments in support of planning applications. These carry out data-driven analyses of GP admissions, local expenditure from staff and visitors, the impact of the development on the local housing market and the jobs generated at construction and operational stages for example, to analyse the health and economic impacts of later living developments.
What legacy do you hope Nexus Planning leaves in the senior living sector?
A meaningful legacy would be for Nexus to be known as one of the most prominent planning consultants in the sector. I’d also like us to have made a sizeable dent in the significant need for more housing for older people, and to have delivered some of the most high quality and exemplar schemes in the sector that will be around for years to come.
Sarah Roe, Director, Nexus Planning