Reflecting on 2024: Housing LIN’s Year in Review
As we approach the festive season and the New Year, we reflect on our top highlights and revisit some of the most popular resources from 2024, celebrating the accomplishments, lessons learned, and memorable moments that have defined the year. We also look ahead with excitement and anticipation, eager to embrace the opportunities and challenges that the coming year will bring!
Top 10 Resources
1. Older People’s Housing Taskforce Report, Our Future Homes
Six months on from submitting its recommendations, the government last month released the independent Older People’s Housing Taskforce report. Jeremy Porteus, CEO of Housing LIN, was pleased to be appointed to the Taskforce that was set up to look at how we can provide better choice, quality and security of housing for older people, including how to address regional disparities in supply of appropriate, and where necessary, specialised housing.
2. The Regeneration of Outdated Sheltered Housing Report
Housing LIN was commissioned as Secretariat for the latest APPG on Housing and Care for Older People into Regenerating Outdated Sheltered Housing looking at how best to regenerate our existing supply of outdated sheltered housing for 21st century standards. Launched in July 2024, the Inquiry's report calls for urgent upgrades to the estimated 527,000 sheltered housing properties in the UK.
3. Technology for our Ageing Population: Panel for Innovation (TAPPI)
The TAPPI project aimed to improve the way technology is used to support people living independently. Led by the Housing LIN and in partnership with the TEC Services Association (TSA), the findings were launched in March 2024. These findings helped to create a TAPPI Framework and inform others seeking to adopt the TAPPI principles.
4. Older People’s Housing Preferences Report
Produced by Housing LIN in partnership with Ipsos, this UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)-funded report offers critical and comprehensive evidence about the housing circumstances, aspirations and preferences of older adults in the UK based on a representative survey of over 5,500 UK adults aged 50 and over.
5. Grace House: A blueprint for inclusive and affordable over 55s living
Grace House, located in Westminster, integrates housing, social care, and health, addressing key goals in the Social Care White Paper. This Aster Group facility, featured as part of our Inspirational Achievement series, demonstrates innovation and partnership, offering high-quality, affordable accommodation for London residents aged 55 and over.
Read Inspirational Achievement
6. Designing Housing for Neurodiversity: A Thoughtful Approach to Inclusive Living
In this blog, Stephanie Kyle, Senior Architect and Inclusive Design Consultant at Floyd Slaski Architects Ltd, explores neurodiversity and how inclusive design can create environments that accommodate a wide range of neuro-cognitive profiles. Watch our subsequent HAPPI Hour webinar on 'Thinking beyond supported housing', where she discussed design for neurodiversity.
7. HAPPI Hour - Designing Housing for People with a Learning Disability and Autistic People
This HAPPI Hour webinar focused on Bath and North Somerset Council's efforts to address the increasing housing demand by developing supported and social housing through its B&NES Homes programme. Arcadis, engaged by the Council, presented the design of a landscape-led development featuring 16 houses and a clubhouse. The project targets individuals with learning disabilities and Autism, providing independent living spaces with care and support.
8. Bringing Generations Together: Unlocking Community Wellbeing with InCommon
InCommon, a charity addressing ageism and loneliness, has received funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to expand its intergenerational initiatives through an online platform. This platform helps local schools and retirement housing in the UK run their own intergenerational projects. Now called the 'Empower programme', this Housing LIN Consultancy report assesses the platform's effectiveness in supporting intergenerational activity and its social impact.
9. Housing LIN Case Study (No. 174) - More's Meadow Almshouses: A community-led development in Cambridgeshire
Written by Rowan Haysom, Director at Haysom Ward Miller Architects, this Housing LIN Case Study (No. 174) highlights the More’s Meadow Almshouses project, developed by the Great Shelford Village Charity. The project delivers 21 affordable homes in Cambridgeshire, emphasising community-led design, sustainability, and social connectivity.
10. Landscape Design Principles for Dementia Care (2nd edition)
This updated Housing LIN Factsheet (No. 35), written by Angeli Ganoo-Fletcher, Director, and Helene Saulue, Associate at PRP, emphasises the crucial role of well-designed landscaped gardens in enhancing residents' quality of life. It highlights their potential to promote physical and mental health, while also mitigating the impact of cognitive decline.
Learning and Improvement Activities - Key Highlights
We also celebrate other sharing and learning activities that have taken place over the year, including delivering 24 HAPPI Hour webinars, including our 100th (since they commenced in 2020), with over 3800 registrations and another 1600+ watching the recordings on our YouTube channel (opens new window) and publishing 55 informative and inspiring blogs from leading figures in the housing, health and social care sectors.
Moving forward...
Building on the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report and in anticipation of the upcoming government Housing Strategy, which is expected to focus on measures that facilitate the goal of constructing 1.5 million new homes over the next five years, we asked Housing LIN Members to share their perspectives on what should be included in the Strategy to address the housing needs and aspirations of an ageing population. Read here!
And stay tuned for Housing LIN's CEO, Jeremy Porteus' Top 5 Wishes for 2025, coming in the new year! His wishes will cover key themes, including boosting housing supply, retrofitting, HAPPI homes, lifelong neighbourhoods, and the call for an Older People's Commissioner.
SAVE THE DATE
And finally, we are delighted to invite you to next year's Housing LIN Conference, A Festival of Ideas on Age-friendly Housing and Connected Communities! We’ll be returning in-person to Leeds on 6th March 2025 and London 26th March 2025 to celebrate the latest research, policy developments and innovative practice on housing, care and technology solutions for our ageing population.
Season’s Greetings
We look forward to bringing you a further selection of essential news, views, resources and events in the year ahead. With thanks to all our members, partners and colleagues, stay connected for the latest in housing and care matters.
Season's Greetings from all of us at the Housing LIN!