Lifetime homes

Lifetime homes are homes that can be adapted in a variety of ways so that people can live in them throughout their lives.

Core Strategy Target 10.4

20 per cent of new dwellings developed to be Lifetime Homes standard (equating to 3,450 homes by 2021).

This target is below target but performance is approving.

For calculating performance against this target we have used as a proxy, planning conditions or Section 106 agreements applied to planning approvals for five or more dwellings.

In 2010 to 2011, 1,014 dwellings received approval on schemes of five or more dwellings. Planning conditions or Section 106 agreements on these sites should secure the delivery of 188 Lifetime Homes (19 per cent). This is the highest since the implementation of the policy and it shows the success of measures to increase awareness of the policy, and to ensure that the policy is applied to all approvals of five or more dwellings.

However there are some sites where it may not be appropriate to apply the policy. In 2010 to 2011 these were:

• 113 dwellings on sites receiving approval for student housing.
• 72 dwellings on a site where lifetime homes issues had been dealt with as part of previous outline condition.
• 13 dwellings on a site where refusal was overturned on appeal so there was no opportunity to add a lifetime homes condition.

If these sites are removed and the percentage is recalculated using the remaining 816 dwellings then the lifetime homes amounts to 23 per cent which for the first time exceeds the target for the year.

Because there are sites where it may not be appropriate to require lifetime homes, this target will be revised in the forthcoming review of Core Strategy targets.

This page of the annual monitoring report was last updated December 2011.