New planning guidance due to be announced by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles tomorrow (Wednesday) will put pressure on councils to build more bungalows for the country’s ageing population.
And it will be done on the basis of census figures revealing the age profile of councils such as Wiltshire, to ensure that the right mix of new property is developed according to local needs.
Planners will have to ensure there were enough properties of the right type — including a new generation of bespoke bungalows made available only to older people.
Once popular in the 1950s and 1960s, bungalow building slowed in the 1980s and accounted for just two per cent of new planning projects last year, one reason being that they are less profitable for developers.
Planning Minister Nick Boles now says pensioners do want to move into bungalows, which can be easily adapted as they grow older and infirm.
“We must build more homes or suitable accommodation for older people if we are to avoid problems further down the track,” he declares.
“We’re all living longer and there will be a big rise in the number of older people in future years. Making sure councils plan for this, and for enough suitable homes like bungalows in their area, will help ensure the ageing population can live in the places that they want and enjoy their retirement.”
According to 2011 Census data, more than 250,000 people in the West Country are aged 65 or over out of a total population in of 1,278,700.
The regulations on bungalows are due to be introduced as part of the Government’s national planning guidance, including plans to remove council tax premiums on family annexes and allow bigger extensions without planning permission.
Current planning rules make it unattractive for developers to build one-story properties over detached family homes or multi-storey apartments.
Richard Copus, a spokesman for the National Association of Estate Agents in the South West, tells the Western Morning News it is less attractive financially to build more bungalows.
“In the late 1950s and 1960s there was a surplus of bungalows built,” he points out. “The people that speak to me don’t generally want bungalows but they haven’t built any for years, it’s a very good idea. I think we have got to be careful. “It’s a good idea to include them in the mix, alongside affordable housing.”
Only 300 bungalows were built in 2009 and last year builders registered plans to construct 1,700 bungalows with the NatioHal House Building Council, with many not yet built.
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