Build homes for elderly on NHS land, says MP

Surplus NHS land should be used to build dedicated housing for older people, a former care minister says.

Lib Dem MP Paul Burstow - who led a review of residential care for the think tank Demos - said retirement villages and adapted flats were needed as well as traditional care homes.

The review also suggested planning rules could be relaxed and discounted prices offered to encourage investment.

In return, care providers could be asked to contribute to council care.

This could be done by setting quotas for the proportion of the new complexes set aside for state-funded care.

The model mirrors the Section 106 laws currently used to ensure property developers build affordable housing.

About 450,000 people in England live in residential care homes, but the numbers living in adapted housing known as extra care apartments or retirement complexes are much smaller.

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