Lessons from Housing 21 – building homes and communities for an ageing population
28 May 2026
All our members are unique, but Housing 21’s focus on homes for older people brings a new perspective to our work and new opportunities to learn for our members.
“I’d live there” – was what I came away thinking after I visited homes on a day with Housing 21, one of our newest members who specialise in homes for older people.
Many of our members build and provide retirement homes and extra care schemes, and many more are considering how to respond to the challenges of an ageing population, but for Housing 21 this is the reason they exist.
Thanks to a day with Bruce Moore, Chief Executive of Housing 21, and his inspirational team, there is much to take from how they design and build homes and communities for older people that will resonate with members of all types, sizes and geographies.
Here are my top five takeaways:
1.Housing for older people must be about community, not just accommodation
Housing 21 are a national provider but are focussed on the localities where they work and their structure reflects that, with scheme managers at the heart. Each scheme operates like a mini community but is integrated into the broader community around it. The importance of community in these schemes came across strongly again from staff who showed us round, but they didn’t need to tell us, the buzz from the restaurant and lounges said it all.
2.Local leadership and resident empowerment matter
At Housing 21 scheme managers are given autonomy and freedom and both strategic and day to day decisions are made in partnership with residents, which means each scheme is unique. At Eric Long Court we met Julie who had been scheme manager there for 16 years. Julie showed us round and described the sense of community that exists there. I particularly liked the gardening group they have who collectively look after the beautiful gardens they can sit out in and enjoy - it could have easily been an exhibit at Chelsea Flower show!
3.Older people’s housing should feel aspirational
One of the most striking aspects of the schemes we saw was that they felt welcoming, modern and desirable. At Poppy Meadows and Fern Meadows, two new extra care schemes, the rooms are stunning - even the guest room looked like a Hilton Hotel room. Housing for later life should not feel like a compromise or a last resort. Future provision needs to challenge outdated perceptions and create places where people would genuinely choose to live.
I judge housing based on whether I’d live there. I’d live in any of the schemes we saw and would certainly be happy to recommend anyone else did.
4.Investment in existing homes is as important as building new ones
Over the last 10 years, Housing 21 have built a quarter of all older people’s housing developed through Homes England funding programmes – that’s no small achievement. But existing schemes are not forgotten. Bruce described how they have a 10-year refurbishment programme to ensure older schemes don’t fall behind in the standard of homes residents can expect. This programme is not funded through service charges but through Housing 21’s own resources.
Maintaining quality across existing homes helps preserve dignity, pride and long-term sustainability for residents. Planning for an ageing population requires long-term asset investment strategies, not just ambitious development targets.
5.Affordability and support must remain central
All rents are at social rent levels (even those developed in recent years required to be developed at affordable rent levels have since been reduced to social rents). As people live longer, more older residents will face financial pressures alongside increasing support needs so housing models need to integrate affordability, accessibility, care and wellbeing together rather than treating them separately.
I want to thank Bruce and his team for an inspiring day – from setting out from Shipley at 6.38am to returning home at 10.30pm after train delays – on the plus side, I had time reflect and write this blog.
All our members are unique, but Housing 21’s focus on homes for older people brings a new perspective to our work and new opportunities to learn for our members. I was also impressed to hear Bruce say how important learning is to Housing 21 too - a big part of them wanting to join PlaceShapers was to learn from what others are doing, so they can get better still.
I was pleased to have fellow PlaceShapers Board member Kate Wareing join us on the tour, who was thinking about the lessons and examples from Housing 21 that she will take back to her own organisation.
We finished off the day with Kate, as chief executive of Soha, showing us a net zero scheme Soha are developing with a local partner, which was equally amazing, for different reasons. Kate and her team also talked about how they are continuing to develop through section 106 and through new partnership models. We look forward to sharing more on this with our Development and Sustainability Networks.
Spending time with Housing 21 made one thing very clear - great housing for older people is about far more than bricks and mortar. It’s about creating places where people feel connected, valued and proud to live. From the autonomy given to scheme managers, to the investment in existing homes, their approach consistently puts residents and community first. As PlaceShapers continues to learn from its members, Housing 21 brings a wealth of experience, ambition and innovation that will undoubtedly strengthen our collective work across the sector.