Lois Beech calls for intergenerational communities to become part of everyday placemaking at national conference

Lois Beech, Assistant Director: Commercial and Partnerships at the Housing LIN, was among the speakers at Housing 21’s annual conference last week, where sector leaders discussed how to improve rightsizing options for an ageing population. Her contribution has since been covered by Inside Housing.

Lois told delegates that intergenerational communities rarely emerge by chance. They depend on the right mix of housing, accessible and well-connected places, shared spaces people actually want to use and, crucially, ongoing stewardship. She also pointed to a persistent barrier: planners often see older people’s housing as an add-on or specialist requirement, rather than part of planning for a community across the life course.

Lois acknowledged the recent recommendations from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Housing and Care for Older People, for which the Housing LIN provided secretariat support. These include incentivising intergenerational communities through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme. But she stressed that housing providers need not wait for national policy to shift, and can start building good practice in their own developments. Her aim is for intergenerational thinking to become “just good, ordinary placemaking”, embedded in everything the sector does.

Read the full article on the Inside Housing website below, or read the APPG report for more information.