Lavender View Building more than just homes

On 17 August 2026, 61 high-quality affordable rent apartments were handed over, and we are incredibly proud and excited to soon be welcoming people into their new homes to build a new, vibrant community.

Working closely with NCC at all stages of the development has been central to the success of Lavender View.

A shared vision

Our shared commitment to quality design, alongside early and meaningful face-to-face engagement, stems from a mutual understanding that developing extra care housing is not just about bricks and mortar—it is about supporting people through a significant life decision.

Lived experience feedback from Norfolk reinforced this approach. People told us they value receiving clear, joined-up information from professionals working together to support informed decision-making:

In response, from the very start of the build, we established monthly meetings bringing together all delivery partners, including the on-site care provider, Radis. This enabled us to coordinate mobilisation, jointly promote the scheme, and resolve any issues or questions quickly and collaboratively.

Early and meaningful community engagement

To complement the council’s creative educational campaign on housing options in later life, we placed a strong emphasis on personal, face-to-face engagement within the local community throughout the build phase. This approach helped future residents gain a clear understanding of what extra care offers, what it doesn’t, and the benefits it could bring to them and their loved ones.

Early market engagement events, which brought all partners together within the community, proved particularly powerful. These sessions provided an opportunity to talk through assessments, costs, tenancy applications and on-site facilities in an open and supportive setting. We further enriched these events by showcasing example furniture and assistive technology from partners Just Imagine and Tunstall, giving people the chance to experience first-hand the quality and thoughtfulness of the scheme.

Even with 100% local authority nominations in place, these events created meaningful opportunities to connect directly with future residents, families, partners and the wider community. They also helped us build a shared expressions of interest list of around 100 people, a full year before Lavender View was due to open its doors.

Feedback to the council also highlighted the importance of professionals being well-informed to support decision-making:

In response, through joint presentations and accessible, comprehensive information such as FAQs, we ensured local health and care professionals were equipped with a clear and confident understanding of the offer. This, in turn, enabled them to communicate Lavender View as a trusted and exciting asset for Hunstanton.

By being transparent and detailed from the outset, we empowered individuals to make decisions with confidence and clarity around the questions that mattered most to them:

Working together to improve people’s housing pathway

With a healthy expression of interest list, Places for People, Norfolk County Council and Radis saw an opportunity to do things differently. Piloting a new joint assessment approach, people were guided through an improved assessment pathway:

1. A direct triage route within the council where they could speak with an expert team about eligibility and costs within 3-5 days
2. The opportunity to have a joint assessment booked in with all three partners at the show home – as opposed to three separate assessments on different days and different locations

An aspirational design show home

The presence of a show apartment—even within an affordable rented offer—proved absolutely fundamental to the success of the scheme. When people are making life-changing decisions, the opportunity to see, touch and truly experience a potential new home is priceless. It replaces uncertainty with reassurance, builds confidence, and allows individuals to make informed, empowered choices about their future. Our role goes far beyond simply providing housing; it is about guiding and supporting people through what can often be a deeply personal and emotional transition.

From the outset, Lavender View set out to redefine expectations—an aspirational model of affordable housing that goes above and beyond what people imagine life in later years can be. The show home played a central role in bringing this vision to life. It showcased thoughtful, carefully considered design features that promote independence, dignity and ease in everyday living—from additional pull-down shelving in the kitchen to beautifully designed bathrooms featuring stylish adaptations, including a shower rail that seamlessly doubles as a handrail.

Delivering better housing choices for older people

Developments such as Lavender View demonstrate Places for People's commitment to transforming the housing choices available to older people. As a social enterprise, we recognise that many people want to maintain their independence, remain connected to their communities, and enjoy the security of knowing care and support are available should their needs change. Extra Care housing provides a positive alternative to traditional housing and residential care, offering high-quality, accessible homes alongside flexible support that enables people to live well for longer. Through schemes like Lavender View, we are not only creating much-needed affordable homes, but also helping to tackle loneliness, improve wellbeing, reduce pressure on health and social care services, and provide older people with greater choice, dignity and control over how they live in later life. Lavender View shows what can be achieved when partners work together around a shared ambition: to create aspirational communities where people can thrive, maintain their independence, and look forward to the next chapter of their lives with confidence.