Designing New Towns for an Ageing Population

With the recent publication of the New Towns Taskforce Report, one line particularly resonated:

"New towns provide a rare opportunity to plan holistically from the outset."

This single sentence encapsulates a powerful idea, and one we must embrace if we are to create places that truly serve an ageing population.

Too often, housing for older people is considered in isolation, delivered at a micro level, detached from the broader urban context. But the opportunity presented by new towns is different. These are blank canvases, where inclusivity can be embedded from day one. We can and should be thinking beyond specialist housing to develop whole towns that are welcoming, accessible, and vibrant for all ages.

Urban Design as the Foundation

It was encouraging to see the report reference specialist housing, such as extra care. These typologies are essential, but they’re just one part of the puzzle. We must think beyond housing to how older people live, move and connect within a town.

Urban design is critical. While isolated specialist housing schemes meet the needs of older people exceptionally well, those principles often aren’t carried through into public spaces, commercial areas, or transport infrastructure. This inconsistency creates barriers to full inclusion.

Through clear masterplanning and robust design codes, new towns can be built with inclusive design at their core, places that are intuitive, accessible, and welcoming for all.

Rethinking Extra Care for Modern Communities

There’s also a real opportunity to evolve the concept of extra care. Instead of standalone facilities, why not integrate these schemes into vibrant mixed-use hubs?

By combining housing with care and support with cafés, shops, co-working spaces and community uses, we can create local centres that not only support older people but bring wider benefits to the whole community and make extra care housing more viable.

In this model, extra care doesn’t need its own restaurant or hairdressing salon, not if the surrounding neighbourhood is accessible, welcoming, and age-friendly, and local businesses are equipped to meet the needs of older residents.

Ultimately, this is about creating fully integrated towns, not just age-friendly buildings. If we approach ageing at a macro scale, through planning, design and placemaking, we can build new communities that enable people to live well at every stage of life.

New towns are a rare opportunity. Let’s use them to lead a new model of inclusive, age-friendly development.

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We are grateful to WWA for sponsoring the Housing LIN’s online planning portal, where you can access a wide range of resources on planning for an ageing population and planning for health and wellbeing.

And, if you found this of interest, check out a selection of further information on New Towns on the Housing LIN’s Health Intel pages.