Working together to deliver extra care schemes

Like many areas across the country, in the North East we are experiencing an ageing population, and housing for older people is a vital part of the wider housing system. Wherever possible, we install aids and adaptations to help residents remain independent in their own homes. However, when greater support is needed, supported housing becomes essential.

Through the Housing, Health and Care Programme (opens new window) established by the North East and North Cumbria ICB, partners from across the region—including housing providers via the North East Housing Partnership (NEHP)—are working together to help people stay healthy and live independently.

A key part of this work has been a partnership with the Housing Learning and Improvement Network (LIN) to develop a regional baseline review of housing need. This has calculated that in order to divert 10% of older people away from expensive local authority funded residential care, we’d need to be building roughly 525 extra care homes every year and an additional 350 homes per annum for adults with complex care needs.

At Karbon Homes, we manage 8 extra care schemes and to help meet the need, we have 5 Extra Care schemes in the pipeline and several others in discussion. Strong partnerships with local authorities have been key to this, whether through the provision of land or the provision of funding, and have ensured that its investments are being made in areas where there’s the greatest need and demand.

An example is Karbon’s partnership with South Tyneside Council to deliver three extra care schemes in the borough. Griffin Court in Hebburn is already under construction and due to be completed by the end of 2026, see image below. The second, Ede Court in South Shields, recently started on site and a third scheme is planned for 2030.

Together, these schemes could provide more than 300 new homes, with around 20% designed specifically for residents with dementia and aiming to achieve the Sterling University Gold Standard for dementia friendly design. All will meet the HAPPI principles and will each include activity spaces and an accessible bistro/café, both open to the public, offering valuable shared space for residents and the wider community.

Extra care development brings significant challenges, whether it’s site availability or planning and scheme viability, but we have shown that these can be addressed by working in partnership. By identifying site early on, tapping into funding available from the government, and working with the council to ensure that the revenue model stacks up, it is possible to deliver the extra care schemes at the scale that the country needs as the population ages.

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For more information on extra care housing, visit our dedicated webpages here.

If your organisation is preparing to undertake a housing needs assessment, we’re happy to have a no-obligation conversation about how we can support you. Just email us consultancy@housinglin.org.uk.