Mayor secures £43.5m of funding to develop specialised housing

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has secured £43.5m of funding to help develop much-needed specialised housing for older and disabled people in London.Good quality, specialised housing for older people and disabled adults plays a critical role in helping them to live as independently as possible, and enables carers and the wider health and social care system to offer support more effectively.The funding is being provided through the Government’s Care and Support Specialised Housing (CASSH) programme, which is administered in London by City Hall to develop homes for older Londoners with care needs and adults with physical and learning disabilities, autism and mental health care needs.It is available for developers building a variety of specialised housing including:assisted livingdementia careretirement housingsupported housing for disabled adults and people with mental health problemswheelchair-adapted homeshousing specifically designed for people with learning disabilities and autismThe units funded by the programme are expected to be lifetime homes, which are well-designed, high-quality and have the flexibility to adapt to meet clients care and mobility needs as they might progress or change.The programme has so far funded schemes totalling £112m, with 1,657 homes started and 830 completed in London. There is a good pipeline of schemes which are due to come forward for assessment and possible allocation in this financial year.Schemes have included: Charlie Ratchford in Camden, which received £3,800,000 in 2019 to deliver 38 extra-care units for older Londoners who require care and support. This scheme, which was completed in November 2020, has a mix of one and two bedroom units, all of which are provided at Affordable Rent. .Reardon Court in Enfield, where the Mayor recently agreed an allocation of £10.5 million. Reardon Court is the site of a former Council-owned residential care home. The London Borough of Enfield will redevelop the site to provide 70 modern, flexible and accessible Extra Care homes, with fully accessible communal space. Work is due to start on site by March 2022. This is the highest number of units delivered on one single scheme under the CASSH programme.The programme is currently open for bidding and providers are encouraged to get in touch by emailing careandsupport@london.gov.uk. The current round of funding is for schemes which can start on site by March 2022.