Progress For UK’s First Purpose-Built LGBT+ Extra Care Housing
Anchor Hanover Group has been chosen as the preferred development partner to deliver and manage the first LGBT+ older person’s housing project, to be built on Russell Road in Whalley Range, south Manchester.
The innovative project will deliver more than 100 apartments for people aged 55 or over, with a mix of affordable rent and Shared Ownership tenures, to ensure the homes are as accessible as possible to Manchester people. There will be essential on-site services such as care and catering, which may be more appropriate to residents’ needs in later life and help them live independently.
The development is being co-produced with LGBT Foundation and the local community. The LGBT Foundation has been working on the project with the council since 2017 and has also received Homes England funding to produce an online Learning Journal about the history of the Manchester scheme, to help other councils and cities develop LGBT+ Extra Care schemes across the country.
The Community Steering Group was set up in 2020 with the aim of co-producing the principles of the scheme and agree design concepts that will complement the local area. In collaboration with them, Anchor Hanover will develop the plans for the Russell Road site, with a view to submitting its first planning application by Winter 2021/2022.
Manchester’s older LGBT population is growing. There are more than 7,000 people in Manchester over the age of 50 that identify as LGBT+ – and this figure is expected to rise over next two decades.
Anchor Hanover’s head of new business, Charles Taylor, said: “We are delighted to be working on this innovative new Extra Care retirement housing project in Manchester, to deliver accessible homes in a place where there is a thriving LGBT+ community. We look forward to collaborating with Manchester City Council and the LGBT Foundation to develop a place where people can continue to love living in later life.”
Paul Martin OBE, CEO of the LGBT Foundation: “It’s fantastic to see the LGBT Extra Care Scheme move forward into the next stages of development. Everyone deserves to have access to safe, affordable housing where they can be sure they feel secure and welcome.
“Many older LGBT people have grown up in a world hostile to their identities, and are worried about their future, particularly if they are likely to require care in later life. This scheme is a vital and exciting step forward for our communities and the Learning Journal will track our journey and share recommendations for other schemes that will follow.”
Cllr Bev Craig, Manchester City Council’s lead member for adult health and well-being, said: “Manchester was proud to be the first place in the country to announce such a scheme so it’s great to see this scheme come to fruition. Our ambition came on the back of years of research and engagement with older LGBT people.
"We’ve been working closely with the LGBT Foundation and local people for some time to ensure the site, location, the principles of the scheme, and eventual design principles work – both for the LGBT+ community, but also for the local people in Whalley Range. We already know LGBT+ people are more likely to be lonely later in life, and as this community is growing, it shows that this Extra Care is not only welcome but absolutely needed.”