Older People’s Accommodation Site Feasibility Study

Cornerstone Assets were commissioned to review 9 priority sites borough wide with a view to establishing the feasibility of their future use as the sites did not meet the Council’s revised accommodation standards. The key driver for the work was to secure older persons accommodation and affordable housing for social rent.

We reviewed each site individually to assess the technical options, the strategic use and the financial opportunities each site presented to identify what was feasible and what could provide opportunities to generate cross subsidy and therefore limit the burden on the HRA. Subsequently, three programme options were developed, which offered the Council different levels of policy and financial return. Two of the options presented delivered a financial surplus to the Council’s Housing Revenue Account (HRA) capital programme.