Extra Care Charitable Trust, UK
Project Selection
The ExtraCare Charitable Trust may contain a number of the following features but it has been identified by the Steering Committee specifically because it:
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The following project description combines information prepared by ExtraCare and information obtained from the ExtraCare website www.extracare.org.uk
Project Overview
The ExtraCare Charitable Trust was formed in 1998 with the goal of engaging older people in the development process of housing to build a community in the village even before people move in.
Why it is an innovative project
The ExtraCare Housing model sits between residential aged care and independent housing. Older people can rent or buy apartments that offer integrated care services. A significant point of difference to most older persons housing is the community development model employed at ExtraCare. A year before the construction of a community commences, a process has begun in the local area to engage and develop the local community. This model has proved a success with many of the volunteers buying into the development and creating a ready-made sense of community when it opens.
Built Environment
ExtraCare currently has 30 Villages and Schemes completed or in progress around the UK, each with up to 327 one and two bedroom apartments and bungalows. Villages include extensive social and leisure facilities, health and fitness suites, shops, bars, restaurants, libraries and craft and hobby rooms.
Above is a map of the current ExtraCare villages and development sites. ExtraCare continues to grow and develop, employing an innovative process in the development of each village. Through their website, they encourage people to inform them of potential village locations according to the following criteria:
a site of 5-8 acres
urban location - 80,000+ population within 5 mile radius
near to public transport and local facilities.
Typical opportunities include sites available or owned commercially which are restricted by planning, housing sites, ex hospital sites, school closure sites and large sports field sites which require improvement.
Once a proposed village location is identified, ExtraCare organises and promotes consultation events with older people living in the area via local media and door-to-door leaflet drops. This approach has been proven to be effective in engaging older people, with consultation events sometimes reaching over 3,000 attendees.
At consultations, ‘Ask the audience’ handsets and technology from ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ are used to conduct surveys which enable ExtraCare to gather data on participants’ age, gender, size of household, ethnic background, proportion of owner-occupiers, financial status etc.
Feedback gathered at these events helps to inform ExtraCare’s approach to local developments in respect to tenure mix, property size and design, BME issues (including influences on design such as the provision of multi-worship rooms), support needs and financial profile.
Service Model
Approximately a year ahead of a village opening, ExtraCare establishes a ‘Friends’ membership scheme for prospective residents, who are invited to attend celebration events, trips and social events in the run-up to the village opening. The aim of the Friends scheme is to help build a community of older people before the village opens, so people know each other when they move in and are already involved in some aspect of village life.
Interest groups initiated from the Friends scheme continue once residents move in and ensure village facilities are well utilised from the outset. Many people who are not allocated a property continue to be active members of the community through village restaurants, the gym, activity programs and volunteer opportunities such as organising interest groups and covering the bar.
By continuing to access the community in these ways through the Friend scheme, potential residents help to create a thriving community with strong links to the local community while creating an effective transition stage as they wait to move into the village.
In the villages, people are offered 24 hour support with assessed care from an on-site team providing everything from domestic help and personal care to a handyman service.
Who the project serves
The key to the ExtraCare model is to create a village which reflects the diverse needs of its residents. In an effort to enable people to lead active and enjoyable lives unhindered by their health or financial status, villages accommodate people from a range of financial and ethnic backgrounds. This is reflected in the villages’ status as mixed tenure communities and facilities such as multi-worship rooms.
Funding Sources
ExtraCare works in partnership with local authorities, housing partners, regeneration bodies, Primary Care Trusts and charitable trusts. They receive charitable funding from grant-giving trusts and foundations, statutory bodies, local communities, philanthropic individuals and the corporate sector.
Properties are offered for rent, shared ownership and outright sale on a long leasehold basis. Until recently, ExtraCare had offered shared ownership at 50% and 75% equity, with rent payable on the balance. However, the recent housing market slump has decreased demand for 100% sales properties, meaning ExtraCare has had to convert some of these properties into shared ownership.
Properties are sold on the basis of a ‘lifestyle lease’. In broad terms, ExtraCare guarantees to buy back the property from the resident or their estate at the original selling price, less a 1% per annum charge (maximum 10%) to cover long-term maintenance such as lift replacements. Residents pay a weekly service charge and an amenity charge in addition to any rent payable.
Project Auspice
The ExtraCare Charitable Trust was formed in 1988 and currently operates 30 supported housing schemes and retirement villages through the greater Midlands area and Northern England. Their approach is founded on the charitable principle that age, health or financial means shouldn’t be a barrier to achieving an enjoyable quality of life in later years.
