Dr Alison Armstrong is a Visiting Research Fellow from the University of Surrey who is currently working as Project Director, at Whiteley Foundation for Ageing Well.
Her work there has unearthed some very encouraging findings on the benefits of almshouse living and now the Almshouse Association has commissioned Alison to undertake research across the whole of the almshouses movement.
In order to do this, we need the help of our members!
Alison writes..
A couple of years ago, one of the trustees of Whiteley Village received a tip-off that there were archived records of past residents in the loft of the Village’s care centre. After a dusty exploration, they were rewarded with a treasure trove of information dating right back to the founding of the Village in 1917.
It was clear to the Trust that this quantity of data could yield some very interesting and useful insights into ageing over the past century – but also that it would require expert analysis. Through a contact of one of the Trustees, Whiteley Homes approached actuarial academics at Cass Business School to ask if they would decipher and analyse the records as part of a joint project (majority funded by The Company of Actuaries Charitable Trust Fund), to explore what insights these data might yield.
Cass Business School agreed and what transpired has confirmed what we always suspected: that residents at Whiteley Village live longer than their compatriots in the general community [1] click here to access Whiteley Village Case Study . This outcome diminishes or even removes the link between socioeconomic group and longevity, whereby lower socioeconomic groups generally live shorter lives.
Almshouse Association member, the Whiteley Homes Trust, has responsibility for Whiteley Village; a purpose-built retirement community, set in 225 acres of beautiful Surrey woodland, featuring a large collection of almshouse properties dating from 1917. There are over 260 cottages, 50 extra-care apartments, and from May 2019 a brand-new care facility with 30 state of the art care suites, which current residents of the Village’s care centre will move into when it opens.
The research findings offer an intriguing insight into the positives of almshouse living. We found that women lived on average 2.7 years longer (and up to 4.9 years longer) compared to the same socioeconomic group in the general population, taking some to having a life expectancy equivalent to the highest socioeconomic group. For men, the effect was more modest, taking Whiteley Village men’s life expectancy to be equivalent to the middle socioeconomic group in society. This still represents a very positive outcome.
Discovering that historically, residents have lived longer than would be expected for their socioeconomic group, has been enormously valuable for raising the profile of the Trust and the Village and in establishing a research foundation to investigate this further.
We have started to ask more considered questions about well-being, ageing and the benefits of almshouse living. One fascinating question that you could help answer is this one – is this longevity gain only a Whiteley Village phenomenon, or does it apply more generally to almshouses? This is a question the Almshouse Association are rightly asking, and if you have an interest in helping us answer it, please click on the link below and fill in the enclosed questionnaire telling us what historic data you hold, so that we can assess whether there is enough comparable information for us to find out.
Dr Alison Armstrong
Project Director, The Whiteley Foundation for Ageing Well
(1) Does living in a retirement village extend life expectancy? The case of Whiteley Village
Les Mayhew, Ben Rickayzen and David Smith www.cass.city.ac.uk
If you able to to help, please click here to fill out our survey.
Alternatively, you can download a printable version and send to the address detailed on the document.
Closing is 31st May 2019. Thank you so much for your help.
Dated: 29 / 04 / 19
It gives the Almshouse Association great pleasure to announce the shortlist for the 2018 Patron’s Award.
The Finchley Charities
The James Goodman Charity, Cranfield
The Mills Charity, Framlingham
King’s Lynn General Charities
Worcester Municipal Charities
Chandos and Dent’s Almshouses, Winchcombe
Peter Birtwistle Trust, Colne
Mabel Luke Charity, Newbury
The Patron’s Awards are sponsored by
We hope to be able to announce the Patron’s Awards at the Almshouse Association Members Day Conference on Wednesday 5th June 2018.
Dates 23/04/19
We are delighted and very privileged to have secured two inspiring key note speakers for the Almshouse Association Members Day Conference on Wednesday 5th June 2019.
General Sir Mike Jackson GCB CBE DSO DL
Arguably the most high-profile army general since WW2. An ex-serviceman known globally in both the military and civilian world, he served as Chief of the General Staff and Head of the Army until 2006. He commanded the British forces in Iraq, UN forces in Kosovo and peacekeeping missions in Bosnia. With an emphasis on leadership and strategic insight, General Sir Mike draws on a wealth of unique experience combining sharp-end military action and the heavy responsibility of many life-and-death policy and command decisions. His presentations are sharp and memorable, featuring remarkable personal anecdotes and thoughtful examples of both success and failure.
Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive of Crisis
Energetic and passionate, Jon Sparkes has been Chief Executive of Crisis since 2014. Previously he was Chief Operating Officer of UNICEF UK and Chief Executive of SCOPE, the national disability charity. Jon also had a successful commercial career as Human Resources Director of the international technology firm The Generics Group. He is a Non-Executive Director of South Yorkshire Housing Association, recently Chaired the Homelessness & Rough Sleeping Action Group created by the Scottish Government to find short and long term solutions to homelessness, and was a member of the UK Government’s Rough Sleeping Advisory Panel.
The Almshouse Association Members Day Conference is sponsored by
The Affordable Housing Commission has been established to achieve policy changes that will make a lasting difference around the affordability of housing.
Almshouse charities are the
oldest form of charitable institution in the United Kingdom and have
successfully provided their unique model of affordable housing for over a
thousand years.
Today there are around 1700 almshouse charities across the United Kingdom, with the overwhelming majority situated in England. Almshouse charities provide homes for 35,000 residents making them collectively one of the largest specialist providers of affordable community housing.
Whilst almshouse charities may not be the only answer to meeting large-scale housing demand it can provide an exemplar model of community led affordable housing, either through individual almshouse charities or in conjunction with other partners. To that end, the Almshouse Association believes that almshouse charities can make positive contributions to all of the Commission’s work but in particular;
- Helping those who face affordability issues in older age
- Demonstrating a new affordable housing offer – increasing supply
In support of this, the Association has submitted evidence which can be downloaded here.
Further information on the Affordable Housing Commission can be found at www.affordablehousingcommission.org.
05/04/19
Update 12/04/19
Since submitting our evidence on 05/04/19, the Affordable Housing Commission has confirmed receipt of our submission and advised if we wish to send in supplementary information or updates on the evidence provided, we are encouraged to do so.
If any member charities would like to contribute, please contact Chris Targowski, Head of Policy and Engagement by email at christargowski@almshouses.org
You will recall the Almshouse Association has been in discussion with the BBC for almost a year regarding the interpretation of the legislation with respect to almshouse accommodation that qualifies for a concessionary licence for their residents under the ARC (Accommodation for Residential Licences) Scheme.
Confusion had arisen from the wording ‘Established before 1 November 1949’. The BBC’s interpretation led to a number of almshouse charities whose almshouse charity had been founded before 1 November 1949, but whose almshouse buildings had not been built before this date, or were now on land not part of the original endowment, being denied the concession.
The Almshouse Association made a substantive case that the wording should be interpreted to mean when an almshouse charity was founded rather than when a particular building was built. As a consequence the BBC have written to the Association and advised that they have been …
“persuaded that, on balance, yours is the better interpretation, and we will be altering TVL’s future practice in this regards (and amending our guidance)”
Pipa Doubtfire, Head of Revenue Management, BBC
This is brilliant news and if any members have been declined an ARC Concessionary TV License because of this misinterpretation we would urge them to re-apply.
To read the BBC’s letter in full, please click here
20/03/19
The Almshouse Association is in discussions with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to assist them in gaining a better understanding of almshouse charities.
They would like to speak to a selection of our members that provide housing to those below pension age, irrespective of whether your almshouse charity provides homes for residents claiming Universal Credit or not.
They would like to speak about:
- your understanding of Universal Credit, including how DWP verifies housing costs and how landlords may receive payments direct to landlords
- your organisational resources to manage the almshouses (processes and procedures used, staffing – if any, number of almshouses etc.)
- your use of IT (including email).
These enquiries would be carried out by telephone on an individual basis.
If you are able to help and interested in being involved, please send the following details to ChrisTargowski@alms
houses.org
- the name of your charity
- membership number
- contact name, email and telephone
- number of residents accommodated
Deadline for responses: Monday 18th March 2019
Thank you for your help. It is so important we constantly engage with government. In doing so, we will raise the profile of almshouses, be in a stronger position to highlight the value of almshouses and be better placed to influence government legislation in the way in which it impacts almshouse charities.
Click here to read about an almshouse charity’s experiences when their young residents applied for Universal Credit
On 23rd January 2019, the Almshouse Association met with a Government representative regarding the issue of Selective Licensing – see also our news item https://www.almshouses.org/news/selective-licencing/
As a result of the meeting, the Almshouse Association was asked to provide written information to support our strong case for exemption. Through our work with members and our previous calls for evidence, we have excellent case studies to put forward to government and we submitted our evidence on 30th Jan 2019.
In addition, we have been further supported by Stella Creasy, Labour and Cooperative MP for Walthamstow who submitted the below written parliamentary question [218301] which was tabled on 7th February 2019:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government when he plans to publish the outcome of the Selective Licensing Review announced in June 2018 [218301]
Mrs Heather Wheeler MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government replied as per the below:
Good progress is being made on the review by our independent researchers and the final report is on schedule to be published in Spring 2019.
If you have been impacted by Selective Licensing, but you have not yet contacted the Almshouse Association about your experience, please get in touch with ChrisTargowski@almshouses.org
It gives the Almshouse Association great pleasure to invite our members to our inaugural Members Day Conference.
The event will take place at Haberdashers’ Hall in London on Wednesday 5th June 2019 and we hope that as many of our members as possible will be able to join us to make our first Members Day Conference a very special and successful event.
The conference offers a wonderful opportunity to meet almshouse trustees, clerks and wardens from all of the UK, attend tailored training seminars and consult our panel of experts. We have planned a full day which includes:
- Key Note Speakers
- Seminar sessions on current topics
- Guest speakers
- Q & A with our panel of experts
- Exhibitor stands
- Announcement of the Almshouse Association 2018 Awards
- Lunch, teas and coffees included.
Tickets cost £50 per person and we recommend booking early as places are limited.
For more details click here
The news item below has been written and supplied by the Almshouse Consortium Limited (ACL).
Further information is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/community-housing-fund
The Community Housing Fund (CHF) is designed to provide seed
corn funding for the initial investigations and works relating to the provision
of affordable housing, where other resources are limited.
To be eligible:
The scheme must:
- increase housing supply in England by increasing
the number of additional homes delivered by the community-led housing sector;
- provide housing that is affordable at local
income levels and remains so in perpetuity; and
- deliver a lasting legacy for the community-led
housing sector in the form of an effective financially self-sustaining body of
expertise within the house building industry in England.
The organisation applying must be:
- a registered charity;
- a Company Limited By Guarantee;
- a Community Benefit Society
- a Co-operative Society;
- a Community Interest Company;
- an organisation of another type operating as a
social enterprise and principally reinvesting their surpluses for social
benefit;
- a Registered Provider; or
- a local authority.
Eligible costs include:
- the costs of forming a corporate body
- feasibility studies
- surveys
- architects fees
- legal fees
- training and capacity-building
The fund is not available to cover the costs of construction
or the purchase of land which is grant fundable from other funding routes.
Schemes may include a number of community facilities, but it
is only the housing element which will attract the funding.
Applications are made online, but not through Homes England’s Information Management System, but using an online form. Almshouse Consortium Limited already has access to this system and can advise on the suitability of schemes and assist with submission.
Applicants are expected to make meaningful consultations with the local community and be able to fund 10% of the costs themselves. 100% funding is not available, but the Almshouse Association may, in certain circumstances, make a grant towards the 10% required.
Other information required includes a copy of the latest
accounts, location of the site and the proposed number of dwellings and the
action taken towards obtaining planning permission.
The bid for grant funding will be assessed on 5 criteria:
- Value for money. This is to ensure that as many schemes are helped as possible. If an almshouse can afford some, but not all of the initial costs, then applications at below the 90% level will have a higher chance of success.
- Deliverability. Projects which have progressed furthest towards the development phase are likely to be able to make the strongest case for funding on deliverability grounds. Almshouses should be abed to achieve a layout pan, indicative costs and pre-application comments from the planning authority before they start to incur costs. The stopping point often comes when the Architect is asked to prepare plans at sufficient detail to submit a planning application, the application fee itself and the various reports which are required to support an application.
- Strategic fitness. The purpose of the CHF is to support genuinely led community projects. It will therefore assist the application if the scheme is addressed to a wider audience than simply the existing Trustees. Homes England expects the close collaboration of the community to lead to community-led housing delivering important additional benefits in respect of the quality of design, innovative construction technologies, tenures and approaches to financing. Proposals that are innovative in these regards may be more likely to receive a favourable assessment than those that are not.
- Knowing your Customer requirements. There will be checks on the viability of the organisation and certain personal checks will be made to ensure the grant is not being used for money laundering or fraud.
- Equalities, diversity and health inequalities. It is expected that housing funded under this fund will meet the diverse housing needs of all sections of our communities, whether defined by geography, need or interest. Applicants will be asked to confirm as part of their application that their proposals will meet key equalities priorities that are identified and agreed by local authorities.
Other State Aid towards the same costs is not permitted and this grant will have to be declared if a subsequent application for capital funding is made.
Enquiries can be sent to ACL's Administrator:
Sue Holden email: acltabitha@gmail.com
For more detailed advice, ACL's Programme Managers can be contacted via email:
Kathy Green: kathy.green.projects@gmail.com
Sean Stafford: sean@saffercooper.com
Housing LIN has published their first case study of 2019, and their 150th case study overall. Their subject matter is a 21st Century eco-almshouse: St Johns Almshouses, Lichfield.
The Housing LIN case study shines the spotlight on the award-winning St. John’s Almshouses, a new Passivhaus certified residential scheme for older people in Lichfield, completed in August 2017.
The client, St. John’s Hospital, are a charitable trust and historic almshouses organisation which has had a presence on the site since 1129. The existing Grade I listed buildings date from 1495 and the new 21st century development comprises 18 new flats contained within two separate buildings, which are arranged around a new landscaped courtyard.
The design won this year’s Architect’s Journal Housing Project of the Year (up to £10 million). To read more, please click here.