By Kevin Willetts, Chair of specialist housing provider for older people Alpha Living
By 2030, one in six people worldwide will be aged 60 or over. In the UK, around 12 million people are already aged 65 and above. This is not simply a demographic challenge; it is a design opportunity. We can create homes that help people remain independent while making connection, purpose and participation part of everyday life, combatting the human impact of loneliness and isolation.
The case for specialist housing for older people should therefore be clear: well-designed communities can reduce loneliness and its wider health and social impacts, while showing that later life can be active, sociable and fulfilling.
Loneliness is a serious public health issue. More than two million people in the UK experience chronic loneliness, half a million people over 60 spend at least five days a week without speaking to anyone, and 59% of people aged 85 and over live alone.
Its effects reach far beyond mood. Loneliness is associated with poorer physical and mental health, reduced independence and greater demand for health and care services. Its impact on health has been compared with smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Indeed, the World Health Organisation suggests that loneliness can increase the risk of early death by 26%, doubling the likelihood of depression.
Winter can intensify the problem. Fuel poverty may force people to stay in one room, avoid inviting family or friends inside and withdraw from communal life. Financial pressure can also restrict transport and social activities, while digital exclusion removes another route to contact.
Housing that supports ageing well must therefore address warmth, affordability and connection together. A home is successful only when it is both comfortable to live in and connected to a wider community.
Older person’s housing became a passion for me, with my mum’s housing needs bringing this closer to home. I am driven to make a difference from a loneliness and isolation perspective and to enable older people to live a better life. That would be a wonderful achievement and is why I was drawn to apply to be Chair of specialist housing provider Alpha Living, to give something back. Alpha Living is committed to creating exciting and sustainable communities for older people and that really chimed with what drives me.
Warmth must include belonging
Housing providers have a vital role in improving energy performance, maximising residents’ incomes and helping people navigate support schemes. But warmer buildings and lower bills are the foundation, not the finish.
An energy-efficient home can still be lonely. A communal lounge can still be empty if residents feel that activities are not relevant to them. The test is not whether facilities exist, but whether people feel able and welcome to use them.
That requires a whole-person approach: an affordable home, accessible design, support with mobility and digital access, welcoming shared spaces and opportunities for residents to shape community life. These elements reinforce one another and help people remain visible, confident and connected.
Specialist housing should never shelter people from one another. It should create the conditions in which friendships, informal support and a sense of belonging can grow.
Design for everyday connection
My career has shown me that design and community cannot be separated. At the ExtraCare Charitable Trust (ECCT), I helped develop large retirement villages and worked with Aston University on initiatives to reduce falls. Each village combined around 320 apartments with shared facilities and a strong community offer.
I have also served as a non-executive director of Crown Care Development, a specialist family-run care provider. Across these roles, the same lesson has been consistent: the built environment can make social contact easier, but a thriving community also needs active stewardship.
The results can be striking. In our findings at ECCT, 86.5% of residents said they were never lonely. That outcome did not happen by accident. It came from creating places where people could meet naturally, access activities and services, contribute their skills and develop a renewed sense of purpose.
Only 0.7% of older people live in specialist housing-with-care models, so the answer cannot be to build a retirement village for everyone. The answer is to apply the principles more widely: accessible homes, inviting shared spaces, visible support and strong links to the neighbourhood.
The idea of the 20-minute community is especially valuable, where residents can access most of their daily needs, including shops, healthcare and green spaces, within a 20-minute journey. Housing schemes should not be islands. Their restaurants, gardens, activities and social spaces can become neighbourhood assets, enabling older people living nearby to participate without moving home.
Instead of drawing a boundary around specialist housing, providers should open it outward. Well-designed communities can strengthen the lives of residents and the wider area at the same time.
See later living as an attractive choice
Too often, people move into specialist housing only after a crisis: bereavement, declining health, a fall, or an unsuitable home. These pressures push someone towards a move and can make specialist housing feel like a last resort.
We need to invest in the pull: an appealing lifestyle built around companionship, safety, warmth, good food, activity, independence and purpose. Activities could include film nights, shared meals, everyday conversations and the reassurance that people will notice if you are not there.
At Alpha Living, our ambition is to create vibrancy, not simply accommodation. A move should open possibilities and support people to age in place with dignity, confidence and choice.
Connection gives people reasons to remain active. Residents are not passive recipients of care; they bring stories, skills, experience and ideas. Strong communities create opportunities for those contributions to be recognised and shared.
A focus on positive ageing
Following the impact of COVID on people over 55, Dr Michael Roberts commissioned by ECCT developed the Steps to Connection report to support stronger, more satisfied communities. It highlights the importance of varied, rewarding ways for older people to engage and draws attention to the Positive Ageing movement.
People who reject negative stereotypes and develop more positive visions of later life are 2.5 times less likely to experience loneliness and may live more than 7.5 years longer. The report also found a powerful sense of connection and belonging among 84% of people over 70, compared with 68% of those aged 45 to 55.
Older age should not automatically be framed as decline, dependency and retreat. Housing providers can challenge that narrative by creating leadership, volunteering, and learning opportunities. At Alpha Living, residents add huge value to our Scrutiny Panel and Board, while friendship and mutual support grow through everyday participation. Significant investment from Alpha has developed a vibrant community centred around the principle of people coming together on a daily basis to share a meal, providing the opportunity to socialise.
My own mother brought this home to me. After my father died, she had few regular visitors to her home and increased mobility issues meant she left the house less often. She is a lively Geordie, but she had started to become invisible. Moving into a care setting with like-minded people gave her companionship, camaraderie and renewed purpose. I believe that community has extended her life by five years and counting.
A whole-community commitment
No housing provider can eliminate fuel poverty or loneliness alone. Effective action requires partnerships with health services, local authorities, energy advisers, charities, transport providers and community organisations. Alpha Living works closely with Local Authorities and commissioners to ensure we are developing homes at meet the needs of local people.
Social landlords are uniquely placed to notice early warning signs. A cold home, closed curtains, an unanswered door, missed activities or a change in behaviour can indicate that someone is struggling before the situation becomes a crisis.
The response should combine practical support with deliberate community-building: energy and income advice; accessible, sustainable homes; affordable and welcoming social spaces; better transport and digital inclusion; and meaningful opportunities for residents to lead, volunteer and shape services.
Kindness must be designed into the service, not left to chance. Staff who know residents, spaces that invite conversation and communities that notice absence can determine whether somebody feels forgotten or valued.
The strongest argument for specialist housing is not that it manages the problems of old age. It is that well-designed communities can prevent isolation, reduce pressure on health and care services and enable people to live with greater independence, purpose and joy.
A successful community should be safe, warm, welcoming and outward-looking. If we build places where people belong, contribute and remain connected to the wider neighbourhood, we can help more people live not only longer, but better.