GRAND DESIGN: Mayor Len Brown gets a tour of the Mt Eden Lifestyle Care and Village which is under construction from Oceania Group chief executive Guy Eady. Mr Brown says Auckland needs more retirement villages.
Building more retirement villages would free up homes for younger families and alleviate the housing crisis, mayor Len Brown says.
But not everyone is buying into the idea.
Upping the city's stock of aged care facilities to meet an increasing demand would have the added knock-on effect of freeing up family-sized homes, Mr Brown says.
"It's the circle of life. When you get into your senior years you're looking to mow less lawns, have a maintenance-free lifestyle and to just enjoy your years.
"You move out of stand-alone homes and you're freeing them up for younger families to take in their years of productivity," he says.
But Age Concern Auckland executive officer Grant Withers says retirement villages aren't the answer for many older people.
"They are very costly to buy into. They do fill a need for certain people with capital, but we don't see an overwhelming response."
Mr Withers says most people Age Concern works with are looking for an apartment with very low rent.
He says many of their clients would like to stay in their own homes but are finding they can't afford to.
"Many older people are being rated out of their houses.
"I've got one woman whose husband built her house in 1943 and now she can't afford to stay," Mr Withers says.
He says single elderly men have the toughest time finding rental accommodation.
"Private landlords don't seem to want to know them."
According to the Auckland Plan, those in their retirement years are among those crying out the loudest for suitable places to live.
One review suggests as many as 20,000 more facilities will be needed as the number of people aged over 65 increases to almost one million by 2026.
Mr Brown was touring Mt Eden Lifestyle Care and Village, which is under construction, when he made the comments.
The centre has 105 units across three levels in the heart of the suburb where residents can live independently or in an assisted living suite which is closer to traditional hospital care.
Mr Brown says the design fits with the principles of the draft Unitary Plan which is open for public consultation.
"It is an intensification of the community, but it's done in a very sympathetic way that tends to blend very well," Mr Brown says.
- ? Fairfax NZ News
Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/north-shore-times/8609241/More-retirement-homes-needed
snl peter frampton Sandy Hook Elementary School Colors Cassadee Pope Victoria Soto nbc sports morgan freeman
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.