A co-housing community in London could offer a blueprint for ways to reuse obsolete sheltered housing and care homes, according to a study.
With a strong ethos of mutual support, Islington Park Street Community (IPS), which was set up in 1976, provides a model for tackling social isolation among vulnerable people.
The findings, from the London School of Economics and Political Science, come at a time when the community is under threat of eviction having been served with a notice to quit earlier this year.
Dr Melissa Fernández Arrigoitia, an expert in alternative housing and author of the report, said: ‘In the context of the UK’s ageing population and a growing need for affordable housing for single people, Islington Park Street Community provides a model that could help those facing mental or physical challenges to carry on living healthy, independent lives in the middle of the city.
‘Studies also suggest that senior co-housing could bring financial savings to local councils because the people who live in such communities may be less dependent on social services.’
Landlord One Housing Group said it had served residents with a notice to quit in order to ensure the properties are fit for purpose and that ‘current practice falls foul of many policies, procedures and legislation’.
It said residents had refused to cooperate over many years despite its repeated attempts to put arrangements in place and that court action was ‘a last resort’.
IPS has countered those claims, stating on its website: ‘Instead of attempting to resolve their concerns through working with the community, they intend to remove all residents, some of whom have lived here for over three decades. Many of us are vulnerable and will be seriously affected if we are evicted from our home.’
