Disabled people living in the North East or the East Midlands are six times less likely to be living in a fully accessible home compared to people with disabilities living in London, new research reveals.
The Centre for Ageing Better found that only 4% of homes headed by someone aged between 55 and 64 in the North East or the East Midlands have all four accessibility features compared to 23% in the capital.
The four accessibility features are a toilet at entrance level, sufficiently wide doorways, level access, and a flush threshold.
Dr Carole Easton OBE, chief executive at the Centre for Ageing Better, warned that progress on making homes more accessible for people living with disabilities has ‘frozen in time’.
As well as identifying regional variations, the charity found that the difference between the number of disabled people in England and the number of fully accessible homes has grown by more than two million in just over a decade.
In 2009, there was an accessibility gap between demand and supply of 10.5 million and in 2022 – the latest date for which figures are available – this hit 12.8 million.
Millie Brown, deputy director for homes at the Centre for Ageing Better, commented: ‘Building homes that are accessible and adaptable should be a key pillar of the Government’s plan to build 1.5 million homes. With an ageing population, the number of people who will need accessible and adaptable homes is increasing and will continue to increase.’
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