Extra Care Housing is specialist, high-quality accommodation designed for older people who need additional support and care to keep living independently. Each self-contained flat has its own front door and each development offers communal facilities with activities to encourage people to participate and develop a supportive community.  An onsite care provider will support residents to maintain their health and wellbeing and staff are available 24 hours a day to respond to emergencies.

We know that with the right housing and the right care, in the right place, people are less likely to feel isolated or lonely, will live independently for longer, and are less likely to require hospital admission.  Extra Care Housing delivers homes designed with care and support in mind, with facilities and staffing in place to help older people to live as independently as they wish.

Currently there is not enough affordable Extra Care Housing in Surrey. This means that many older people who can no longer live in their existing homes because of their needs, often end up having to move into a care home.  With more Extra Care Housing available, older people can live long-term in a supportive and well-designed community.

Our Extra Care Housing will be: 
• Designed so that residents can live their life their own way
• Created with our residents' future in mind 
• Within the heart of the community
• Designed to support and promote our residents' independence. 

SCC will commission care and support for each individual and this will include:
• Care – help with personal care and daily living tasks in the home
• Support – help to understand and maintain their tenancies, complete household tasks, look after their home, maintain and make use of external space for recreation, engage in social activities, link with the community and secure employment as appropriate

Extra Care Housing works well for many people. Surrey’s existing Extra Care Housing provision has provided accommodation with care and support for many older people over a number of years, enabling them to live as active members of their local communities.

• Extra Care Housing is designed to overcome challenges with our existing accommodation:

• changing resident expectations including high demand for self-contained flats which aren’t always readily available

• older properties which cannot accommodate changes to residents’ care and support needs over time e.g. for wheelchair accessibility and lifts; and

• the need for facilities that maintain privacy and dignity e.g. ensuite bath/shower rooms.

The independent sector is building a limited number of new homes for older people, but they tend to be available on a market-led rental or leased ownership arrangement. This is why there is still insufficient affordable accommodation to meet demand.

With this development, SCC seeks to re-purpose and re-develop an SCC-owned site, to deliver against its large-scale ambitions for accommodation with care and support across Surrey so that everyone has a place they can call home, with appropriate housing for all.

The accommodation is intended for older people in need of care and support to maintain their independence. Some may have a physical disability, sensory impairment or mental health needs.  All potential residents will be assessed to confirm their suitability for Extra Care Housing and to ensure that their care and support needs can be met.

Yes - individuals will need to have eligible care and support needs and be eligible for funding from SCC – so all will be deemed either to reside in Surrey or to have the right to reside in Surrey. 

SCC will consider local connections and as far as possible support people to remain in their communities; however, the primary consideration will centre around offering accommodation that meets the needs of the individual.

Extra Care Housing is designed to be flexible and adaptable, so that residents don’t have to move out of their homes if their needs change. Ideally with care and support, residents will be able to remain for the rest of their lives, and people will only have to consider moving into a care home when their care needs require on-site nursing input to be met.

This location matched Surrey County Council’s key selection criteria for an Extra Care Housing site:

• it’s within easy walking distance of amenities like shops, health services, libraries etc.

• it has good access to public transport routes, so residents and staff don’t have to be reliant on cars

• it balances locality with natural features which will benefit residents and visitors

Yes – all of the accommodation has been designed to meet the latest Building Regulations standards for accessible, adaptable homes.

The development will follow Secured by Design principles for new homes with improvements to suit the specific needs of the residents, e.g. access controls, external security lighting and a video door entry system.

Car parking arrangements will be tailored to meet the needs of the specific residents, staff and visitors.

All parking bays will have electric charging points, designed to meet existing and future demand.

No - the external lighting has been designed to illuminate car parks, paths and gardens in a way that will encourage wildlife etc. whilst still maintaining safety and security for residents.

This will be largely dependent on the needs of the residents. It’s likely that there will be 24hr support for residents with additional care workers attending at key times of day.

Each resident will have their own care and support needs and a care package will be tailored to meet those needs for each individual. One or more care workers will be on site throughout the day and overnight; but it is not possible, at this early stage, to be precise as to staff numbers, attendance rotas and shift patterns as each will depend on the exact needs of the individuals - which may change over time.

Care workers will attend as needed to fulfil individual residents’ support plans. Activity is likely to be greater during the day. There will be peak times for activity, e.g. personal care and breakfast in the morning and dinner and personal care in the evening – but these peak activity periods are less likely to coincide with the school run, for example. Residents will also be out and about, participating in leisure activities and potentially employment, just like any other member of the community.

Overnight vehicular activity will be limited and care workers providing night cover will ordinarily remain on site 10pm - 7am. SCC will work with service providers to ensure that care worker resource is used effectively; and due regard given to minimising disturbance to neighbours, particularly at night.

A Housing/Estate manager will be appointed to maintain the landscaping and residents will be encouraged to participate in gardening as a leisure activity, should they wish to do so.

Applications will be welcomed from people who are struggling to keep living at their current home and who really need the affordable housing, care and support offered by Extra Care Housing to remain as independent as possible.

Anyone who applies will have their needs assessed by Surrey County Council. Where that person will clearly benefit from a tenancy in the Extra Care Housing community, their application can be examined for its suitability. Some aspects which will be looked at include:

• How much care and support the person needs to remain independent

• The applicant’s age – individual exceptions can be made where it’s clear that the community would be the best place to help the person to keep living independently

• How urgent the person’s need is to become a tenant

SCC will then decide who can be provided with a tenancy and, if there is a waiting list, who should be prioritised when a flat becomes vacant.

A key focus of Extra Care Housing is providing enjoyable activities for residents. We recognise that to make the development an enjoyable place to live, the management team will work closely with residents and other parties to arrange a variety of activities focused on well-being, engagement, and fun, to maximise residents’ enjoyment of their homes.

There is a pedestrian route through the Horseshoe via the public footpath between the Anchor Care Home and Priory House and an existing pedestrian crossing at Bolters Lane by the Library to enable safe access to the site from Banstead town centre. The development does not include a proposal to reduce speed limits along any of the neighbouring roads. More information about road safety can be found here: https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/road-safety

We have put together a bespoke parking provision for the sitewhich factors in the type of residents, likelihood of having or needing a car of their own and the needs of staff and care workers who will be looking after the residents. On-site parking spaces will include disabled parking bays. Parking is also available in the large car park to the south of The Horseshoe.

The site doesn’t have sufficient space to accommodate a GP surgery in addition to Extra Care Housing. However, discussions are taking place with SCC, Reigate & Banstead Borough Council and local health authorities and primary care practitioners about providing new healthcare facilities within Banstead.

The aim of Extra Care Housing is to create meet the long-standing and emerging care needs for people who are unable to remain in mainstream housing to avoid having to go into a care home. Residents will refer themselves for considerationand the process of evaluation will start several months before the site opens. A panel will assess referrals and make decisions based on need.

The development will take between 2 and 2.5 years to complete. It is currently expected that the development will be ready by the end of 2025-mid 2026.

SCC is making an outline planning application, to establish the principles of the proposed development. If approved, more detailed design plans will be brought forward. Nonetheless, we do welcome any feedback on design.

All of the Extra Care Homes will be affordable rent, funded through housing benefit. At this stage it is not yet possible to determine the future rent levels.

This has been reported to SCC Highways department to be looked at and addressed.

The development has considered the following sustainability measures: