More bungalows needed to meet needs of disabled people in Flintshire, leading councillor says

More bungalows are needed to meet the needs of disabled people in Flintshire, a leading councillor has said.

In 2017 Flintshire Council created a specialist housing register which identifies all households with someone livng with a physical disability.

So far the scheme has helped to rehouse a total of 47 people into more suitable accommodation.

However, a report discussed by senior politicians has also highlighted that 539 households are facing long waits for lower level adaptations.

Carolyn Thomas, cabinet member for Streetscene and countryside, told her colleagues more bungalows were needed in the county to meet the demand for accessible properties.

Speaking at a meeting of the Labour administration held on Tuesday she said: “With a lot of new developments, developers aren’t including bungalows.

“We seem to have a shortage of bungalows and I was wondering if there is anything we can do about that to try to change it?
“Also, could we ask developers to gift bungalows in new developments going forward?”

While work to try to meet the demand for adapted homes for disabled and elderly people in Flintshire has largely been praised, the local authority has acknowledged the wait faced by some tenants.

As a result, a special group made up of housing associations and council staff is now focusing on finding more effective ways of addressing the demand for accessible homes.

It comes after the report showed some people had been waiting up to 18 months for suitable properties.

Neal Cockerton, chief officer for housing and assets, said: “Some of the bungalows that have been built have been usually attached to extra care schemes.

“The Strategic Housing and Regeneration Programme programme doesn’t always account for bungalows and neither do private developers because they are far more expensive to build.

“However, in terms of our own stock, we have a significant amount of bungalows.

“You’re quite right that on a great number of occasions they do require adaptations, but we are seeking to be flexible with that accommodation.”

Cabinet members voted to support the work to reduce the number of people on the specialist housing register at the meeting at County Hall in Mold

By Liam Randall – Local Democracy Reporter (more here).