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Retired schoolteacher Kathleen Rawes, 85, missed London\u2019s theatres and restaurants so much after she retired to Harrogate that she moved back six months ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was craving a taste of city living,\u201d she said. \u201cHarrogate was just too small for me. \u201cI longed to be back in the capital \u2013 at the heart of it all.\u201d<\/p>\n
She bought a one-bedroom apartment in Battersea Place<\/a>, London\u2019s first retirement village which rises 10 storeys overlooking Battersea Park and central London.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a view of London that looks like Manhattan at night and I even enjoy watching the planes coming into Heathrow,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Armed with her \u2018freedom pass\u2019 the spritely widow who met her late husband John when they were economics students at the London School of Economics declared: \u201cI am so busy now \u2013 I love going to the theatre and don\u2019t mind dining alone in restaurants as I can ear-wig people\u2019s conversations. I also join outings the village organises to museums and galleries.\u201d<\/p>\n There are an estimated two million people over 50 currently living in London, and just 737 private units under construction according to data from the Elderly Accommodation Council. However developers are moving in looking to build high-rise schemes with roof gardens, swimming pools and restaurants and shifting their approach to retirement living as a hospital option to a hospitality one.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite the demographic shift in the capital there has been very little bespoke housing delivered for older people who would like to downsize but are trapped in their family homes because there is nothing for them,\u201d explains Henry Lumby, managing director of Amicala<\/a>, a new retirement specialist set to build vertical villages in London and designing places people are proud to live in<\/p>\n High-End developer PegasusLife<\/a> has already conquered the capital with four schemes; the tallest being Hampstead Green Place<\/a> comprising 59 apartments over eight floors with communal roof terraces and a penthouse.<\/p>\n \u201cBuilding high means buyers can enjoy fabulous views, and sit outside on the roof terrace away from the pollution at street level,\u201d says Neil MacKichan of retirement property website Retiremove. \u201cLondon needs more dedicated retirement housing at various price points to enable older people to live in safe and secure properties that can provide care if they need it.<\/p>\n Luxury operator Audley, which has built 16 retirement villages with care in the southeast is building its first London village on a one-acre site by Clapham Common. Some 94 one-and-two bed apartments with a restaurant, pool, library and spa will rise over eight storeys and completed in 2020.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a myth that everyone wants to move to the country as they get older,\u201d says CEO Nick Sanderson. \u201cOur own research has shown us that many people want to stay in the same locality; there is also a trend of older people moving back in to cities. (Audleyvillages.co.uk<\/a>)<\/p>\n Leading the trend of older people remaining in the capital are celebrities such as Sting who has downsized to an apartment at Battersea Power Station; royal interior designer Nicky Haslam, 79, who has moved into a single-storey apartment opposite the Cromwell Hospital. \u201cI have two bathrooms and room for a carer if I need one,\u201d he says. \u201cI live in the best city in the world, close to two tube stations, walking distance from Waitrose, a great restaurant and opposite a top London hospital.\u201d And broadcaster Joan Bakewell, 85, is marketing her home in Primrose Hill so she can move somewhere smaller nearby.<\/p>\n Building is not confined to central London either \u2013 one of PegasusLife\u2019s schemes is in Purley, Greater London<\/a> where prices are considerably less. One-bed apartments in five-storey Carriages start at \u00a3349,950 compared to \u00a3795,000 in Hampstead.<\/p>\n Retired teacher Diana Stainbank, 72, bought a two-bed apartment for \u00a3650,000 at Carriages in January, after selling a four-bedroom detached house nearby.<\/p>\n The widowed mother of two has lived locally for 29 years, enjoys going to the theatre and sits on an NHS hearings panel for patients in the capital\u2019s mental health hospitals.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t want to start all over again in another area,\u201d says Diana who is also member of the National Theatre on London\u2019s South Bank and a volunteer at the David Lean arthouse cinema in Croydon. \u201cI have wonderful friends nearby \u2013 and l love being near all the theatres in the West End.\u201d<\/p>\n Her new home which is five minutes from the station is also ideal for pursuing her other passion \u2013 walking. \u201cIt gives me peace of mind that when I am away on a walk with the Ramblers Association my home is secure and being taken care of. She says\u201d She went walking in Iceland two years ago and is off to Siberia in June<\/p>\n Buying a home in one of London\u2019s retirement communities does not come cheap. And the mayor has declared that while he wants to deliver 4,100 homes to older people a year he also wants older Londoners to move to the coast!<\/p>\n Tom Scaife the newly appointed head of retirement at Knight Frank argues that with no incentives being offered to developers or buyers providing this number of properties is a tall order.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is lots of help for people trying to get on the housing ladder but none to get them off,\u201d he says. \u201cFor example there is stamp duty relief for first time buyers but not last time buyers.\u201d<\/p>\n The stamp duty on an apartment in London\u2019s ritziest retirement development, Auriens<\/a> in Chelsea, is an eye-watering \u00a3273,750 for a 900 square foot home priced at \u00a33million.<\/p>\n Some 55 assisted-living apartments are being built opposite the Royal Marsden Hospital in Dovehouse Street and will cost up to \u00a310million.<\/p>\n Wealthy owners can expect Lobster cocktail and beluga caviar (\u00a3170 for 30g) on the restaurant menu and an indoor swimming pool, sauna, cinema, dog grooming salon and wine storage when the scheme is completed in 2020.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.106″ background_layout=”light” border_radii=”on|10px|10px|10px|10px” background_color=”#f2f2f2″ custom_padding=”20px|20px|20px|20px”]<\/p>\n Birchgrove<\/strong> is offering 74 assisted-living homes to rent in Bexley. \u201cYou\u00a0don\u2019t have to get in a chain, pay SDLT, complete and move on the same day; you can even move in for a couple of months to see if you like it – if not you can move back home,\u201d says managing director Honor Barratt. (www.birchgrove.life<\/a>)<\/p>\n Bankhouse<\/strong> has 36 one and two-bed shared-ownership homes on the upper levels of a 14-storey tower on Albert Embankment in London, priced from \u00a3565,000 (www.bankhouseSE1.co.uk<\/a>)<\/p>\n Quadra <\/strong>near London Fields in Hackney has 29 one-and-two bed apartments for over 55s; 15 for sale priced from \u00a3595,000 and 14 for rent (www.downsizer-homes.co.uk<\/a>)<\/p>\n Bridgewater House<\/strong> extra care scheme in Isleworth provides 36 one and two-bedroom apartments for people aged over 55 who need assisted living support. Prices from \u00a391,250 for 25 per cent share for a one bed. (octavialiving.org.uk<\/a>)<\/p>\nOTHER LONDON SCHEMES\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n