Contract for the Design Build and Operation of Extra-Care Housing at Dunsbury Way, Havant

Hampshire County Council is seeking to engage the market and provide interested suppliers with early sight of its proposed approach to the procurement of an Extra Care Housing project in Havant, Hampshire.

Hampshire’s older persons’ population is projected to increase by 56% between 2020 and 2035, from 153,000 to 239,000. Within Havant, the numbers are forecast to increase by 53% during the same period, with the over-75 population increasing from 15,000 to 23,000.

Havant is one of the few remaining Hampshire boroughs without provision for older people’s Extra Care Housing and is identified as a priority area in the Extra Care Older Adults’ Brochure 2023.1. The Havant borough area also has the second highest number of residents referred to Residential Care homes across Hampshire, with the County Council purchasing circa 150 new placements per year in Havant. It is predicted that the delivery and build of an affordable Extra Care Housing scheme will divert many residents from high-cost Residential Care placements into Extra Care Housing.

In January 2024, the Council commissioned an independent organisation to understand the demand for affordable Extra Care Housing across Hampshire over the next 20 years. This analysis indicates that 154 units of affordable Extra Care Housing will be required in the Havant Borough area over this period.

The above-mentioned population increase will continue to build further pressure on existing provision as the increasing needs and demands on services for older people continue to rise.

The proposal is to procure a provider to design, build and operate a c.70-bed Extra Care facility on the Dunsbury Way Site in Havant. The operation of the site will include the rental and maintenance of the building. However, the project will not receive any capital investment from the County Council, only a void guarantee. The term and threshold for the void guarantee will be assessed during the evaluation of the tender exercise.

The site will be leased to the provider on a 250-year lease, with an approximated value of £1,100,000. The provider will be responsible for developing the design, obtaining planning permission, and letting the units at an affordable rent. The successful service provider will be required to operate the scheme for a minimum of 20 years, after which they will be able to sell the scheme for continued operation as an Extra Care Housing site.

The provider or consortium will need to include a Registered Housing Provider.

As Hampshire County Council will require the units to be let only at an affordable rented tenure, as defined in the National Planning Policy Framework, the Provider will need to seek both Homes England funding and their own capital contribution to develop and deliver this scheme.