AN INNOVATIVE housing scheme in Middlesbrough, designed to help older or disabled people live independently and pay for additional care while still retaining a property asset, has proved a sell-out success.

Coast & Country, one of the North-East’s largest housing and regeneration companies, purchased four bungalows at Scholars Rise on Marton Road from Taylor Wimpey under a section 106 agreement.

The properties were available under flexible shared ownership terms, enabling buyers who were older and possibly ill or infirm to downsize, freeing up capital to assist with care costs but still enabling the individual to own part of the property.

All of the bungalows were sold quickly and the scheme was heavily over-subscribed, demonstrating the need for inventive and original thinking in the housing sector as the demographic of the population shifts.

“We have an ageing population and need to adapt our thinking and consider the market needs of older people within our communities,” said Marie Lodge, development manager at Coast&Country.

“This particular scheme has been an excellent solution for local people who needed a new modern bungalow and wished to downsize to meet their medical needs.”