Housing company "making history" with UK's first LGBT+ retirement village

A London housing company has announced that it has received a £5.7m loan to open the UK’s first LGBT+ specific retirement community.

Tonic Housing has received the multi-million pound loan from the Mayor of London for the purchase of 19 homes in Vauxhall.

The homes will together form a community to support elderly LGBT+ people who are at retirement age or older.

The houses, within One Housing Bankhouse, are set to go up for sale in late spring this year, with the first residents expected to move in this summer.

Anna Kear, CEO of Tonic Housing, commented: “We are making history today, realising a long-held dream to provide a safe place for older LGBT+ people to live well, in a community where they can be themselves and enjoy their later life.

“We applaud the Mayor of London for recognising and supporting the needs of older LGBT+ Londoners.

“We intend this to be the first of many Tonic retirement communities, achieved by working in partnership in London and other cities.”

“These first homes, which are already built and currently empty, will enable people who need and want this accommodation to have the benefit of it immediately.

“Working with One Housing, we can complement the excellent care services that they provide for residents in the scheme.

“We intend that future Tonic schemes will provide a range of tenures directly, created through further acquisitions or new developments. Bankhouse is an important milestone in Tonic’s evolution.

“We’re so excited to get our future residents settled in their new homes and living in our community. Moving in is just the beginning!”

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