Vivarium Trust wants more Scots to have the option of spending their ‘golden years’ living in these supportive and collective housing communities, which are commonplace in much of Northern Europe. To date, despite the efforts of many dedicated volunteers and professional supporters, co-housing barely exists in Scotland.

Vivarium’s new report ‘Co-housing: future homes for older Scots’ draws on the charity’s ten years of researching, promoting and championing co-housing in Scotland, particularly for older people.

The report outlines how older people have specific housing needs which are not being met by mainstream developers, despite accounting for over 40% of all house moves. It argues that with a rapidly ageing population, and increasing social isolation, Scotland desperately needs to address the chronic lack of housing designed for older people.

 A spokesperson said: “Co-housing has a unique potential to address many of these policy objectives, but requires leadership from government, and sustained support from local decision-makers in order to flourish in Scotland.

“We would be delighted if you are able to join the meeting where you will also hear about other initiatives of delivering homes that can support our communities. The intention of this Cross-Party Group meeting is to finalise 3 proposed recommendations that could inform the Scottish Government’s 2040 Vision for Housing programme.”

The meeting will be held at 6pm on March 19 in Committee Room 1 of the Scottish Parliament.

To attend, please register via the Eventbrite page.