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You and Yours: Care Home Closures, Allotments, Automatic Cars

27/08/2020

Care Home Closures, Allotments, Automatic Cars

BBC Radio 4 - You and Yours, Care Home Closures, Allotments, Automatic Cars

Demand for allotments increased in lockdown, with many waiting lists longer than 18 months

With demand for allotments on the rise, councils are asking house builders to include allotment land with new homes. We investigate the impact of covid-19 on care home closures.

Occupancy rates in care homes are falling as a result of coronavirus. The pandemic has killed 5% of the care home population, and families are currently reluctant for their loved ones to move into care homes. As a result, average occupancy rates have fallen from 90% to around 75%. We speak to Liverpool City Council about the closure of two specialist dementia homes that are no longer financially viable less than a year since they were opened.
Since their heyday after the Second World War, allotment space in the UK has fallen by 65%. However waiting lists are growing as more people show an interest in growing their own food. A survey of 150 councils in April found that 40% had seen a significant increase in applications for allotments during lockdown. Some councils are trying to meet demand by regenerating derelict allotment sites, or requiring housebuilders to include allotments in the planning permission for new homes. 
More of us are learning to drive on automatic cars instead of manual. In 2012, around 70,000 driving tests took place in automatics, compared with over 185,000 last year. That’s an increase of 163%. We hear from a driving instructor and learner driver about the appeal of automatic cars.
Presented by Samantha Fenwick.
Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

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