04 Nov 2025
The district council has intervened to provide new homes for adults supported by Harpenden Mencap – ending a 15-year search for suitable accommodation while their main site is redeveloped.
Harpenden Mencap provide support for adults with learning disabilities across the district, including a supported living service which allows these adults to live independently.
With the facilities at their main Harpenden site in Douglas Road in urgent need of redevelopment, the charity has spent the last 15 years searching for suitable private properties to rent or buy, to ensure they can continue providing this service while redevelopment takes place.
After this difficult search SADC stepped in to provide a number of homes at a new Harpenden site, which are being rented to the charity at cost.
Now that the new residents have settled in, Harpenden Mencap recently held an official opening of the site, which was attended by SADC leader Cllr Paul de Kort, who said: “It was wonderful to join the team at Harpenden Mencap to officially open this new supported living site, and hear how much the new residents are enjoying living there.
“After the charity has faced such a tough housing search, it’s brilliant that the council was able to step in and offer this solution.”
Harpenden Mencap chief executive officer Angela Duce, explained that the charity’s Stairways building on Douglas Road has remained largely unchanged since 1980, and as a result is in need of redvelopment to bring it up to modern standards and meet the needs of people with learning difficulties, particularly with regards accessibility and building regulations.
“Stairways previously housed 19 adults with learning disabilities across both our Supported Living Service and higher-needs Residential Service. Relocating the tenants was a major undertaking. There were no comparable facilities in Harpenden that could meet the complex housing needs of the people we support. Many sites for a Stairways replacement have been assessed over the years, in partnership with a housing association. However, none could provide the facilities needed to ensure affordable, flexible accommodation.
“The lease of the properties in Batford will give us the opportunity to redevelop our current site in Douglas Road which could not be undertaken until homes were sourced for everyone. We are now leasing the Stairways site to another charity at a peppercorn rent while working with the housing association on a planning application.
“Our goal is to modernise the site so it can once again serve as a high-quality, accessible, affordable environment for adults with learning disabilities that will be suitable for their changing needs.”
