A HOMESHARE scheme piloted in Oxford should see 1,000 students and key workers being housed with pensioners.

It is hoped the first students seeking accommodation will be matched with older people by September.

Age UK Oxfordshire this week expressed confidence that the scheme would play a role in helping to ease the city’s housing shortages.

And it is also being viewed as a means to allow more elderly people with a spare room to continue living in their own homes for longer.

With affordable housing in Oxford in short supply, it is hoped that the homeshare programme can be extended to young professionals such as nurses, teachers and researchers.

The scheme is being spearheaded by Age UK Oxfordshire following the promise of £172,000 over three years from Lloyds Bank Foundation and the Big Lottery Fund. It is believed to be the first scheme of its kind outside London.

It is hoped more money will be forthcoming once the scheme is underway.

Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council, both universities and hospital health trusts will all be asked to make contributions once the programme has shown its worth.

The scheme will initially see about a dozen home-seekers matched with an older person willing to share their home in exchange for company and help.

But it is envisaged that the scheme will eventually help provide hundreds of homes, without a brick having to be laid.

Age UK Oxfordshire chief executive Paul Cann said: “We hope to reach a target of 1,000 in five to 10 years. That is what we aspire to.

“And that would be a serious contribution to the challenge of an ageing population and the city’s serious housing shortage.

“Lloyds Bank Foundation have made clear that they want to get behind the idea seriously.

“If it can work anywhere, it can work in Oxford. The city has a massive student population and a large public sector workforce who want to live in or close to the city.

“There is a housing shortage but at the same time a lot of larger houses which can be called under-occupied.

“Homeshare schemes have been successfully run in countries across the world including France, Spain, Australia and the United States. Now we are to be one of two trailblazers selected to kick-off the national programme in this country.”

In exchange for being accommodated in a spare room, the younger party would be expected to provide about 10 hours of companionship and light domestic help, which would not include personal care.

To ensure the scheme’s long-term viability, the homesharer would be expected to pay £200 a month, with the monthly charge for the home owner expected to be no more than £100.

Mr Cann said: “It is a win for the older person looking for someone to live in their house in return for a little help. It is a win for a younger person trying to find affordable accommodation in a crowded and expensive city. But it is also a win for the public purse in helping people avoid the costs of expensive support.”