Calderdale agrees to become an Age Friendly Community

More than a third of Calderdale residents are aged over 50, and one in five is 65+ (an increase of almost a quarter over the last 10 years). By 2040 almost one in four people in Calderdale will be aged 65+.

Cabinet member for Adult Services and Wellbeing, Coun Josh Fenton-Glynn (Lab, Calder) said: “We don’t want this to be something we adopt and then do nothing about.

“We want to consider our ageing population in everything we do,” he said.

Cabinet approved the objective to become a World Health Organisation Age Friendly Community; to agree for Calderdale to become a member of the UK Network for Age Friendly Communities; and to sign up to the Healthy Ageing Consensus Statement produced by Public Health England and the Centre for Ageing Better:

“For England to be the best place in the world to grow older, giving everyone the opportunities and support they need to have a healthy and good quality later life and making the best use of the strengths, skills and experience of older people.”

Age Friendly Calderdale would see the Council, residents, local groups and businesses working together to help people to age healthily, actively and safely, including making changes to transport, outdoor spaces, leisure, volunteering and employment. Older people will be at the heart of these changes, as their views will be sought on what they believe makes Calderdale age friendly. A new Age Friendly Alliance, made up of a range of local organisations, will drive this work and will be responsible to the Health and Wellbeing Board.

The aim is to make it easier for people to continue living independently in their own homes; to take part in the activities they value; and to remain an active part of their communities for as long as possible. This helps to improve health and wellbeing, reduce health inequalities and the likelihood of poverty.

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