Think tank calls for 'swings at bus stops' for older people

Local and national policy-makers are failing to ensure that our communities meet the needs of all ages according to a new report that strongly recommends that local authorities should encourage a sense of fun for all ages - such as swings at bus stops – as well as spur older people on to take more exercise.

The report ‘Community Matters. Making our Communities Ready for Ageing’, published by think tank International Longevity Centre – UK (ILC-UK), with the support of leading charity Age UK incorporates a ten-point call to action for local authorities to become ready for ageing.

Community Matters argues that policy makers must work to ensure that communities do more than cater for basic needs. As well as maintaining that communities should be places of fun for all, the report highlights the importance of supporting walking and cycling in old age as well as the need to ensure housing is adaptable to an ageing society.

Baroness Sally Greengross, chief executive of ILC-UK said "Our homes are not just places to live and our towns and cities should not just provide for our basic needs. We must have a bold and aspirational vision for communities in an ageing society. Cities and towns must, of course, meet our basic needs. Yet they are failing to do so. We are even failing to provide public toilets. But our aspiration for age-friendly cities must be much greater than providing toilets.

“Communities can reduce loneliness and isolation but we must make sure that services exist and well intentioned ‘safeguarding’ does not prevent all ages from living, working and playing together. And we need community centres rather than ‘places to hire’.

“Good communities start with good housing. As well as building more, we need to build better.”

New analysis published as part of the report reveals that, simply to keep up with anticipated population growth between now and 2037, we will need to build houses at the fastest rate since the 1970s.

The report explores the Government's plan for a new Garden City in Ebbsfleet and highlights ideas to make the new community ‘age friendly’. Ideas include the creation of shared facilities for fun and play, and even the introduction of electric ‘pods’ to transport people around.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK said: "Our population is ageing and it is essential that communities start to think now about how best to enable older people to get out and about and access essential services. The alternative is that as we age we are increasingly stuck at home and cut off from the rest of society limiting our ability to enjoy life, to socialise and stay independent for longer.”

Malcolm Dean, who chaired the expert discussions added: "The last century saw major breakthroughs in dealing with the injuries of biological ageing. This new century needs to apply the same energy and commitment to resolving the injuries of social ageing – isolation, loneliness, and exclusion from too many community activities. The report is packed with simple and inexpensive new approaches to making neighbourhoods more ‘age friendly’.”

The report details a wide range of recommendations in order to encourage communities to be “ready for ageing” including ensuring that new-build homes are accessible and adaptable by making the Lifetime Homes Standard mandatory. This is a series of design criteria intended to make homes more easily adaptable for lifetime use at minimal cost.

Also on the list of recommendations are incentives to get people walking and cycling, as well as a request for community centres to protect time for local group activities and to maintain the space as a community resource as opposed to a hall for hire.

Another recommendation is to replace the older people crossing road sign with a sign with more positive imagery promoting walking as part of later life.

Read the full report on the ILC website at http://www.ilcuk.org.uk/