Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole have more older adults than the national average, and this group is growing faster than any other. The 2021 Census data shows that people aged 55-59 increased by 27.3%, and those aged 70-74 increased by 39.5%.

Age-friendly Communities are places that enable people to age well, creating somewhere that people can stay living in their homes, participate in the activities they value, and contribute to their communities, for as long as possible.

The approach was developed by the World Health Organisation in 2007, in consultation with older people around the world. It is built on the evidence of what supports healthy and active ageing in a place and supports older residents to shape the place that they live.

By following this approach, local groups, leaders, councils, businesses and older residents will all work together to identify and make changes in both the physical and social environments. This includes improving transport, outdoor spaces, volunteering and employment, leisure and community services.

The UK Network of Age-friendly Communities is now a growing movement, with over 75 places across the country committed to making their community a better place to age in.

BCP have collaborated with partners to make Dorset more age friendly, believing that talking about healthy aging and improving accessibility can help everyone, including future generations. Active Dorset are now a partner organisation of this network supporting BCP to enable people to age well and live a good later life, supported locally by Prama.

The Age Friendly Forum is for the network of organisations that are part of the Age Friendly Network. The main focus for the Age Friendly Network is to work together with the common aim to improve things for older people in BCP. Active Dorset's role in particular is to help support everyone to move a little more every day, in ways that work for them while tailoring that support towards those who can benefit most from moving more.

Take Five to Age Well Campaign

Launching on September 1, Take Five to Age Well aims to give people simple, practical advice around how to age well. From eating healthily to moving more – there's useful tips for everyone to follow.

Developed by The Open University, the campaign will build a UK-wide community that encourages people to commit to ageing well by taking up habits that will support healthy ageing - Eating, Drinking, Moving, Thinking and Connecting.

This September, we encourage Dorset organisations to help raise awareness and signpost older residents to the site, where they can choose a pledge, helping them to live longer in better health.