Action Plan for an Age-Friendly Stockport

Overview

Age may be just a number, but ageing is something that matters to us all, so we can live out our hopes and dreams well into our later life. 

That is why Stockport Age-Friendly Partnership – made up of partners and individuals from the community, voluntary and statutory sectors - is inviting residents, community groups, and partner organisations to contribute to the new Action Plan for an Age-Friendly Stockport.

Stockport has the oldest population among the ten Greater Manchester districts, and along with much of the rest of the country, our population continues to age. Between 2022 and 2043, the proportion of over 65-year-olds in the Stockport population is expected to increase from 20% to 23%.  

But people in Stockport have very different experiences of growing older. There is almost a 10-year difference in life expectancy between people living in the most and least deprived areas. People living in the most deprived areas can expect to live more than a quarter of their life in less than good health (26%), compared to 13% (for males) and 14% (for females) for those living in the least deprived areas.  

It is in everyone’s interest for us to tackle this health inequality and increase the healthy life years for everyone in Stockport. Even though ageing is a natural process, it does not inevitably result in disability, disease, and dependency. We all want to age well, be respected and valued, enjoy work, family and friends, and a sense of purpose, regardless of age, and remain well and active for as long as possible. 

The Stockport One Future Plan recently re-emphasised our ambition to make that happen. The new Greater Manchester Age-Friendly Strategy for 2024-34 sets out four key themes which are key to supporting people to age well: Economy, Work and Money; Places; Ageing Well; and Working Together.

The Stockport Health and Care Board and its partners are fully supportive of this approach, and the Stockport Age-Friendly Partnership is now developing a new Action Plan to work towards this. The Action Plan builds on work in relevant areas as wide-ranging as housing, outdoor areas and transport, employment and poverty, social participation, respect and social inclusion, and community and health services.

Everyone in Stockport, young and old, is encouraged to contribute to this Action Plan. This engagement phase is open until the 15^th of December, and the Action Plan will be finalised in Spring 2025.