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Age Friendly Community Development

Published: 17/02/2023

Flintshire County Council’s Cabinet will be asked to approve the proposal for the Council to submit an application for membership of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Network of Age Friendly Cities and Communities when it meets on Thursday, 23 February 2023.

The Welsh Government (WG) launched a ‘Strategy for an Ageing Society’ in October 2021. This strategy provides a vision for Wales to be an age friendly nation - supporting people of all ages to live and age well and to participate in their community. 

To support this vision, WG has invited all local authorities to apply for membership of the WHO global network.  In Flintshire, there is a long-standing commitment to developing age friendly communities, demonstrated when the Council signed the Dublin Declaration in 2014, underlining its commitment for Flintshire to become age friendly. The Flintshire Public Services Board prioritised the continued development of age-friendly public services and communities in the ‘Wellbeing Plan for Flintshire’.  This will involve making positive changes to the following aspects of community life which the WHO defines as ‘Age-Friendly Domains’:

• Outdoor space and public buildings 
• Transport 
• Housing 
• Social participation
• Respect and social inclusion 
• Civic participation and employment 
• Communication and information 
• Community support and health services. 

Flintshire’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Social Services and Wellbeing, Councillor Christine Jones, said:

“I fully support this proposal as membership will provide a number of positive impacts and will show our commitment to supporting, valuing and celebrating our ageing population. It will also provide an opportunity to share best practice ideas and resources with other network members.”

“Significant progress has been made over a number of years to build age and dementia friendly communities in Flintshire. This includes the establishment of community cafes, supporting community action groups, improving information sharing, and developing intergenerational projects and digital inclusion initiatives.”

This work will provide opportunities for older people to have a voice in shaping age-friendly communities and services. 

The target for submitting the application is February 2023.