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%.

We have teamed up with partners to make our community more age friendly. We believe that talking about healthy aging and improving accessibility can help everyone, including future generations.

We are part of the Centre for Ageing Better's UK Network of Age Friendly Communities. They have a video that explains what an age friendly community is.

We also aim to become recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and join their Global Network of Age Friendly Cities and Communities.

Our Age Friendly Community vision

We want Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole to be age friendly places to live, work, and visit.

Our three priorities for 2023 to 2025 are:

• engage with older adults and our partners
• help older adults to participate socially and connect with their communities
• work with local employers on age friendly practices

We made an Age Friendly Community action plan alongside our partners, based on  recommendations of the WHO Age-friendly Cities Network and their 8 key areas. This plan covers our main goals until April 2025.

If you want to stay updated with our plans, you can subscribe to our Age Friendly Community email newsletter.

We'll also update this page with our latest progress reports. Our initial summary report shows our first actions, findings and meetings with our partners.

Independent Age has advice guides, factsheets and leaflets page that provide helpful resources for older adults, their families and carers. Independent Age is a charity that helps older people facing financial difficulties.

Events for International Day of Older People

Each year on 1 October, people across the world mark United Nations International Day of Older People to raise awareness of opportunities and challenges faced by the ageing population. Every year there is a UK theme chosen by the Centre for Ageing Better and this year the is 'The role we Play' highlighting the valued contribution our older family, friends, and residents make for our community.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole are recognised by the World Health Organisations as an Age Friendly Community and integral to this is the growing network of organisations, group leaders and residents who want the place we live to support us to age well. The Age Friendly network has come together again this year to ensure Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole have many activities across the month of October in honour of International Day of Older People.

State of Ageing report

This State of Ageing Report provides a detailed picture of older people and their experience of ageing in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. It covers people aged 50 and over in line with national State of Ageing analysis.

It presents a baseline for strategic planning to ensure all individuals can age well. Data has been used from a variety of sources including the 2021 Census, to evaluate the experiences of older people and identify disparities among different groups.

The report also provides an insight into what an age friendly community means to older people from across the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, based on conversations with local groups. The aim is for this report to inform policy and promote action; providing data-driven insights to guide policy and interventions; and encourage proactive measures to improve the quality of life of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole's older population.

The State of Ageing Report for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole is complimented by knowledge gathered by listening to the views of older people through community engagement.

For instance, Bournemouth University’s PIER team facilitated four engagement events with the Age Friendly network in March 2024. It used an appreciate enquiry approach to “Starting a conversation: Envisioning an age friendly community in BCP”, you can view or download the report findings: