Mid Ulster District Council has opened a twelve-week period of public consultation to seek comments on the districts’ first ever Age Friendly Strategy and 3 Year Action Plan.
When completed, the Age Friendly Strategy and 3 Year Action Plan will provide the framework to ensure Mid Ulster is an age-friendly district where older people are valued, engaged, and supported to live healthy, active, fulfilling lives.
The draft Age Friendly Strategy and 3 Year Action Plan has been developed with the support of funding from the Public Health Agency and the commitment of other partners.
Chair of Mid Ulster District Council, Councillor Córa Corry welcomed the final stage of the process, saying: “We know that the proportion of older people in Mid Ulster is growing and the number of residents aged 60+ in our district is expected to rise to 46,667 by 2043.
“By developing our new Age Friendly Strategy and Action Plan, Council is making an important commitment to older people now and throughout future generations by outlining how we as a district can become more age friendly.
“It’s important that we get this right from the get-go, and by ensuring that our older residents’ voice is heard clearly when we’re in the planning stages, we’ll plan to do the right things and deliver them at the right time for our residents’ needs.”
As part of the process for drafting the document, engagement has been taking place since April 2022, with a wide range of representatives from public, community, and voluntary sectors including people aged 50 and over living in the Mid Ulster district.
The Council would now like the wider residents of Mid Ulster and organisations who would like to be involved to share their own views on the key themes within the Age Friendly Strategy and 3 Year Action Plan.
Residents and organisations can do so by: completing a short online survey, available at www.midulstercouncil.org/agefriendlystrategy, requesting a group or one-to-one meeting with the Council’s Age Friendly Coordinator or, submitting a written response for the attention of Age Friendly Coordinator to the Council Offices in Magherafelt.
All responses should be made by 11.59pm on Thursday May 12, 2023.
