Following two rounds of The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham’s Age-Friendly Challenge, we are now happy to announce that fifty-three neighbourhoods across Greater Manchester have been recognised as age-friendly, or making excellent progress to becoming age-friendly.

The awards recognise the hard work that organisations and older people across Greater Manchester have carried out to make their area a great place to grow older. An age-friendly neighbourhood is a place where: residents are committed to looking out for each other, older people feel they can have a say in what’s going on in their local area, and there are spaces where people can get together. The awards also show that each area is committed to helping older people feel: independent, safe and secure, and informed about what is going on in their local area.

The challenge was supported by Ambition for Ageing and submissions to Mayor’s Age-Friendly Challenge were reviewed by an expert panel chaired by Prof. Chris Phillipson from MICRA at The University of Manchester. Other panellists included representatives from Greater Manchester Older People’s Network, Ambition for Ageing, and the Centre for Ageing Better.

Successful areas have been awarded with accreditation – official recognition from the Mayor and Combined Authority that the neighbourhood is age-friendly. The categories are as follows:

• Age-Friendly 2019: Achievement Award with Merit – an age-friendly place  
• Age-Friendly 2019: Achievement Award – a place that is making excellent progress towards becoming age-friendly.

* Indicates this place was awarded achievement award with merit.