Feedback sought on ‘City for all Ages’ plan

A project to improve the health and wellbeing of Nelson’s over-65 population is looking for public feedback on the best way to keep older Nelsonians connected and contributing.

For two years, a community steering group, with the support of the Nelson City Council, has been working on its City For All Ages Strategy. Last week a draft of the strategy was released for public consultation, which will run until November 18.

Steering group chair Paul Steere said Nelsonians were living longer lives, and changes needed to be made to accommodate a population that was becoming older.

Currently, about 20 per cent of people in Nelson are aged over 65, but this is expected to rise to a third by 2043.

‘‘Unless we prepare our community for these changes, many will struggle and find the extra years not a gift, but a burden.’’

In the draft strategy, seven focus areas have been identified: Wellness, Work, Social, Housing, Mobility, Information, and Outdoors. Along with outlining some of the issues associated with each focus, the strategy has suggested a range of actions that could be taken.

For example, in the ‘‘Wellness’’ category, actions include establishing a fitness class for older people at Saxton Stadium, and looking into opportunities to support older adults participating in the creative arts.

Across the other categories, there are proposals such as supporting older adults who want to stay in employment longer, encouraging more volunteer work, establishing a cheaper and more frequent bus service, and increasing the provision of seating on walkways such as Saxton Field.

Along with the council, organisations such as Age Concern, Sport Tasman, Volunteer Nelson and others would help to implement strategies where appropriate.

Councillor and City For All Ages working group chair Matt Lawrey said the working group was looking for feedback from the public to help make Nelson a better place to live across every age group.

‘‘We don’t want to just hear from older Nelsonians – we want to hear from everyone, because we want this city to work as well as it can for all generations. We all have a role to play in this because we’re all getting older together.’’

Along with community submissions, the steering group is looking to hear about other partner organisations that could help undertake more actions to make Nelson more age-friendly.

More information about the strategy can be found at cityforallages.nz. Feedback can be sent to cityforallages@ncc. govt.nz.