Pride Of Place campaign

The campaign, which is being run in partnership with Age UK nationally, is calling on local councillors to take a lead in finding out what older people need in their neighbourhoods and then working with them to make those changes happen.

Many older people are prevented from getting out and about in their area due to barriers such as a lack of public transport, uneven pavements, access to public toilets or places to sit down. The campaign aims to work closely with councillors because they are best placed to help resolve these issues and enable older people to continue playing a fulfilling role in their community.

Alan Patchett, Director of Age UK Sunderland said: 'It's vital that we invest in our neighbourhoods to ensure older people can go on being active and contribute to our communities for as long as possible - after all we now have more over 60s than under 18s. We are inviting local councillors to become Pride of Place advocates and work with us and with older people locally to improve neighbourhoods in this area.'

To kick off the campaign, Age UK Sunderland is encouraging older people in the Sunderland area to send their councillor a postcard telling them what they like about their area and what they would like to see improved. The postcards are available by phoning 0191 514 1131 or through the Age UK website.

New research for Age UK shows that more than half of people over 60 living in the North East have never had any contact with their local councillor. These worrying figures highlight the huge challenge councillors face to reach out and make contact older people following recent elections.

Download the Pride of Place comments postcard