The Age Friendly Banbury partnership is collecting feedback from local people about what it is like to grow old in the town. The consultation results will be used to create a proposal for some tangible initiatives to make Banbury more age friendly, with significant funding on the table.
Age Friendly Banbury is a strong cross-sector partnership that aims to address the fact that far too many older people in Banbury are suffering due to poor transport, unsuitable housing, fear of crime, lack of community cohesion, limited care and difficulty getting out and about. In February 2018 this partnership was one of 20 successful bids – selected out of a total 176 applications – to win support from the Place Based Social Action (PBSA) Programme, funded by The Big Lottery and the DCMS.
The partnership shares a commitment to early and ongoing engagement with local people to develop a vision for Banbury and a town-wide strategy that puts local communities at the heart of all decision making. This engagement started with a launch event in June where over 100 people shared their views. Since then, over 300 people have completed a questionnaire to give feedback on their experiences, with the results being analysed at the moment; and the partnership is organising a series of focus groups and ‘pop-up shops’ in Banbury during September and October.
Feedback from these sources will be used to propose a five-year plan to make Banbury a more age friendly place. An age friendly town encompasses both the built environment, such as housing, transport and outdoor spaces, and the social environment, such as health and information services, civic participation and social activities.
In October, the Age Friendly Banbury partnership has the opportunity to bid for a further £500,000 from the Place Based Social Action Programme to support the delivery of their proposal. To be eligible for this second stage, we need to evidence additional match/in-kind funding. Whilst a minimum of 33% is required, we believe our bid will be significantly strengthened by offering a limited 2:1 match fund to raise an equivalent of £250,000. As the Place Based Social Action Programme will run until December 2024, we aim to secure total annual pledges of £50,000 for five years to achieve this.
We are therefore seeking support from fellow funders and local philanthropists in helping us to achieve this match and support our bid. If you or your organisation is interested in getting involved, please contact OCF’s Chief Executive Jayne Woodley at jayne@oxfordshire.org or on 01865 798666.