A PIONEERING £10 million project to reduce social isolation is set to benefit people over the age of 50 in three areas of Bury.

The five-year Ambition for Ageing project, led by the Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisation (GMCVO), aims to bring together communities, businesses and public services to better understand what older people need and want.

The wards of Moorside in Bury, Radcliffe North, and St Mary’s in Prestwich are among the 24 across the region earmarked to receive a slice of the funding, which is provided by the Big Lottery Fund.

The key objective will be to create places that are age friendly and to empower people to live fulfilling lives as they age, ultimately reducing social isolation.

Alex Whinnom, a spokesman for GMCVO, said: “We believe that the ageing population of Greater Manchester is an opportunity, and we are excited to be part of a programme where the people affected are able to directly influence and design their own solutions.”

A competition is now underway to find organisations to become ‘local delivery leads’, which will work with older people and communities in the neighbourhood.

It is expected that the scheme will result in more than 2,000 new funded projects designed to generate new connections and social activities, making it easier for older people to feel more confident and involved in their communities.

Cllr John Pantall, chairman of the Ambition for Ageing Programme Board, said: “Ambition For Ageing will build on and support a great deal of good work already going on in our communities. The new ideas generated by this project will help us all understand how to support people to live more independent and fulfilling lives.”

In 2014, GMCVO conducted surveys in the participating districts, which identified a loss of confidence amongst older people as a common cause of losing contact with others in their neighbourhood.

Nat Sloane, Big Lottery Fund England chairman, added: “The Ambition for Ageing project is an excellent example of how lottery funding can create exciting opportunities for older people to use their wealth of skills and experience to take an active lead in designing and delivering vital projects to ensure that older people living longer also live well.”

For more information: visit www.gmcvo.org.uk/ambition-ageing