THREE Bury neighbourhoods have been recognised for being "age-friendly".

Radcliffe, Moorside and St Mary's have all been named winners of the Age-friendly Challenge being run by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

Mr Burnham announced the honour at the Doing Things Differently conference last week.

He said: “I launched this challenge last year to unearth the positive work I know is going on in Greater Manchester, to find practical examples of what age-friendly really means, and to share best practice across the city-region.

"The response to this challenge has been fantastic.

"The variety of age-friendly work displayed from all our winners clearly shows the commitment from our local communities to make sure that people in Greater Manchester are living not just longer, but happier and healthier too.”

The Bury neighbourhoods were three of 32 areas from across Greater Manchester

praised for their positive approach to getting older and being a good place to live as you age.

Bury Council leader Rishi Shori said: “We’re all living longer, which has huge implications - not just for the health and social care services that we rely on, but also on how we can support each other in our neighbourhoods and reduce people’s feelings of isolation.

"We are delighted that three areas in Bury have been recognised for the work that partner organisations and the community are doing to keep us happy, healthy and independent for as long as possible.”

Submissions to the Mayor’s Age-Friendly Challenge were reviewed by an expert panel chaired by Professor 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.