Another round of public meetings in Tavistock and Okehampton will be held in November to strengthen the growing support for local senior council groups. Both towns now have fledgling groups emerging, but already themes that these groups can get their teeth into are coming to light. The dates are: Okehampton ? Thursday November 1, 10.30am to 1.30pm, Ockment Centre, North Street, Okehampton. Tavistock ? Friday November 2. 10.30am to 1.30pm, Anchorage Centre, Plymouth Road, Tavistock. Okehampton residents at a recent Devon conference, aimed at making the county a better place for people over 50, listed local issues that they would like authorities to address ? issues that senior council groups once established will be able to take up.These included: l housing development in the town l the availability of ?extra care? housing for people with health and social care needs l practical initiatives to help older people who are ?isolated? in one way or another l the poor standard and locations of outdoor seating for people around the town. Okehampton resident Mary Morse, who is keen to see a local senior council group set up for the town, said: ?I would like to see more residents in the area aged 50 or over to come forward to join any of the discussion groups, such as the meeting at the Ockment Centre, to talk about ways to improve the town and surrounding areas for people in that age group.? Tavistock residents attending the conference gave their ideas on what would improve their town for people over 50. Their first priority is to set up a local senior council group for Tavistock. Other themes include: l more appropriate housing for elderly people l a need for better local transport l addressing a lack of rural GP surgeries l ensuring the views of people in the town, aged over 50, are properly listened to. Tavistock resident Tony Siddall said: ?It is up to the people of Tavistock and the surrounding villages to tell of their concerns. ?Both the chairmen of Devon County Council and the PCT have committed themselves to listen to the concerns raised. I hope the local residents support this initiative so the senior council can make a difference for the older residents of our area. We look forward to the meeting on November 2.? So far around 400 people have registered as members in their local senior council groups. A Shadow Senior Council is now in place, and the full senior council will be up and running by March 2008. It will be a fully independent, non party political body that will use its influence to lobby and be part of local policy making to provide better local services for the over 50s. By 2028, Devon will have the second highest percentage of over 50s in the country, with over half of its population in that age group.
