Questions to the Mayor of London – answered at on 22 November 2021.
Older Londoners play an important part in London’s economy, particularly on our high streets, with research from Homes For Later Living showing 80% of people in retirement flats use shops daily. What are you doing to ensure London’s high streets are more welcoming and attractive to older Londoners?
The London Plan emphasises the need for t inclusive town centre environments that meet the needs of all Londoners, including older Londoners. This may include shopmobility schemes, suitably designed crossing points, dropped kerbs and tactile paving, seating and public toilets.
Approximately £42 million of my Good Growth Fund has been allocated to regenerate town centres and high streets across London. Projects such as Kingsley Hall and Holborn House secured Good Growth Fund investment in the refurbishment and extension of existing facilities to support integration across generations.
My Night Time Enterprise Zone pilot project, which ran in Walthamstow in 2019, engaged with a number of groups, including older people, to ensure that their views and experiences of the high street at night were considered.
In March, I launched the High Streets for All Challenge, inviting local partnerships to respond to the challenges faced by high streets and town centres. Many of these proposals set out to support older people and explore how high streets can tackle loneliness and promote intergenerational exchange.