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Member of Parliament for Amber Valley

Standing-Up-4-Sitting-down-campaign

Standing Up for Sitting Down Campaign

I recently visited Lawman Gardens retirement scheme in Bonsall Lane, Alfreton to support Anchor’s Standing Up 4 Sitting Down campaign, to provide more seating for older people so they can rest mid-shop.

Anchor is England’s largest not-for-profit provider of housing and care to older people, and I joined residents at Lawman Gardens and Manager Hilary Boyes to discuss their campaign to improve people’s access to their local shops and high street by increasing the amount of seating available to those who need it.

All too often we hear of people struggling to access their local shops and leisure facilities as much as they’d like to due to a lack of seating areas to rest in. This is a great campaign and, after speaking with some of the Alfreton residents, I can see the provision of seating would be of great benefit to them as well as to local businesses and shops. It’s quite a simple thing to do, but it can make a huge difference to people’s shopping experiences – and to the local economy.

Hilary commented: “I’m so pleased that Nigel Mills MP is supporting the Standing Up 4 Sitting Down campaign as it is a big issue in this constituency. At Anchor, we want to see older people enjoy their lives to its fullest and never have unnecessarily restricted access to life’s simple pleasures. We want to see an end to the loneliness felt by 800,000 older people in the UK.

“For this reason, Standing Up 4 Sitting Down is calling on retailers and high streets to do their bit to improve the lives of older people by providing adequate seating in public spaces. We want shops to add extra appropriate seating for older people and display the Standing Up 4 Sitting Down sticker in their shop windows, to signal that they provide seating for older people or those who need it.”

For more information, and to support the campaign, visit: www.su4sd.org.uk.

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