DRAFT North Somerset Sustainable Community Strategy 08 - 26.pdf

Partnership Priority: Improving health and wellbeingWhy this is a priority• Good health is not equally distributed across North Somerset and there is awidening gap in life expectancy between people living in our most deprived areasand the most affluent. The gap between the most deprived fifth of our areas andthe least deprived fifth is now 7.8 years for a baby boy and 5.9 years for a baby girl.One ward in Weston has the lowest life expectancy of any ward in the South West.• With an ageing population healthy life expectancy is increasing at a lower ratethan overall life expectancy. Elderly people now live longer with health problemsand we can expect an increase in chronic conditions such as heart failure,respiratory disease, diabetes and stroke.• Mental health conditions such as dementia and depression are expected to rise asthe population ages.• Infant mortality rates in North Somerset have been consistently higher than theSouth West average but are lower than the national average.• The average house price in North Somerset is now almost nine times the averageincome of those working in the district.• Private rented housing costs are 16% higher than the national average at around£575 per week for a two-bedroom house.• A recent ‘Private Housing Stock Condition Survey’ determined that around 30,000private dwellings are classed as non-decent.• In June 2007 there were 5093 applicants on the Housing Needs Register; this is anupward trend that is anticipated to grow further.What our communities told usPeople viewed improving health and wellbeing in a variety of ways, encouraging us totackle this area of work from a broad perspective.When asked about the key priorities for NSP, 63.8% of people considered improving healthand wellbeing to be very important. 45.9% of all people and 52.6% of young people (upto 24 years) thought having an appropriate range of housing to meet local needs as veryimportant.Local people were concerned about access to affordable accommodation to rent orbuy, and improving conditions of houses in multiple occupation. People considered itimportant to offer appropriate support, and homes designed to sustain independent livingfor all age groups, with affordable and supportive housing options for older people inparticular.In new housing developments, people want more development of mixed-use sites, with arange of housing and employment opportunities, while ensuring that the appropriateinfrastructure to sustain new communities was put in place. A move towards eco friendly,healthy building practices encouraging the development of fuel-efficient homes was alsothought important.32