Why unfriendly London is the capital of loneliness

WHERE you live affects how likely you are to feel lonely, a survey shows.

For while nearly 90 per cent of over-55s in London say they have felt lonely at some time in the past year, the figure fell to 66 per cent for those living in Wales.

The survey of 2,000 people aged over 55 showed a clear link between a loneliness and a lack of local community cohesion.

A quarter of respondents in the South West and in Yorkshire and Humberside said they never felt alone. Yorkshire also scored consistently highly for having plenty of social events and a sense of community.

Both the North West and London scored poorly. Two in five over-55s in the North West said they would consider moving closer to friends and family because of this.

Only one in three in London and the East of England said there were adequate events in their area for people their age, while less than half of Londoners felt there was a sense of community in their neighbourhood.

The Scots and the Welsh felt the strongest links to their areas, says the Building Companionship report by think tank Demos and retirement housebuilder McCarthy and Stone.

Demos chief executive Claudia Wood said: ‘This report is a wake-up call to an emerging crisis of loneliness and isolation amongst older people in the UK.’ She added: ‘As our population ages, there is no doubt that we need to urgently consider new approaches to the design of both public and private spaces, to ensure they are inclusive to older people, and encourage healthy, active and sociable lives.’

Official statistics show a million older people in the UK suffer from loneliness, which has been linked to health problems including high blood pressure, depression and an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s.