{"id":482148,"date":"2025-10-08T05:35:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T05:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/482148\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T05:35:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T05:35:19","slug":"thriving-not-surviving-in-sidmouth-britains-over-90s-capital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/482148\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Thriving not surviving’ in Sidmouth Britain’s over-90s capital"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jen SmithSouth West health correspondent , Sidmouth<\/p>\n

\"BBCBBC<\/p>\n

Dennis now lives in a care home but visits Sidmouth town centre every week <\/p>\n

“I’ve got a small fridge in my room \u2013 I’ve cans of cocktails in there, we crack open a few in the afternoon.”<\/p>\n

One-hundred-year-old Dennis has been revealing his secrets to a long and happy life.<\/p>\n

Sidmouth – the centenarian’s adopted hometown – has the highest number of residents aged more than 90 in England.<\/p>\n

Recent ONS data<\/a>, from June 2022, showed there were 319 people aged 90 or above living there – 6% of the population, compared to the British average of 0.9%.<\/p>\n

But why are so many nonagenarians drawn to the seaside resort, and what effect is it having on the town?<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Statistics suggest Sidmouth has the highest rate of 90 year olds in Britain<\/p>\n

Dennis moved to Sidmouth from Kent in the 1990s and now lives in a care home. <\/p>\n

“I love the seafront,” he says.<\/p>\n

“I love the views along the coast. I like the town too \u2013 it’s not big. Everybody knows you.”<\/p>\n

He says the key to longevity is positivity.<\/p>\n

“Always look on the bright side, try and smile a lot \u2013 I do,” he explains.<\/p>\n

“If I smile \u2013 people smile back at you. That’s what’s Sidmouth’s good for.”<\/p>\n

\"Corinne,<\/p>\n

Corinne dances twice a week in the town <\/p>\n

The latest census also suggests the town’s older population is not just surviving but thriving \u2013 with 95% of residents describing themselves as in fair, good or great health.<\/p>\n

Corinne, 95, is originally from Yorkshire but moved to Sidmouth when her husband died 11 years ago.<\/p>\n

“I dance twice a week… and I exercise a lot \u2013 I’ve got a treadmill, my cat thinks I’ve gone mad when I’m on it,” she says.<\/p>\n

“I knew Sidmouth through dancing \u2013 it had a great dance hall here and my husband and I loved to dance. <\/p>\n

“We also had lots of friends here.”<\/p>\n

The former head teacher attends a luncheon club every day for a cooked lunch provided by Sidmouth Voluntary Service.<\/p>\n

“You can sum it up in two words \u2013 care and love,” she says, adding: “The volunteers go above and beyond.”<\/p>\n

\"Doreen,<\/p>\n

Doreen thinks people in Sidmouth are “extremely friendly”<\/p>\n

Doreen, 92, visited the resort for a holiday two years ago to see family and never left.<\/p>\n

“The people are extremely friendly,” she says.<\/p>\n

“It’s a nice feature \u2013 people you don’t know come and chat to you.<\/p>\n

“Being in my 90s is the worst part but being in Sidmouth\u2026 there are a lot of similar people in the same age group so I feel more at home here than I do in my own county.”<\/p>\n

\"Pamera,<\/p>\n

Former professional ballerina Pamela now keeps busy with line dancing<\/p>\n

Doreen’s friend, 95-year-old Pamela, agrees.<\/p>\n

The former professional ballerina who danced with the Royal Ballet says Sidmouth keeps her busy.<\/p>\n

“There are quite a few clubs of various sorts,” she says.<\/p>\n

“On Monday evenings I do line dancing, plus exercise classes on another day, meals out and luncheon club of course.<\/p>\n

“It’s a very nice place. People are very friendly”.<\/p>\n

\"Councillor<\/p>\n

Councillor Rachel Perram says getting on the property ladder is tricky for younger people<\/p>\n

Of the 4,400 people living in Sidmouth, more than 1,000 are aged 80 or above.<\/p>\n

Councillor Rachel Perram, chair of youth provision at Sidmouth Town Council, says this “does provide us with a problem in regards to our infrastructure”.<\/p>\n

“Our GP surgeries are rammed, hospital care at Exeter is under pressure,” she explains.<\/p>\n

However, about 850 Sidmouth residents are under 30. <\/p>\n

“For younger people, we’ve just launched a new youth club, life skills courses and youth mental health provision,” Ms Perram adds.<\/p>\n

Councillor John Loudoun, deputy leader of East Devon District Council, says: “What is on offer has been designed and delivered in consultation with local young people, and that’s partly the way to ensure what we offer is the right thing.”<\/p>\n

He adds it is “not quite the full picture” just think of the town as a place for the older generation, though getting on the property ladder is tricky for younger people, Ms Perram admits.<\/p>\n

The online property website Zoopla says the average house price in Sidmouth is \u00a3411,000 \u2013 far higher than the national average of \u00a3271,000.<\/p>\n

“We conducted a housing needs survey which proved that point,” Ms Perram says.<\/p>\n

“So we’re using the results of that survey to encourage developers to build affordable housing here.<\/p>\n

“I’m definitely confident that Sidmouth has a bright future.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jen SmithSouth West health correspondent , Sidmouth BBC Dennis now lives in a care home but visits Sidmouth…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":482149,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5018,3,4],"tags":[748,393,4884,1144,712,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-482148","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-britain","8":"category-uk","9":"category-united-kingdom","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-northern-ireland","14":"tag-scotland","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115336926717146682","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=482148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/482149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=482148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=482148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=482148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}