NUMBERS of elderly people in Worcester will more than double in the next 22 years.

An Office for National Statistics report has predicted that 4.4 per cent of the city’s population will be aged 85 or over by 2037 – more than double the current figure of 2.1 per cent.

The average age in Worcester will rise two years to 40 while the number of residents aged 65 to 84 will increase by four per cent.

A 5.2 per cent drop in those aged 16 to 64 and a one per cent fall in under-15s is also predicted from 2015 to 2037.

Worcester’s MP Robin Walker said: “It is both a challenge and an opportunity.

“We have some very good facilities in the city to support elderly people such as a great hospital and good care provision.

“But there is no doubt that people living longer, especially with dementia, is going to be a huge challenge for the whole country including Worcester.

“We also need to make sure that everything we do brings the generations together so they can learn from each other.”

He added that an ageing population will mean more supported housing is needed and families will have to plan carefully for the future.

Worcester’s figures however reveal a younger population than in other parts of Worcestershire.

In Wychavon the average age will be 51 in 2037, compared to Worcester’s 40, while 9.6 per cent of the Malvern Hills district population will be aged 85 or over - making it the local authority with the oldest population in the UK, joint with North Norfolk.