The mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough has pledged to help with transport and housing support for people living with dementia.

Mayor James Palmer will sign and commit to four dementia pledges tomorrow (Thursday), supported Alzheimer’s Society, during a visit to Peterborough’s Dementia Resource Centre.

More than 10,000 people living with dementia in Cambridgeshire will have the support of the mayor to influence decisions on local house and public transport plans.

The four dementia pledges include: supporting the Alzheimer’s Society’s dementia friendly housing charter, call on transport staff in the county to be become dementia friends, make the county dementia friendly and backing the proposal that public transport planning should take the views of people with dementia.

Mr Palmer said: “I am pleased to be uniting with thousands of other Dementia Friends across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, seeking ways to improve the everyday lives of those living with and affected by the condition.

“I understand the steps to creating a dementia friendly society are small and simple but they make the world of difference. From helping someone to find the right bus to making sure housing providers understand the needs and have processes in place, to support individuals living with dementia to do so independently where possible.

“That’s why I’m pleased to be supporting the work of the Alzheimer’s Society to create a world where every person in every community is dementia-aware. Through these pledges I hope to support the good work already going on locally to build dementia friendly communities.”

Fiona Wynde, the Alzheimer’s Society dementia friendly communities officer, said: “We are delighted to have James committing to helping to make communities in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough more dementia friendly.

“Because public understanding is so poor, people with dementia often feel misunderstood, marginalised and isolated. This can mean people are less likely to be able to live independently in their own communities.

“As part of a long-term commitment to help more communities and businesses become dementia friendly, Alzheimer’s Society has set an ambitious target of creating four million Dementia Friends by 2020.”

Anyone can become a Dementia Friend by watching a short online video or attending an information session. For more information, log on to www.dementiafriends.org.uk.