The 2011 Census shows the population of England and Wales has reached 56.1 million. GARETH McPHERSON asks what challenges face Cambridge with the number of people living in the city jumping by 13 per cent in a decade.
THE powers that be need to be smarter in the way they tackle Cambridge’s spiralling population rather than “desperately playing catch- up”.
That is the concern from those on the frontline of the city’s housing and school place shortages, as well as those facing the daily headache of getting through Cambridge’s notorious traffic.
There are 123,900 people living in the city, according to Census figures released yesterday – a 12.7 per cent increase on the 2001 figure.
Nationally, population grew almost 7 per cent from 52.4 million to 56.1 million, fuelled by migration, increased life expectancy and rising fertility rates, according to the Office for National Statistics.
That represents the fastest decade of growth since the Census began in 1801.
For Cambridge, the figures are official confirmation of the city’s increasing population, a fact that will not surprise those at the thick end of the population boom.
John Marais, of Defend Council Housing, believes the Government should have acted years ago to prevent a housing crisis that sees many unable to afford the city’s sky-high rental rates or get on the property ladder.
He said shortages have led to a social housing waiting list of more than 8,200 with nowhere near enough houses being built to cover the existing population, let alone an increasing one.
The Arbury resident said: “Even without that increase in population there is a drastic shortage of genuinely affordable housing. It’s the failure of governments past and present to build genuinely affordable houses.
“If there had been a reasonable rate of building houses we would be in a position where we could cope with these sorts of population rises.”
He called on the Government to introduce a massive house building programme which would also provide jobs for the community.
Others have been frustrated by the impact on traffic.
Taxi driver John Knight, who lives in Cherry Hinton, said the traffic is “ridiculous” and affecting his trade.
He added: “If the population continues to go up and the councils continue to do nothing then things are only going to get worse.
“What’s going to happen when you get 10,000 homes next to Waterbeach and all these other homes? We’re going to get two Cambridges. The outer shell where everyone lives on top of each other and the city centre where no-one can move for the traffic. The infrastructure in Cambridge can’t handle it.”
But some businesses are thriving on the back of the population increase.
Danielle Minahan only opened Pear Tree pre-school in Orchard Park last year but already has 49 children registered for next year – and a waiting list of 20.
The pre-school owner said: “There is a real shortage of places in Cambridge. We want to extend but our site does not have expansion potential. There are other options by way of looking at opening new premises but we are wary of that, being such a new business.”
Nursery and primary school places are being squeezed by a rising under-5s population, which is only likely to get more profound.
There are about 4,600 more under-5s in the county than there were a decade ago.
Clare Blair, a governor at Orchard Park Community Primary School, said too often the county council was “desperately playing catch- up” to cope with the population outstripping school places.
She said: “We need to build schools so they can expand and contract in size as the population does.
“We need to be more flexible, like the way they build their schools in places like Holland.
“At the moment we increase capacity at a school and by the time it’s done we are scrabbling around for more places because the population has gone up again. We have to get smarter at predicting demographic changes.”
Tim Bick, leader of the city council, was pleased with the population figure produced by the Census after he said previous “nonsense” population estimates were much lower, meaning they got proportionally less money from Government.
He said: “This is in line with what we had been expecting from the Census. It clearly shows that Cambridge is a fast growing and dynamic place, which presents us with opportunities as well as challenges.”
He added the council is working to address the housing and traffic issues through its draft Local Plan, which has proposed 25,000 new homes for the city by 2031.
Cllr Mac McGuire, cabinet member for community engagement for the county council, said the population rise shows that people think Cambridgeshire is a “great place to call home”.
But he added: “Inevitably more people mean more pressure on our services and budget such as adult social care or education.
“Although the increase is a sign of a thriving county, growing communities do present some acute challenges for public services during times of national austerity.”
gareth.mcpherson@cambridge-news.co.uk
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