Where the People are Going
Page 56
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SHIFTS of 'population are quickly reflected by the road transport industry, not only in passenger and household-removal activities, but also in the movements of consumer commodities. There is much of interest to operators in a report on the subject published by The Economist Intelligence Unit, Ltd., 22 Ryder Street, London, W.I.
Because of its peculiar difficulties, the London area was omitted from the survey, which states that although the population of England and Wales rose by 2 per cent. from 1951-56, this increase was not uniform. The population in the east and south rose by 9 per cent. and 7 per cent. respectively, but remained the same in the north-west. the East and West Ridings of Yorkshire, and Wales.
Most towns either grew at rates slower than the national average, or lost population. This revealed a spread of population to the rural areas. Only 19 towns showed increases greater than 2 per cent. Romford, Scunthorpe and Colchester headed the list of these places, with respective rises of 25 per cent., 9 per cent. and 7 per cent. Nine towns grew in pace with the national average: they included Nottingham, Middlesbrough. Cardiff and Preston.
The populations of Derby, Newcastle, upon Tyne, Burnley, Wolverhampton, LiVerpool and Manchester had fallen steadily since 1951, and were expected to continue to decline. There had also been drops in population. of 3-6 per cent. in Bradford, Halifax, Derby, Barrow in Furness and Torquay.
The population of England and Wales is expected to rise by 3 per cent. in the next 14 years. Twenty towns, including Slough, Peterborough, Cheltenham and Poole, are allowing for advances of 10-52 per cent. Smaller increases may. also be returned by Ipswich, Brighton, Doncaster, Oxford, Luton and Watford..
Apart from those mentioned, towns which expect falls in population include Portsmouth, Plymouth, West Wirtlepop], Hull and Birmingham.