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Ward profiles 2010

Town ward profile

• Ward overview and map
• Population
• Households
• Deprivation
• Employment and unemployment
• Contact details

Alternatively, you can download the Town Ward profile: Town [PDF file 634KB]|

Ward overview

Town ward covers a mixed and contrasting area. It includes the retail, commercial and business centre of Halifax, Dean Clough Business Park and the neighbourhood of Boothtown to the north, the mainly residential area of Siddal to the south, the steep escarpment of Beacon Hill to the east and the smaller hilltop communities of Southowram and Bank Top. It also includes Halifax's sporting and historic attractions including the Piece Hall as well as the town's bus and railway stations.

This map is reproduced from or based upon Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings.

© Crown copyright. All rights reserved. 100023069. (2010)

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Population

Area and population summary

Town occupies an area of 884 hectares, or 3.4 square miles. The total population, from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) mid-year estimate for 2007, is 12,082. This is made up of 50.0% males and 50.0% females. The population density is 13.7 persons per hectare, and the number of electors in the ward in December 2009 was 8,875.

Population structure

The ward has a similar age profile to the district as a whole. The proportion of under-14s has decreased since 2001.

The table and chart below show the age-structure of the population.

Source: ONS 2007 mid-year estimates

Ethnicity

The ethnic group of the population, at the 2001 census, was over 96% white, considerably higher than the district as a whole.

Source: 2001 Census

Country of birth

Of the 7% of the population born outside the UK, the largest number come from Asia and Western Europe .

Source: CACI Country of Birth files

The chart below illustrates the country of birth of the 7% of the population who originate outside the UK.

Health

Life expectancy for both men and women is only slightly below the district average, following substantial rises in recent years.

Despite the life expectancy levels, mortality (age standardised) is considerably higher than for the district, for both under 65s and under 75s.

Sources: Long term illness: 2001 census, all other indicators: NHS Calderdale

^*SMR (Standardised Mortality Rate) is the ratio of the observed to the expected level of mortality and takes account of the area's age profile. 100 is the national average, so numbers above 100 are worse, below 100 better, than average.

The table and chart below show the change in life expectancy for males and females in Town Ward between 2001-2003 and 2006-2008,

Source: NHS Calderdale

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Households

There are a total of 5,960 households in the ward, estimated from the number of occupied dwellings. The average household size is 2.0 persons.

Council Tax Banding

Over two thirds of households are in Council Tax Band A, and substantially fewer in Bands C to H, compared with the district average.

Source: Calderdale Council Chargeable dwellings 2009 (occupied dwellings)

Household incomes

Town Ward has somewhat higher proportions of households on lower incomes, and fewer on high incomes (£50,000+).

Source: CACI Paycheck 2009

The following three tables are all taken from 2001 census data and cannot currently be updated. They show that the main ways in which Town Ward differs from Calderdale overall are:

• relatively low numbers of households with children but high proportions of lone parents
• high proportions of one person households
• low owner occupation and correspondingly high rates of social housing and, to a lesser degree, privately rented accomodation
• higher than the district average proportion of households lacking central heating and relatively low car ownership rates

Source: 2001 census

Source: 2001 census

Source: 2001 census

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Deprivation

The proportion of households with benefit claimants, households in fuel poverty, and pensioners in receipt of Pension Credit are higher than the district figure.

Out of 9 areas in Town Ward, one lies in the worst 10% nationally on the Index of Multiple Deprivation, and 2 lie in the worst 11-20% nationally. The more deprived areas are close to the town centre and in the Woodside and Boothtown areas.

Sources: CMBC Safer and Stronger Communities, Benefits Service, English Housing Conditions Survey, Department of Work and Pensions.

*Percentage is of 60+ population

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Employment and unemployment

Unemployment

The number unemployed and claiming benefit in Town Ward rose from 296 in January 2006 to 558 in January 2010, and from 4.2% of the working-age population to 7.4%. Over the past four years Town Ward has had a consistently higher unemployment rate than the district and national figure, and the figure of 7.4% compares with 5.1% for the district and 4.3% nationally. Changes since 2006 are illustrated in the table and chart below.

Source: Department of Works and Pensions

According to the Annual Population Survey for 2008 - 2009, just under 10% of the economically active population were unable to find jobs, compared with 7.6% in the district and 6.9% nationally.

Employment

The data on this page is about employment at workplaces in Town Ward. The ward accounts for over a quarter of total employment in the district.

Almost half work in the Banking Sector, way above the district figure. Employment in the ward fell between 2006 and 2008.

Source: Annual Business Inquiry 2008

Looking in more detail at the change from 2006 to 2008 in employment by sector, as illustrated in the chart below, an overall loss of 900 jobs was made up of a loss of 700 in Banking, Finance & Insurance, 200 in Manufacturing, and 100 each in Construction and Utilities and in Public Services. This was slightly offset by gains of 100 in Distribution, Hotels & Restaurants, and in Other Services including Transport

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Contact details

For further information contact the Research and Consultation Team:

• Email:
• researchandinfo@calderdale.gov.uk
• Telephone:
• 01422 393087.

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