Community Profile
Wealden is home to around 143,300 people, who make up 63,800 households. Population density is low - just 167 people a square kilometre compared with the 421 average for East Sussex as a whole.
In South East terms, Wealden has average levels of young people up to the age of 14, significantly fewer residents in the 15 – 44 age range, and a significantly above average population of pensionable age.
By 2011, Wealden’s population is expected to increase to around 148,000, and its make-up will change. There will be fewer school age children, and more young people aged between 16 and 29. The elderly population (65+) will have grown by over 4000, mostly in the 65-74 age group. The number of households will also increase to around 66,500, with more single person households.
Over 96% of Wealden residents describe themselves as White. The balance comprises small numbers of people of Asian, Caribbean and Black African backgrounds. The small numbers mean it is important to engage with our black and minority ethnic community using voluntary and community groups wherever possible.
Despite an outward appearance of affluence, Wealden faces a number
of challenges, not least the hidden nature of deprivation in the District
which is not effectively identified by tools which focus on the density of
multiple deprivation. Individual experiences of hardship are no less
dramatic, and often more difficult to target in such a rural area. There is
a severe shortage of affordable housing exacerbated by high house
prices and low local wages. Market towns have identified needs for
regeneration, and the rural villages face issues of economic and social
sustainability, including access to services for those without their own
transport.
There is evidence of health inequalities across the district but these are often masked by a façade of wealth. For example, life expectancy at birth averaged 87.7 in Crowborough North and 77.3 in Hailsham East in 2003-2005. In 2001, 31% of Wealden households contained one or more persons with a limiting long term illness.
The Gross Value Added contribution to the economy of businesses and
employees in Wealden for 2007 is estimated at £1,267million, set to
grow by 2.3% for 2008. Around 44,000 people work in the District,
most, about 74%, in the service sector. Small and micro businesses
form a fundamental part of the Wealden economy – around 90%
employ fewer than 10 people – and increasing numbers of people
work from home. Many of these small businesses are based on farm land, and
the diversified agricultural sector therefore makes a significant impact
on the area both in terms of economy and shaping the landscape.
