More people leaving Brighton and Hove than coming in

More residents are leaving Brighton and Hove than are moving in, new figures suggest.

But those heading for the A23 aren’t going far, with the majority settling in the more affordable surrounding towns and villages.

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that in the 12 months to June 2011 – the latest available – 17,400 people moved to the city with 17,800 leaving.

A high number of migrants to the city from England and Wales are from nearby districts with Lewes (770), Adur (540) and Mid Sussex (460) making up the top three.

Londoners also appear to continue to be heading to the south coast for a more relaxed life by the sea with residents migrating from all over the capital.

But people aren’t just travelling from the south east with many areas across the UK well represented. Particularly high are Southampton (180), Bristol (160), Oxford (140) and Leeds (140).

The outward migration statistics tell a different story, with most leavers deciding to stay in Sussex.

Lewes (1,550), Adur (1,290) and Mid Sussex (810) are again the top three regions followed by Worthing (790), Horsham (400), Wealden (370) and Eastbourne (310).

Tony Mernagh, the director of Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership, said: “The figures don’t surprise me. The most recent census told us that 33,000 residents leave the city every day for work with 28,000 coming in.

“We are never going to have a balanced housing market, we simply don’t have the space to build the number of homes we need.

“Therefore we must use surrounding areas as best we can. I think Newhaven is underused. The problem is that people don’t think it as “trendy” as Brighton. But then again they never used to think that Portslade or Shoreham was either.

“We need to start working and communicating with our surrounding partners and make sure that transport into the city is adequate.”

One of the more interesting findings is that many people from Cornwall now choose to call Brighton and Hove their home.

Despite the distance and relatively small number of people in the county, 160 Cornish residents decided to make the move east.

Mr Mernagh, who is also chief executive of Brighton and Hove Business Forum, added: “Cornwall has this idyllic image, so my guess would be that people move there and then realise that they miss the sort of things they have become used to such as the arts and nightlife. Brighton is the best of both worlds.

“You have the beach life along with an exciting city.”

Comments(33)

city-boy says...
10:18am Mon 1 Oct 12

Majority probably not choosing to leave, just forced out by ridiculous property prices!

Hoarder12345444 says...
10:18am Mon 1 Oct 12

I'm part of that. I grew up in Brighton but when it came to buy a property I couldn't afford Brighton prices so moved to mid sussex. Much cheaper and not far away and much quieter and nicer too. Well if I had been able to afford a place in Patcham, Withdean or Westdene I would have stayed there. As it turned out I couldn't afford a place anywhere in the Brighton and Hove area, and it's still expensive now. Can't believe how much some places in Brighton and Hove are.

rolivan says...
10:23am Mon 1 Oct 12

I am sorry but I don't believe those figures.How can Students be counted, they are on the move all of the time?

city-boy says...
10:27am Mon 1 Oct 12

Rolivan

Don't worry about it, it is all a load of nonsense.

Let's just have a good moan about the fact that Brightonians cannot afford to live in their own town!

lmlosborne says...
10:39am Mon 1 Oct 12

Not all students are on 'the move all of the time'.

I have lived in privately rented flat in Brighton for a year, and I am a student.

Plenty of people on my course are mature students with privately rented or even owned properties.

Really, you people must let go of the idea that all students are bouncy and annoying 18 year olds with no respect for the city.

city-boy says...
10:42am Mon 1 Oct 12

Sorry Imlosborne

Could you please show us where we are presuming that?

mark by the sea says...
11:02am Mon 1 Oct 12

Sorry but where and who drew these stats up? Sounds complete nonsense..

billy goat-gruff says...
11:03am Mon 1 Oct 12

I blame the cyclists! ;)

kopite_rob says...
11:08am Mon 1 Oct 12

Been trying to move into an affordable family size home for 3 years. Simply can't afford too.All larger properties seem to be being bought by landlords for the buy to let market or for student accommodation.Bright
on will end up being inhabited by singles & students.

jamus77 says...
11:10am Mon 1 Oct 12

Interesting stats. Lewes has the most in common with B&H culturally, so it doesn't surprise me that's where most people are headed. Problem is, like B&H, Lewes has become far too expensive for most people. I'd forget Newhaven!?? Way too far to London and it's a complete dump. I suppose the next obvious place is Worthing, which has everything in place...lovely architecture, very attractive seafront, lots of investment going in....apart from the nightlife which is dire! Still that can change.

juleshove says...
11:15am Mon 1 Oct 12

Hove especially the areas around church road, and Hove Park are the nicest to live in my opinion hence the high house prices. Kemp Town is overrated.

jamus77 says...
11:19am Mon 1 Oct 12

juleshove wrote:
Hove especially the areas around church road, and Hove Park are the nicest to live in my opinion hence the high house prices. Kemp Town is overrated.
Agreed. I'd pay a premium to live in some affluent part of Hove. But anything east of the city centre (Brighton basically) and you're simply being ripped off! Why would you pay £300k to live in a small terrace house in Kemp Town - the mind boggles.

Tailgaters Anonymous says...
11:30am Mon 1 Oct 12

They tell me there are some cracking houses for sale in villages like Newick, Wivelsfield & Chailey.

SGK2000 says...
11:42am Mon 1 Oct 12

Local (working) youngsters are forced to move away if they want homes yet their parents stay so there's few vacant places for those moving in.

Sadly, many young families break up under the strain and the adults end up living back home with their parents with little hope of moving out especially as moving away ends their slim chances of council help.

Old Ale Man says...
11:47am Mon 1 Oct 12

lmlosborne wrote:
Not all students are on 'the move all of the time'. I have lived in privately rented flat in Brighton for a year, and I am a student. Plenty of people on my course are mature students with privately rented or even owned properties. Really, you people must let go of the idea that all students are bouncy and annoying 18 year olds with no respect for the city.
ok (refering to your last para) so far your the only one thats not.

jamus77 says...
11:57am Mon 1 Oct 12

SGK2000 wrote:
Local (working) youngsters are forced to move away if they want homes yet their parents stay so there's few vacant places for those moving in.

Sadly, many young families break up under the strain and the adults end up living back home with their parents with little hope of moving out especially as moving away ends their slim chances of council help.
Good points. Over the years booming property prices have become something people boast about, when in reality they are very damaging to the fabric of society. They create invisible walls between the haves and the have-nots and make life very stressful for young families. Soaring house prices are a problem. It's time we started talking about them in those terms.

Le Premier Cru says...
12:36pm Mon 1 Oct 12

rolivan wrote:
I am sorry but I don't believe those figures.How can Students be counted, they are on the move all of the time?
Except in the morning.

Charismatic Andrew says...
1:11pm Mon 1 Oct 12

Le Premier Cru wrote:
rolivan wrote:
I am sorry but I don't believe those figures.How can Students be counted, they are on the move all of the time?
Except in the morning.
... and the afternoon.

Old Ale Man says...
1:21pm Mon 1 Oct 12

city-boy wrote:
Majority probably not choosing to leave, just forced out by ridiculous property prices!
You mean forced out by a ridiculous green council and if that trend continues that diference of 400 aditional people leaving will multipy 10 fold.

whereisthe...? says...
2:10pm Mon 1 Oct 12

Thats 'cos its a cr*p hole...

rolivan says...
2:44pm Mon 1 Oct 12

lmlosborne wrote:
Not all students are on 'the move all of the time'.

I have lived in privately rented flat in Brighton for a year, and I am a student.

Plenty of people on my course are mature students with privately rented or even owned properties.

Really, you people must let go of the idea that all students are bouncy and annoying 18 year olds with no respect for the city.
Well please tell us how many students stay after their studies.
"Really, you people must let go of the idea that all students are bouncy and annoying 18 year olds with no respect for the city"
Where did I infer that this is my thoughts as to their behaviour.

Fairfax Sakes says...
2:45pm Mon 1 Oct 12

Property prices are high because it’s a nice place to live BECAUSE an affluent and socio economically well adjusted populace live there. If it was a dump, people wouldn't aspire to live there and the prices would come down. It’s simple supply and demand, it’s called capitalism and it’s the most efficient way to allocate resources.
Just because you can't afford a property doesn’t mean you deserve it more than someone who can. Would you moan about not being able to afford a Ferrari?

Lofaplace says...
2:52pm Mon 1 Oct 12

“Therefore we must use surrounding areas as best we can. I think Newhaven is underused. The problem is that people don’t think it as “trendy” as Brighton."

They do not think it is as 'Trendy' as Helmand Province or Chernobyl, and they are right!

Lofaplace says...
3:14pm Mon 1 Oct 12

billy goat-gruff wrote:
I blame the cyclists! ;)
Well, I must say, that is a little harsh and a trifle inflammatory! When a sizeable proportion of the problem is the amount of Cat owners and Vegetarians.

Maxwell's Ghost says...
6:41pm Mon 1 Oct 12

It's a shame the figures don't give specifics about the demographic of those leaving and entering because that would provide crucial economic information.
From an anecdotal perspective, many of my friends in professions tend to leave the city once their second child is on the way, one because they cannot afford a house for two kids and the schools are ropey.
It would be interesting if those professional people are replaced by transients/students or non workers.
How many homes which are vacated by families become bedsits/student lets.
It's vital we keep families in the city but increasingly unlikely.

HJarrs says...
8:12pm Mon 1 Oct 12

Bit of a non story. If the population of B&H then the population shift away from the city last year was 0.16%. One years figures are meaningless, what is the trend?

Maxwell's Ghost says...
6:38am Tue 2 Oct 12

HJarrs perhaps you could give the same standard of critique to the figures about the Lewes bus lane, but you probably won't do that as the lied the Green Party are promoting about support for the scheme support your ideology.
Well last week one lane on the Lewes Road at the Coldean Lane junction was closed to vehicles and the queue of traffic started at Coldean Lane right back to the bridge at Moulsecoomb so I cycled through worse fumes. Thanks.

HJarrs says...
10:46am Tue 2 Oct 12

Maxwell's Ghost wrote:
HJarrs perhaps you could give the same standard of critique to the figures about the Lewes bus lane, but you probably won't do that as the lied the Green Party are promoting about support for the scheme support your ideology. Well last week one lane on the Lewes Road at the Coldean Lane junction was closed to vehicles and the queue of traffic started at Coldean Lane right back to the bridge at Moulsecoomb so I cycled through worse fumes. Thanks.
Ok. Lets see. 31000 people have consultation papers delivered to local home address. The majority do not reply. Those that do respond to the consultation show a clear majority in favour of the scheme. A small proportion of respondents come from outside the immediate area but they do not affect the overall result. Conclusion; Most people are either ambivalent or too apathetic to even fill in a bit of paper and pop it in a post box, but there would seem to be more support overall for the scheme as proposed than against it.

There you go, critique made. How is your letter to the PM going?

Oh and yes and as you are always telling me what my ideology is I am happy to tell you that I do think we should encourage more people to cycle and should provide the infrastructure to encourage future generations to do so, whereas your ideology appears to be no change and anything suggested by the Green Party is wrong.

redwing says...
11:08am Tue 2 Oct 12

Fairfax Sakes wrote:
Property prices are high because it’s a nice place to live BECAUSE an affluent and socio economically well adjusted populace live there. If it was a dump, people wouldn't aspire to live there and the prices would come down. It’s simple supply and demand, it’s called capitalism and it’s the most efficient way to allocate resources.
Just because you can't afford a property doesn’t mean you deserve it more than someone who can. Would you moan about not being able to afford a Ferrari?
The idea that capitalism is just about pure supply and demand is ignorant.
That it is 'the most efficient way to allocate resources' is a bad joke. If some people have too much money they may buy more than one house and that creates a shortage, for example.
We're in the worst recession for generations, living standard for the majority, particularly the poorest are going down, while the very rich get richer, and we have a unprecedented housing crisis which is on course to make even more thousands homeless.
No one in that position is after a Ferrari thank you, just a decent place to live which the sixth wealthiest nation in the world fails miserably to provide for its citizens.

Old Ale Man says...
11:20am Tue 2 Oct 12

redwing wrote:
Fairfax Sakes wrote: Property prices are high because it’s a nice place to live BECAUSE an affluent and socio economically well adjusted populace live there. If it was a dump, people wouldn't aspire to live there and the prices would come down. It’s simple supply and demand, it’s called capitalism and it’s the most efficient way to allocate resources. Just because you can't afford a property doesn’t mean you deserve it more than someone who can. Would you moan about not being able to afford a Ferrari?
The idea that capitalism is just about pure supply and demand is ignorant. That it is 'the most efficient way to allocate resources' is a bad joke. If some people have too much money they may buy more than one house and that creates a shortage, for example. We're in the worst recession for generations, living standard for the majority, particularly the poorest are going down, while the very rich get richer, and we have a unprecedented housing crisis which is on course to make even more thousands homeless. No one in that position is after a Ferrari thank you, just a decent place to live which the sixth wealthiest nation in the world fails miserably to provide for its citizens.
Tell Commy Ken Livingstone He had a second home here didn't you know? Had to give it too his ex as part of a settlement.
Now why would an old commy the like of him want a second home in Brighton?

Lady Smith says...
4:30pm Tue 2 Oct 12

Charismatic Andrew wrote:
Le Premier Cru wrote:
rolivan wrote:
I am sorry but I don't believe those figures.How can Students be counted, they are on the move all of the time?
Except in the morning.
... and the afternoon.
And in the early hours of the morning, in my neighbourhood...

Lofaplace says...
12:13am Wed 3 Oct 12

THIS STORY IS TRUE! I SAW THE QUEUE ON THE A27 IN THE ARGUS AND THEY WERE ALL HEADING TO WORTHING!

Old Ale Man says...
7:27am Wed 3 Oct 12

Lofaplace wrote:
THIS STORY IS TRUE! I SAW THE QUEUE ON THE A27 IN THE ARGUS AND THEY WERE ALL HEADING TO WORTHING!
Yes but that was only because in Worthing it's cheap to park and shop there!!!!!!

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