London population decline

[telstarbox]

I was looking at the population statistics for Greater London earlier and what struck me was the post-World War II decline.


Greater London Population 1901 - 2011 by telstarbox, on Flickr (Census data, population in millions)

From 1901 to 1951 the figures seem simple enough - a rise in population as the economy grew and living standards rose (i.e. longer life expectancy). People were evacuated and died in WWII (the drop in 1941) and then there was the post-war baby boom (the rise in 1951).

I would have expected post-war reconstruction and high density housing schemes to result in an increase from 1951 onwards.

However, what caused the drop from there to 1981? I was surprised to realise that the population now isn't much greater than it was 60 years ago. Note that these are statistics for Greater London so movement from bombed inner city areas to outer suburban areas wouldn't account for it completely.

 

[Nick W]

The post-war housing schemes, including tower blocks, were designed to lower the housing density because it was believed (naively) that high density was one of the factors that led to slum conditions.

There were plans steps made to bring people out of London, the most major being the construction of Milton Keynes.

 

[Tetchytyke]

A lot of people left the Greater London area entirely after WWII, the creation of the various New Towns took millions away from the centre of London. Add up all the people who live in places like Hemel Hempstead, Milton Keynes, High Wycombe, Stevenage, Welwyn, Harlow, Guildford, Woking, Reading, Basingstoke, etc, and it accounts for a lot of people. Factor in the decline in industry in London during the 60s and 70s and it kinda explains a lot.

 

[radamfi]

Most major cities in the UK and the US suffered big population falls in that period as people moved away to avoid crime, pollution and people of different ethnic origin.

 

[Greenback]

A lot of people left the Greater London area entirely after WWII, the creation of the various New Towns took millions away from the centre of London. Add up all the people who live in places like Hemel Hempstead, Milton Keynes, High Wycombe, Stevenage, Welwyn, Harlow, Guildford, Woking, Reading, Basingstoke, etc, and it accounts for a lot of people. Factor in the decline in industry in London during the 60s and 70s and it kinda explains a lot.

That's the answer, I think. There was definite trend to moving out beyond Greater London during this period.

 

[radamfi]

Look at the trend for the City of Manchester district within Greater Manchester

 

[Busaholic]

A lot of people left the Greater London area entirely after WWII, the creation of the various New Towns took millions away from the centre of London. Add up all the people who live in places like Hemel Hempstead, Milton Keynes, High Wycombe, Stevenage, Welwyn, Harlow, Guildford, Woking, Reading, Basingstoke, etc, and it accounts for a lot of people. Factor in the decline in industry in London during the 60s and 70s and it kinda explains a lot.

When I worked in Camden Council's Housing Dept in the 1970s we had to implement a policy of encouraging those on the housing waiting list with no realistic prospect of attaining anything for years, decades or ever to consider the delights of Milton Keynes (then still being built, without a central shopping facility, station or,indeed, anything that could be described as a centre) or Northampton, which at least had some infrastructure going for it. I think I managed to persuade one single, middle-aged man to go to Northampton. The GLC meanwhile, who had their own housing stock, were pushing Haverhill in Suffolk, a place I've never been to or ever felt the slightest desire to visit.

 

[telstarbox]

My mum said that well into the 1970s there were still large bomb sites with no replacement construction in the city centre, so would the sense of desolation have encouraged people to move out to the New Towns?
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Look at the trend for the City of Manchester district within Greater Manchester

I was aware that other cities contracted over the same period (especially Liverpool) but thought that the Northern cities were more dependent on the industries which grew in the Industrial Revolution and shrank in the 20th Century than London.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

With the slum clearances of the 1960's onwards, Manchester moved much of its population to associated areas outside of its boundaries to large overspill estates such as Hattersley (Tameside), Langley (Middleton), Darn Hill (Heywood) just to name three of these.

 

[overthewater]

Glasgow was the same, great waves of people moved out, and went to brand new estates like Easterhouse or Drumchapel.

Mind you many people chose instead to move to East Kilbride, Irivine, Glenrothes and Livingston.

I would not be surprised if London has another dip at some point.

 

[Arglwydd Golau]

I grew up in St Neot's - which was a very sleepy market town with a pop. of just over 3000 until the early 1960's when it was designated an 'overspill' town, and large housing estates were built. The first one, Sandfields, I think, was completed around 1964. Suddenly St Neot's was full of Tottenham, Arsenal and West Ham fans, and growth continued apace and it's now the second largest town in Cambridgeshire. When I return now I hardly ever hear the local dialect (it all seems to be 'estuary' English!)

 

[Abpj17]

A combination of factors. Planned immigration stopped (such as the waves from the Caribbean to drive buses etc.). ‘Voluntary’ immigration was scarce as the UK/London wasn’t as popular a destination. Jobs vanished - the suffering economy, loss of industry such as the docks, economic policy of the day supported industry in the regions (a 36% decline of manufacturing jobs in London). It was the decade huge chunks of the civil service moved to the Wales, Scotland and the North. Exchange controls didn’t end until 1979 which constrained the growth of the finance industry (and international trade in general).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Location_of_Offices_Bureau too

 

[ChiefPlanner]

London in 1981 was in structural decline -you could even get a reasonable council flat in Zone 1 (as some of my friends did after uni) - on the basis of a simple phone call. A one bedroom flat in SW19 was a "mere" £20,000 (income of £4500 at the time) - lots of options - but the city was a bit on the run down side to say the least.