Litton Cheney: Demographics

What does the population of Litton Cheney look like in 2016?

Data from the ten yearly Census provide information on the population in every parish in England and Wales. These data are used by local authorities and the NHS to inform decision making, as they are considered to be reliable.

Table 1 shows that, while there was only a small growth (2.8%) in Litton Cheney’s population between 2001 and 2011, the age distribution within the population has changed more significantly.

Litton Cheney 2001 / Litton Cheney 2011
Total population / 349 / 359
0-9 / 10 / 31
10-17 / 48 / 19
18-29 / 21 / 29
30-59 / 151 / 127
60-74 / 74 / 113
75-84 / 37 / 23
85 + / 8 / 17

Table 1: population age structure and change (source ONS neighbourhood statistics - from Census data)

A more recent picture can be found in a 2015 Public Health England report on the population of Burton Bradstock ward, based on ONS 2014 data. Due to recent boundary changes, Litton Cheney is now part of Burton Bradstock ward, along with Shipton Gorge, Chilcombe, Puncknowle, Swyre, West Bexington, Long Bredy and Little Bredy. These data are shown in table 2 and fig 1 below:

Table 2: Burton Bradstock ward population 2014 (Source: ONS data from Public Health England, 2015)

Fig 1: Burton Bradstock ward population structure 2015 (Source: ONS data from Public Health England, 2015)

What will the population of Litton Cheney look like in 2036?

It has not been possible to find any reliable data on Litton Cheney village. However, Dorset County Council’s population projection for Burton Bradstock ward (which includes Litton Cheney) suggests a modest net increase from 1,930 in 2016 to 2,100 in 2030. What will be a greater significance is the change to the age structure during the next 20 years. Key findings from Dorset County Council’s projections include:

  • Population growth in Dorset slower than national average
  • Over 65 age group will more than double
  • Under 65 age group will decrease by 6%
  • 0-15 year age group will grow by 2.3%
  • Working age population (16-64 years) will decrease by 8.3%

Dorset Clinical Commissioning group (CCG) estimated that over half of the total population increase in Dorset between 2013 and 2023 will be in the 70-79 years age group (Dorset CCG, 2013)

What do these population changes mean for Litton Cheney’s future?

Housing in Litton Cheney

There were 177 households in Litton Cheney in 2011 (Census data); 14.6% of these were second homes (Dorset County Council - council tax records). Most (71.8%) of the 177 households were owner occupied and 21.5% were privately rented