Appendix M Chester SocioDemographic Analysis

Chester is the largest settlement in CWaC with over 81,000 residents.33 It is the key economic driver for the borough, acting as sub-regional centre for employment, shopping, leisure, culture, tourism, and other facilities. The city is internationally renowned as a historic city with unique heritage assets particularly Roman remains, the City Walls and medieval Rows.

Like many historic settlements in the UK, in addition to having unique strengths, Chester has long-standing social challenges. Some communities surrounding the City Centre have social issues of poor health, vulnerability, and low qualifications with economic problems of rising unemployment and benefit claiming.

Chester is also expected to experience a significant growth in elderly households over the next 15 years, which will place additional stress on social, healthcare, and housing support services, and a need to deliver an appropriate range of housing to accommodate Chester’s ageing population. As of 2013, 18% of residents in Chester were aged 65+.

The age profile of the Chester Primary Retail Market Area, as defined by PMA, includes a particularly high proportion of the retired aged 65 and over; older working age adults aged 45-64 are also over-represented. In contrast, children aged 0-14, young adults aged 15-24 and adults aged 2544 are moderately under-represented within the Chester area. Between 2001 and 2011 Chester saw a significant increase in the retired aged 65 and over and significant decrease in children aged 0-14 and adults aged 25-44. 34