There’s a new page on the District Council website which might interest onlineFOCUS readers:
Rochford District Area Profile
Welcome to the Rochford District Area Profile, a collection of facts and figures about Rochford District and its communities. The purpose of this document is to provide a definitive source of key data about Rochford District.It is intended to provide a common data source for all those working for the Council, we have made it available to anyone looking for detailed data on our District.
A selection of data from is detailed below:
* The District of Rochford contains more persons per hectare than the County of Essex (3.8 persons), the East of England region (2.8 persons) and England and Wales (3.4 persons).
* Life expectancy at birth (years): Males is 78.
* Life expectancy at birth (years): Females is 82.2.
* The vast majority of Rochford District residents (71.1%) class themselves as being in ‘good’ health.
* 84.93% of residents think that for their local area, over the past three years, that sport and leisure facilities have got better or stayed the same.
* A high proportion of the Rochford workforce commutes out of the District. 30% travel to work in Southend, 14% to London, 9% to Basildon and about 15% travel elsewhere outside the District.
* 16.4% of households within the District of Rochford do not own a car or van. This proportion of the population is considerably different to the national trend whereby 26.8% of households do not own a car or van.
* Within the District the majority of persons out commute and travel 40-60 miles.
* Overall there has been a 15.7% decrease in crime between 2005 and 2006. Whilst overall crime has reduced theft from a motor vehicle rose by 7%, and increase in actual numbers of 22. This is linked to theft of number plates, stereos and satellite navigation systems. It is predicted that the district will see a rise in Sat nav thefts in 2007.
* Percentage of residents surveyed who say that they feel fairly safe or very safe outside during the day is 98%.
* 80% of residents are satisfied with the area as a place to live.
* The average price of a flat within the District of Rochford (?81, 667) was less than the average price of a flat within the region (?96, 888) and nationally 18(?138, 762).
If you click here, you can download the whole collection of data.
Maybe the most startling bit of data above is Within the District the majority of persons out commute and travel 40-60 miles. Is that why we have such traffic problems? Should councillors be pushing harder to create local jobs?