Blacon Area Committee Profile

People and community

There are 13,495 people living in Blacon, 47.8% male and 52.2% female. The population of 16-74 year olds decreases by 42% during the day, as a result of people travelling to work.

2,620 residents are over 60 and 738 pensioners live alone. The number of people over 60 is 3.3% lower than the average for Chester District and for pensioners living alone it is 2% lower than the District average.

3,217 residents are under 16. This is 5.3% higher than the average for Chester District.

19% of Blacon’s households (733 households) have one or more children aged 0 to 4. This is 4.2% higher than the District average.

11.6% of Blacon’s households are lone parents with dependent children (648 lone parents). This is 6.4% higher than the average for Chester District.

Health

According to the Census 2001, 12.2% of Blacon’s population describe themselves as not being in good health. This is 3.8% higher than the average for Chester District.
3,035 residents have a limiting long term illness. This is 5% higher than the average for Chester District.

Community safety

In the financial year 2003/04 the burglary rate was 29.8 per 1000 households in Blacon. The vehicle related crime rate was 15 per 1000 population and the violent crime rate in the same year was 23 per 1000 population.

Economic activity and well being

422 of Blacon’s residents are unemployed and 5,789 are economically active (as taken from the Census 2001). The level of unemployed residents is 3.7% higher than the District average for Chester District.
43% of those aged 0-15 are affected by income deprivation. This is 26% higher than the average for Chester.

According to Census 2001, 41% of Blacon’s population aged between 16 and 74 have no qualifications (3,804 people).

Housing

53.7% of Blacon’s households are owner occupied (19.3% lower than the District average), 3.2% of households are privately rented (5.7% lower than District average) and 39.6% are socially rented (25.1% higher than the District average).