Kensington and Chelsea 'only London borough not to experience population growth'

It has always been an attractive borough for wealthy young professionals and affluent families, but the appeal of property to rent in Kensington and Chelsea could grow even further now that new figures have shown it is the only part of the London that hasn't seen an increase in its population.

This could be due to the high cost of homes in the borough. Indeed, figures released by Rightmove in March showed that Kensington and Chelsea is the most expensive area in country for property, with average asking prices breaking the £2 million barrier.

Regardless, its ability to buck the capital-wide trend for population growth and actually experience a decline in the number of residents rather than an increase proves that it really is an exclusive and trendy place to live.

The data was gathered by the GMB union, which tracked the population sizes of 174 areas of England and Wales. Changes ranged from an increase of 29.6 per cent in the London borough of Tower Hamlets to a decline of 3.2 per cent in Sefton, a metropolitan borough of Merseyside.

London as a whole experienced a 14 per cent increase in its population between 2001 and 2011. In numbers, this equated to a total of more than a million people, bringing the overall figure for those living in the capital to 8.12 million.

The royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea is the smallest of all the London borough, excluding the City of London, and lies to the west of the City of Westminster. It is home to the famous Harrods department store, the Natural History Museum, the Saatchi Gallery and Kensington Palace.

As well as Kensington and Chelsea, other areas within the borough include Holland Park, Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill, Earl's Court, Bayswater, Belgravia, Brompton, Knightsbridge and World's End.

Posted by Charles Mackay

Published 17th August, 2012

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