The population of Wokingham has risen by almost two and a half times the national average over the last ten years, which the council leader blames on the borough’s housing provisions. 

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have released the results of the 2021 Census – which provide estimates on the population of England and Wales, as well as age and sex profiles of local authorities.   

The latest Census shows that the population of England and Wales has increased by more than 3.5 million, 6.3 per cent, to 59,597,300 in the 10 years leading up to the data capture. 

Over the same period, the population of Wokingham has gone up by 23,120, from 154,380 in 2011 to 177,500 in 2021 – an increase of 15 per cent.   

READ MORE: Bracknell Census 2021 population changes

This is more than the nearby areas of Reading and Bracknell, where the population has increased by 11.9 per cent and 10.1 per cent respectively over the same period. 

Leader of Wokingham Council Councillor Clive Jones said this was in part due to the housing provisions imposed on the borough by the government. 

He said: “We are having so many more people coming to live here and it’s because we are building houses. We are definitely taking more than our fair share.” 

Cllr Jones met with the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, Michael Gove, at a local government conference in Harrowgate yesterday, where the MP was giving a speech. 

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Mr Gove pledged to visit Wokingham in person “to talk about housing numbers” as the borough is currently targeted to build just under 800 new homes each year, which the council is seeking to have reduced. 

“We want Mr Gove to change the system so we are significantly less than 600 if we can. We also want to prioiritise the type of housing that we want – we want more one, two and three-bedroom properties and bungalows,” Cllr Jones explained. 

Mr Gove did not commit to a date for attending the borough, Cllr Jones joked “he’s a secretary of state, he doesn’t carry a diary with him.” 

The trend of population ageing nationally has continued, with more people than ever before in the older age groups, which is also reflected in Wokingham. 

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The 65+ age group has increased by 28 per cent in the last ten years, growing by 6,711 from 23,789 in 2011 to 30,500 in 2021, with the category now making up 17 per cent of the borough’s population. 

Cllr Jones says the aging population creates another problem – financing the Adult Social Care bill. 

“Where is the funding going to come from, it isn’t clear. At the moment it looks like it’s the local authority that is picking up the bill, there just isn’t the money.  

“They would bankrupt so many councils if they did that.”