Migration slowdown '˜good for housing' says senior councillor

WHILE internal migration in Portsmouth has increased, the news of a slowdown in Fareham has been welcomed by the leader of the borough council.
Sean WoodwardSean Woodward
Sean Woodward

Cllr Sean Woodward says that the drop in internal migration from 8.1 per 1,000 people to 4.2 between 2012 and 2016 takes the pressure off housing needs.

Fareham is the only area in the region to see a slowdown in internal migration

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Cllr Woodward said: ‘I think that this is very good news for the borough because it lessens some of the housing pressure.

‘But it just goes to show that the houses we are building are for the people already living in Fareham – where people are also living longer than anywhere else in the country.’

The leader of Fareham Borough Council also says that the slowdown in internal migration is not having as big an impact on the economy as some might think.

Cllr Woodward said: ‘The economy is largely unaffected by this as we already have almost zero unemployment in the town and great new jobs coming from the enterprise zone.

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‘The figure is still fairly high but there has been a drop in that four-year period, so the housing we are building is for the people who are living and working here in the borough.’

Gosport saw the highest increase in net internal migration – from 0.9 per 1,000 people in 2012 to 3.2 in 2016, a rise of 254 per cent.

The news means that around 262 extra people are moving into the borough each year.