Parish Profile

LONG ASHTON PARISH PROFILE

Long Ashton is a village on the outskirts of Bristol and, together with Leigh Woods, forms a civil parish with a population of 4,800.  Long Ashton is situated within the ward of Wraxall and Long Ashton, although Leigh Woods itself is not.  The ward of Wraxall and Long Ashton has a resident population of 6,556, of whom 49 per cent are male and 51 per cent are female (ONS 2001).  Over 98 per cent of the resident population are of White ethnic origin and 75 per cent state that they are Christian, with just over one per cent of the population belonging to other religions, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism (ONS 2001).  Consequently, the proportion of ethnic minority groups is considerably lower than national figures.  For instance, Wraxall and Long Ashton’s population consists of 0.4% Asian, 0.2% Black and 0.4% Chinese people, whilst nationally the percentage of people in these groups is 4.6%, 2.1% and 0.9% respectively. 

 The ACORN[1] profile of Long Ashton suggests that it is a mature, affluent area, with a lower than average proportion of recent home movers.  The profile indicates that the neighbourhood has significantly higher than average levels of adults aged over 65 and, correspondingly, lower levels of children, particularly young children.  To illustrate this point, 2001 Census data reveals that the percentage of the population for Wraxall and Long Ashton ward aged 60-74 and 75 plus is 17% and 9% respectively, whilst the national average for these categories are 13% and 8%; furthermore, only 18% of the population in Wraxall and Long Ashton ward is aged under 16 compared with a national average of 20%. (ONS, 2001).  Unsurprisingly, therefore, there is a higher than average level of retired people, whilst the profile of those in employment is biased towards professional and managerial occupations.  The ACORN profile indicates that the proportion of working women in areas such as Long Ashton is well below average, although people in the area are likely to be well-educated.  Home ownership is common in these types of neighbourhood, with 83 per cent of households being owner-occupied (ONS 2001); the ACORN profile suggests that many of these houses are large, detached properties and that owners are likely to spend a considerable amount on their gardens and greenhouses.  The level of car ownership is also likely to be very high, with the proportion of households with three or more cars being almost twice the national average.  There are above average proportions of new, expensive cars and a bias towards cars with large engine sizes.  Income levels are well above average, with almost three times as many people than the national average earning over £40,000 per annum. Ownership of financial products, such as stocks and shares, is also above average.