Bexley
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Points of note
There are points of note about Bexley in the following indicators:
Borough profile
Bexley is an Outer London borough lying to the south east of the City. It borders Bromley to the south, Greenwich to the west, Dartford borough in Kent to the east and is separated by the River Thames from its northernly neighbour, Havering. It was formed in 1965 from the Municipal Boroughs of Bexley and Erith, Crayford Urban District and part of Chislehurst and Sidcup Urban District.
Bexley is notable for the fact that it does not contain a central hub like Bromley or Lewisham but is an amalgamation of numerous settlements, each separated by areas of open ground and parks. This makes Bexley one of the greenest boroughs in London. While Erith and Bexleyheath are old, established villages, many of the other settlements are relatively new, spawned out of the well-documented suburban flight to Greater London catalysed by the spread of the railways.
Following a fairly typical Outer London pattern, Bexley’s population saw a slight decrease in the 1970-80s when industry began to relocate from London, but the population has seen a slow and steady increase in recent years, bringing the estimated number of residents in 2008 to 223,300. This is about average for a London borough.
In many ways, Bexley’s social profile is closer to the UK overall than to London, with low population churn and population density, a smaller proportion of ethnic minority residents (about a third of the London average), household size only slightly higher than the UK average and the second largest proportion of old people in London. Like other suburban areas, with high birth rates and people in the 25-64 age bracket, Bexley is more attractive to families than to young workers.
This belies an underlying issue in the borough of a mismatch between the high skills profile of the young and the local jobs market, which is notable for a lack of knowledge economy jobs compared to both the UK and especially the London average. The consequences of this are a historical trend of successful young people leaving Bexley and higher than average youth unemployment rates.
Bexley is less deprived than nearby boroughs, with none of its 'super output areas' in the top 10% most deprived nationally. However, Bexley’s average income is also much lower than the London average and there are still significant concentrations of deprivation along the borough’s borders in Thamesmead East (on the northern border with Havering), Colyers and North end (towards the eastern border with Dartford) and Cray Meadows (on the southerly border with Bromley.)
Comparisons
Compare Bexley's overall performance against other boroughs
Indicators where Boroughs are compared:
- Attainment at Age 11 by borough
- Attainment at Age 16 by borough
- Adult ill-health by borough
- Infant deaths by borough
- Premature death by borough
- Overcrowding by borough
- Newly homeless households by borough
- Households in temporary accommodation by boroughh
- Low-paid jobs by borough
- Low-paid residents by borough
- Working-age adults lacking work by borough
- Working age out-of-work benefits by ward
- Pay inequalities within London
- Income inequalities within London boroughs
- Pensioners receiving the Pension Credit Guarantee
- Children in households receiving out-of-work benefits