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Population and age distribution

The total number of households in the two Parishes, as recorded in the 2001 Census, was 987 with a total population of 2,373 (1,173 male, 1,200 female). The age distribution is shown below in figure 1; 31% of the population is aged 24 or younger, and 15% aged 65 and older. The mean age of the population is nearly 38.

Figure 1: Parish Population Age Distribution

Employment

Of the 1,701 people aged between 16 and 74, 1,227 (72%) declared themselves as ‘economically active’. Figure 2 shows a detailed breakdown of this economically active group (male and female).

Figure 3 shows a detailed breakdown of the ‘economically inactive’ population (a total of 512). The largest fraction of this population are those classified as Retired (14% of the total 16-74 population), with the second largest section classified as ‘looking after home/family’.

Hours worked by male and female residents

A total of 1,197 (646 male and 551 female) of the population between the ages of 16 and 74 were in some form of employment (both part- and full-time). Figure 4 below shows the breakdown of the hours worked by male and female residents. 90.4% of men are in full-time employment compared with 53.7% for women.

Also of note (no statistics are shown for comparison here), is that there is little local (Shotley based) employment, self employment, commuting to work distances and hours worked are all higher than the County average.

Cars per household

A single narrow B road (B1456) traverses the length of the peninsula to serve the Shotley community. The road connects Shotley to Ipswich and beyond (via the A14). The volume of traffic along this road is very important, not just for the residents of Shotley and Erwarton but also for the wider peninsula population, especially at Chelmondiston, Woolverstone and Freston. There is little local (Shotley) employment and so the road is vital for commuting to work as well as reaching other necessary services and facilities. For Shotley, the breakdown of the number of cars (and vans) per household is shown below in figure 5. The vast majority of households (90%) have at least one car; with 44% of the households having at least 2 cars. On average, there are 1.4 cars/household.