County’s fastest growing town is...
COURTOWN-RIVERCHAPEL has once again been confirmed as the fastest growing town in the county. Census figures from the Central Statistics Office showed last week that the coastal town’s population grew by 25.7 per cent between 2011 and 2016, up from 2,857 to 3,591.
The 2011 Census found that outside Dublin, Courtown-Riverchapel was the fastest growing area in the State and was the fifth largest town in the county.
‘Yet the services in the area do not match the growing needs of this young population,’ said Cllr Malcolm Byrne, calling for a clearer strategy from Wexford County Council for the area.
COURTOWN Harbour is the fastest growing town in terms of population in County Wexford, according to newly-released figures from the Central Statistics Office.
They show that the population of Courtown rose by more than 26 per cent between 2011 and 2016, compared to a county average of three per cent population growth over the same period.
Percentage population changes listed among larger towns since 2006, show that the population of Wexford town grew to 20,072, and increase of 10.5 per cent and Enniscorthy’s population grew by 13.6 per cent to 10,838.
Courtown Harbour’s population rose from 2,857 to 3,591.
Of a total population of 149,722 in Wexford in April 2016, 38.6 per cent (57,753 persons) lived in urban areas, with 61.4 per cent (91,969 persons) living in rural areas. The census figures date back to 1841 when the county’s population stood at 202,033. In 1961, the population had shrunk to 83,308. By 1881 it had grown to 123,854. BY 1901 it had fallen again to 104,104 and by 1926, it was down again to 95,848 and by 1961 it stood at 83,308. Twenty years later, by 1981, it had grown to 99,081, to 116,596 by 2002, and to 131,749 by 2006 and 145,32O by 2011.
Nationally, 62.7 per cent of people live in urban areas and 37.3 per cent in rural areas.
Wexford, with 20,188 persons, is the largest town in the county.
Of the 7,055 usual Wexford residents who moved in the year to April 2016, most (5,497) moved elsewhere within the county.
Only 487 of the 2,872 Wexford house- holds, who moved in the year preceding the census bought their new home with a mortgage or loan, while 1,838 rented their accommodation.
Nationally, 263,551 usual residents moved in the year to April 2016.
The population of County Wexford rose to 149,722 by 2016, compared to 145,320 in 2011, an incrase of three per cent.
Thirty four per cent of people now living in County Wexford were born outside the county, and 12.9 per cent were born out of Ireland. More than 19 per cent of people born in the county were living in another country.
The numbers of households moving in the year immediately before the census stood at 2,872 in 2016, almost identical to the 2011 figure of 2,876. The vast majority, 1,838 were renting, 487 had a mortgage or loan and 505 owned their homes outright.
Of the 7,055 usual Wexford residents who moved in the year to April 2016, most (5,497) moved elsewhere within the county.
THE POPULATION OF COURTOWN ROSE BY 26 PER CENT BETWEEN 2011 AND 2016, COMPARED TO A COUNTY AVERAGE OF THREE PER CENT POPULATION GROWTH OVER THE SAME PERIOD