Parts of the UK are ageing twice as fast as other areas of the country as UK is 'growing apart', study warns

The Telegraph are reporting on a study by Resolution Foundation that parts of the UK are ageing twice as fast as other areas of the country, showing how the UK is "growing apart", a new study suggests today.

Resolution Foundation research shows that Maldon in Essex, Copeland in Cumbria and Richmondshire in Yorkshire are ageing twice as fast as the rest of the UK, while areas such as Nottingham and Oxford are growing younger.

The think tank said that while the UK population as a whole is ageing - one in four are set to be over 65 by 2041 - there is widespread demographic divergence in both the pace and direction of ageing in different areas.

The UK's average age has been rising steadily, from 36 in 1975 to 40 today.  However, the report found a 25-year gap between its oldest local authority at 54-years-old and youngest at 29-years-old.

The researchers said young people are leaving rural and coastal communities, which are already older on average than other locations, for urban areas.

Low local birth rates are also thought to be a key factor in ageing in older communities whereas poorer urban ethnically diverse areas are ageing more slowly because of high birth rates.