The dwelling stock information contained in this Research Monitor is derived from the Valuation Office Agency and the Department for Communities and Local Government. It provides information on the number of domestic properties and their distribution across the eight standard council tax bands A to H.

In total, the dataset covers just under 23.1 million dwellings in England and Wales as at 31 March 2006. The figures are broken down by council tax bands and are published down to small local 'Output Areas' across England and Wales.

All the Lancashire figures can be obtained from the Data Download Centre whilst the complete data set for the all areas in England and Wales can be found by going to ONS Neighbourhood Statistics.

Please note that the Research Monitor Archive contains earlier editions of this article.

Dwellings are classified as accommodation normally lived in by one or more people, and include houses, flats, bungalows and maisonettes. The precise definition that applies to this dataset is set out in the 1992 Local Government Finance Act. Each dwelling in England and Wales is assigned to one of eight bands as shown in the table.

Lancashire Results

Table 1 details the dwelling stock numbers for local authorities in Lancashire in 2001 and 2006. For England and Wales as a whole, the stock reached a level of just over 23.4 million in 2006, an increase of 3.68% over the figure for 2001. For the Lancashire NUTS-2 area (which includes the 12 districts and the two unitary authorities), the total of 636,610 dwellings was 3.13% higher than in 2001.

Blackpool Unitary Authority, with 67,934 dwellings, had the largest stock in Lancashire, whilst Ribble Valley recorded the lowest number with 24,367. Percentage changes over the five-year period reveal Burnley was the only area in Lancashire where the number of dwellings declined (-0.71%). The series of house price research monitors has over recent years charted the low levels of house prices in Burnley and other East Lancashire districts that have resulted, in part, from a glut of old terraced properties in the locality.

Of the 376 local authorities that cover the whole of England and Wales, only five recorded declines in their dwelling stock between 2001 and 2006. The fall in Burnley of -0.71% was the largest reduction, with Kingston-upon-Hull having the second lowest figure of -0.17%. The 0.85% increase in Blackburn with Darwen was the 12th lowest outcome, whilst Blackpool and Hyndburn were in 42nd and 44th places respectively.

In contrast, the two Central Lancashire districts of Chorley and South Ribble and the East Lancashire district of Ribble Valley recorded the largest percentage increases in the broader Lancashire area with figures of 5.57%, 6.03% and 5.02% respectively. In the national context, the increase for South Ribble placed it in 322nd position, whilst regionally only one other North West authority (Crewe and Nantwich) recorded a higher percentage increase over the period. Tower Hamlets in London's docklands and the City of London were the only two authorities to record increases in excess of 10%.

Research Monitors that track changes in employment levels and VAT business registrations reveal strong growth pressures in the two Central Lancashire districts of Chorley and South Ribble that correspond with the dwelling stock results.

Table 1 Change in the Dwelling Stock, 2001-2006

	Dwelling Stock		Percentage Change
	2006	2001	2001-2006
NORTH LANCASHIRE	211,712	204,970	3.29%
Blackpool	67,934	66,679	1.88%
Fylde	35,422	33,983	4.23%
Lancaster	59,895	57,490	4.18%
Wyre	48,461	46,818	3.51%
CENTRAL LANCASHIRE	196,056	187,539	4.54%
Chorley	44,452	42,106	5.57%
Preston	58,599	56,894	3.00%
South Ribble	46,081	43,460	6.03%
West Lancashire	46,924	45,079	4.09%
LANCASHIRE WEST	407,768	392,509	3.89%
EAST LANCASHIRE	228,842	224,774	1.81%
Blackburn with Darwen	59,024	58,528	0.85%
Burnley	40,292	40,582	-0.71%
Hyndburn	36,194	35,513	1.92%
Pendle	39,097	37,988	2.92%
Ribble Valley	24,367	23,203	5.02%
Rossendale	29,868	28,960	3.14%
LANCASHIRE COUNTY (NUTS-3)	509,652	492,076	3.57%
LANCASHIRE NUTS-2	636,610	617,283	3.13%
North West	3,062,698	2,982,187	2.70%
England and Wales	23,407,896	22,577,417	3.68%
Source ONS/Valuation Office Agency (VOA) - Dwelling Stock by Council Tax Band, 2006

Table 2 provides numbers and percentages in each council tax band for the 12 district authorities and two unitary authorities that form the Lancashire NUTS-2 area. Figures are also given for the various sub-Lancashire areas, for the Lancashire NUTS-3 area (which excludes the two unitary authorities), and for the North West and England and Wales.

Table 2 Dwelling Stock by Council Tax Band, Lancashire Districts, 2006

	Local Authority Tax Band
	Band A	Band B	Band C	Band D	Band E	Band F	Band G	Band H
Total Number of Properties Taxed
NORTH LANCASHIRE	68,301	52,203	42,271	24,063	14,328	6,842	3,456	248
Blackpool	30,032	19,720	10,991	4,550	1,797	546	270	28
Fylde	6,432	5,892	8,389	6,548	4,305	2,339	1,436	81
Lancaster	21,237	15,201	11,192	5,913	3,657	1,806	819	70
Wyre	10,600	11,390	11,699	7,052	4,569	2,151	931	69
CENTRAL LANCASHIRE	64,647	41,744	38,737	25,595	14,914	6,672	3,549	198
Chorley	13861	9928	8361	5638	4205	1672	726	61
Preston	26,894	11,473	9,416	6,259	2,466	1,188	857	46
South Ribble	9,631	11,898	11,693	7,220	3,713	1,430	479	17
West Lancashire	14,261	8,445	9,267	6,478	4,530	2,382	1,487	74
LANCASHIRE WEST	132,948	93,947	81,008	49,658	29,242	13,514	7,005	446
EAST LANCASHIRE	125,539	31,253	32,194	20,002	10,838	4,962	3,690	364
Blackburn with Darwen	35,079	8,346	7,975	4,168	2,031	812	552	61
Burnley	25,232	4,483	6,152	2,684	1,257	323	142	19
Hyndburn	21,593	4,991	5,563	2,718	868	273	174	14
Pendle	24,680	4,282	4,064	2,876	1,701	938	512	44
Ribble Valley	3,285	4,644	4,738	4,425	3,218	1,985	1,883	189
Rossendale	15,670	4,507	3,702	3,131	1,763	631	427	37
LANCASHIRE COUNTY (NUTS-3)	193,376	97,134	94,236	60,942	36,252	17,118	9,873	721
LANCASHIRE NUTS-2	258,487	125,200	113,202	69,660	40,080	18,476	10,695	810
North West (thousands)	1,317.3	585.5	530.6	303.6	178.1	86.8	59.1	6.0
England and Wales (thousands)	5,849.2	4,547.6	5,061.4	3,562.7	2,226.1	1,210.2	837.4	135.3
Percentage of Properties Taxed
NORTH LANCASHIRE	32.26	24.66	19.97	11.37	6.77	3.23	1.63	0.12
Blackpool	44.21	29.03	16.18	6.70	2.65	0.80	0.40	0.04
Fylde	18.16	16.63	23.68	18.49	12.15	6.60	4.05	0.23
Lancaster	35.46	25.38	18.69	9.87	6.11	3.02	1.37	0.12
Wyre	21.87	23.50	24.14	14.55	9.43	4.44	1.92	0.14
CENTRAL LANCASHIRE	32.97	21.29	19.76	13.05	7.61	3.40	1.81	0.10
Chorley	31.18	22.33	18.81	12.68	9.46	3.76	1.63	0.14
Preston	45.89	19.58	16.07	10.68	4.21	2.03	1.46	0.08
South Ribble	20.90	25.82	25.37	15.67	8.06	3.10	1.04	0.04
West Lancashire	30.39	18.00	19.75	13.81	9.65	5.08	3.17	0.16
LANCASHIRE WEST	32.60	23.04	19.87	12.18	7.17	3.31	1.72	0.11
EAST LANCASHIRE	54.86	13.66	14.07	8.74	4.74	2.17	1.61	0.16
Blackburn with Darwen	59.43	14.14	13.51	7.06	3.44	1.38	0.94	0.10
Burnley	62.62	11.13	15.27	6.66	3.12	0.80	0.35	0.05
Hyndburn	59.66	13.79	15.37	7.51	2.40	0.75	0.48	0.04
Pendle	63.13	10.95	10.39	7.36	4.35	2.40	1.31	0.11
Ribble Valley	13.48	19.06	19.44	18.16	13.21	8.15	7.73	0.78
Rossendale	52.46	15.09	12.39	10.48	5.90	2.11	1.43	0.12
LANCASHIRE COUNTY (NUTS-3)	37.94	19.06	18.49	11.96	7.11	3.36	1.94	0.14
LANCASHIRE NUTS-2	40.60	19.67	17.78	10.94	6.30	2.90	1.68	0.13
North West	42.87	19.12	17.33	9.91	5.82	2.84	1.93	0.20
England and Wales	24.71	19.43	21.62	15.22	9.67	5.17	3.58	0.58
Source ONS/Valuation Office Agency - Dwelling Stock by Council Tax Band, 2006

The most striking aspect about the results in Table 2 is that the Lancashire NUTS-2 area has 40.60% of its dwellings classified in the lowest tax band A, a figure noticeably higher that the average for England and Wales of 24.71%. The high proportion of old terraced properties in the county, of which some are in relatively poor condition (see the Condition of Dwelling Stock Research Monitor), results in high levels of tax band A properties. This is especially the case in the four East Lancashire authorities of Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle and Blackburn with Darwen, which all recorded over 60% of their dwellings classified in the cheapest band A category.

The percentage of band B properties in the Lancashire NUTS-2 area (19.67%) is on a par with the England and Wales average, but from band C onwards the percentages in Lancashire NUTS-2 fall noticeably below the norm for England and Wales.

There are significant variations at the local authority level; for example, an amalgamation of bands F to H accounts for 9.33% of properties in England and Wales as a whole, but in Ribble Valley District and Fylde the proportions are 16.66% and 10.88% respectively. In contrast, Burnley and Hyndburn recorded less than 1.3% of their dwellings in the top three bands.

Lower-Layer Super Output Area Analysis

The dwelling stock data are released down to the middle- and lower-layer super output area (LSOA) level. This Research Monitor uses the Lancashire results for lower-layer super output areas.

The three maps contain details of the percentage of dwellings in each Lancashire LSOA in bands A, B to D and E to H. In total, there are 940 LSOAs that cover the 14-authority Lancashire NUTS-2 area. Please note that at this small area level each of the three maps contains LSOAs that have no dwellings in that particular band(s). This is most apparent for bands E to H.

Figure 1 presents details of the percentage of dwellings in tax band A. High concentrations are apparent in all the major urban areas across the county, including East Lancashire with its high number of terraced properties. Other Lancashire towns such as Preston, Lancaster and Skelmersdale also have high percentages in the lower band. The latter is a former new town that does not have a legacy of old terraced houses.

Figure 2 shows that Lancashire has fewer houses in council bands B to D (48.4%) compared with the England and Wales average (56.3%). The highest concentrations are found in suburban/rural areas close to the main urban areas across Lancashire.

Figure 3 emphasises the high rates of properties in bands E to H in the rural parts of the county. Of note however are the areas in Fylde, West Lancashire, Blackburn with Darwen and Ribble Valley that recorded concentrations in excess of 60%. These particularly affluent areas are quite close to urban centres such as Blackburn, Padiham, Kirkham, Lytham, Ormskirk and Skelmersdale.