Berkshire lures UK professionals

By Thelma Etim
BBC News, Berkshire

Retail manager David Slesser moved from Newcastle to Reading

Berkshire is home to some of the UK's wealthiest people and the lowest number living below the poverty line, the BBC's Changing UK report has revealed.

A significant proportion of residents are "asset wealthy", holding assets of at least £312,000 - the current inheritance tax threshold.

In 2006, anyone buying a home in the popular commuter-belt county could have expected to spend about £276,000, the third highest house price average in Britain.

The report's figures appear to suggest Britain's north-south divide has widened since the 1960s.

The commissioned research was carried out at Sheffield University by a team led by Professor Danny Dorling.

Researchers assessed how much our communities have changed during the past 40 years, using Census data and other information.

The results were assessed for the BBC's 14 television regions and 45 radio transmission areas.

People in the South will always a have a higher standard of living than in the North Retail manager David Slesser

Of the 1.04 million people who live in the BBC Radio Berkshire area, more than 12,000 aged between 30 and 44 would have to move out to make its population evenly distributed by age, the report found.

The county also has the second lowest average age of people in Britain, which is 37. London has the lowest, 36.

So why is the county so over-represented in this age group?

One of the report's five authors, John Pritchard, said: "[We found] people tend to be in London in their 20s and then move out to Berkshire when they get older and have families.

"These people are middle-aged and can afford to live there."

Figures show the Radio Berkshire area also had fourth highest number of children under the age of five - about 6% of the total population.

Of the 45 BBC radio station areas, Berkshire has experienced the 11th highest population increase over the past 40 years (17%), the study revealed.

'London nightlife'

David Slesser, originally from South Shields near Newcastle, is one of many young professional people currently living in Reading.

The 29-year-old retail manager, who studied psychology at The University of Reading 11 years ago, commutes to his workplace in London.

"I go to London to have my fun - enjoy the bars and the nightlife - and then I come home.

"Most of the people I have made friends with in the town are from somewhere else [in the country].

"I am going to live in the South but die in the North.

"People in the South will always a have a higher standard of living than in the North and I don't think that will ever change, despite regeneration," he added.

The Radio Berkshire area had the UK's second lowest percentage of people of pensionable age in 2006 (16%) and one of the lowest mortality rates.