East Lothian joint top for population increase during Covid

New figures from National Records of Scotland show the population of the county jumped by 1.6 per cent – level with Midlothian – between the end of June 2020 and the same time last year.

The most common moves within Scotland were from the largest cities – Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen – to their neighbouring council areas.

More than 1,600 people moved into the county and Councillor Norman Hampshire, leader of East Lothian Council, told the Courier that the influx of people brought its own challenges.

Councillor Norman Hampshire, East Lothian Council leader

Mr Hampshire said: “East Lothian has seen a steady rise in population in recent years, which continued during the pandemic as people reviewed their personal circumstances and preferences for where they lived and worked.

“As the county’s population increases, the council is required to ensure that this growth can be managed sustainably.

“I am aware that some in our communities are concerned about the speed of growth, and the East Lothian Local Development Plan adopted in 2018 identified areas of land to provide for 10,000 new homes but this also included land for employment use and an infrastructure package, including new and expanded schools as well as community, healthcare and recreation facilities.”

The council leader, who is also the local authority’s spokesperson for planning, stressed that sustaining the level of growth meant additional funding was required.

John Muir House (Image: Newsquest)

He added: “We have been in discussions with the Government about the need for additional funding to deliver the infrastructure and council services our growing communities will need.

“In addition, the council has a range of policies which protects greenbelt land, special landscape areas and countryside around towns to retain an enviable environment that is attracting newcomers.”

The National Records of Scotland Mid-Year Population Estimates is the first report to cover a full year affected by Covid-19.

Across Scotland, just eight of the 32 local authorities saw a decrease in their population over the 12-month period.

Glasgow City, City of Edinburgh, Inverclyde, West Dunbartonshire, Stirling, Aberdeen City and Dundee City all showed drops of between 0.1 per cent and 0.7 per cent, while North Ayrshire’s percentage drop was recorded as zero, with a population decrease of 30.

Esther Roughsedge, head of population and migration statistics at National Records Scotland, said: “As well as people moving long term out of cities and into the surrounding areas, there may have been students who have moved back to their parents’ addresses temporarily during the pandemic.

“Another factor could be people who had previously moved updating their address with a GP to make sure they received their Covid-19 vaccination letters.

“Address information from GPs feeds into our migration estimates.”

Overall, the report estimates that Scotland’s population was 5,479,900 mid-2021 (June 30, 2021).

The population increased by 13,900 people (0.25 per cent) in the year to that date.

East Lothian’s population was estimated as 109,580.