Foleshill and Longford place based profile

Location

Foleshill and Longford are wards in Coventry. The data in this profile is aggregated from small areas on a best-fit basis, and therefore may differ slightly from other sources. This profile covers all of Foleshill ward but not all of Longford ward, it does not include the area of Bell Green. The profile includes the areas of Longford, Little Heath, Foleshill West and Foleshill East. Each of these four areas are one of the 42 MSOAs that cover Coventry.   

Population

Why is this important?

It is important to understand how Coventry’s population and demographics are changing so that local communities and organisations can ensure that the city has the right services to meet the needs of its people.

What is the local picture? How does it compare?

The Foleshill and Longford area is an area of growth in the city, in the past 10 years, there has been a 13% population increase, and is home to an estimated 34,400 residents. Between the 2011 and 2021 censuses, the population of Foleshill and Longford has increased by nearly 4,000 additional residents from 30,500. This means that the population has grown faster here than it has in the city overall (9%); and that around about 1 in every 10 residents of Coventry live in this area.

Population growth has partly come from new housing developments such as the Webster’s Park area in between Foleshill Road and Stoney Stanton Road, part of Foleshill East. The local neighbourhood that includes this development has seen the highest 10-year population growth in the area at 55%.

Foleshill and Longford covers a wide area and growth rates vary across the patch. The parts that have experienced the highest population growth are Little Heath (20%) and Foleshill East (17%), these areas are amongst the faster growing parts of the city. Longford (8%) and Foleshill West (6%) have grown at rates slightly lower than the city average.

The population is particularly young in Foleshill West and Foleshill East with a median age of 30 compared to 35 for the city overall and 40 across England. In the north of the area, Little Heath and Longford, the average age of residents is a little higher at 33 and 37 respectively.

The age profile of Foleshill and Longford is quite different to the city overall, as illustrated by the population pyramid diagram.

Source: Census 2021, Office for National Statistics, Crown Copyright

Foleshill and Longford have younger populations than Coventry, but unlike Coventry as a whole, it is not because of students and young adults. Instead, it is because there are more children and fewer elderly people. 

A quarter of the Foleshill and Longford population are children aged 0-15, 25.1% compared to 19.8% for Coventry overall. Only 9.5% are aged 65 and over, much lower than both the 14.6% in Coventry and the 18.6% England average. This is an important consideration for understanding the health needs of the population in this area. This age profile (more children and families and less elderly people) is typical of the areas in Foleshill ward: Foleshill West, Foleshill East and Little Heath; but not in Longford which has an age profile more typical of the city average.

The number of older residents has been increasing and is likely to continue to grow in the future, but not at the same rate it has for Coventry overall. Looking at population change over the 10 years between the 2011 and 2021 censuses, the growth by age group in Foleshill and Longford was like the experience of the city overall, with a reduction in the population of infants and young children aged 0-4 years due to falling birth numbers over that period, but significant growth in the number of children aged 5-17 years.

Foleshill and Longford’s population has changed differently from Coventry overall in that is has experienced greater increases amongst residents aged 35 – 49 years (26% increase compared to 6% for Coventry overall) and 50 – 64 years (32% increase compared to 18% for Coventry overall), but a relatively low increase in the number of older residents aged 65+ (4% increase compared to 9% for Coventry overall).

Like Coventry overall, the total number of births to mothers living in Foleshill and Longford has been on a falling trend up to 2021. In 2021 there were 519 births, down from 669 in 2014. The birth rate in 2021 remained relatively high for Coventry however, the general fertility rate for the area, the number of live births per 1,000 resident females aged 15-44, is higher than the city average at 64.4 compared to 52.0.  Fertility rates vary across the area, higher than the city average in the areas that are part of Foleshill ward and about average in Longford. Births are particularly high amongst residents of the Foleshill East area with a fertility rate at 73.3 being amongst the highest in the city.

There are fewer elderly households and more households with dependent children in Foleshill and Longford. One-person households made up of an older person aged over 65 or a single-family household in which all people are aged over 65 make up 8% (1,025) and 3% (404) of all households in Foleshill and Longford compared to 12% and 7% across Coventry overall.

24% (2,879) of all households are couple family households with dependent children compared to 19% across Coventry overall and 10% (1,202) are lone parent family households with dependent children compared to 8% across Coventry overall.

Like for Coventry overall, the most common single type of household in Foleshill and Longford are one person households of people aged 65 or younger, making up 20% of all households in the area, 2,465 households out of a total of 12,192 households as measured in the Census 2021, compared to the city average of 19%. Household composition varies a little across the area, with Longford having more households of elderly people and fewer households with children, prevalence of these is broadly in line with the city average.

Households in the area are larger than average. The most common household size is 4 or more people in the household (31% of all households), compared to 1 person per household the most common for Coventry. The average household size in Foleshill and Longford is 2.80 people compared 2.48 for Coventry overall. Household size is particularly high in the areas that are part of Foleshill ward, the highest in city, at 3.89 in Foleshill West, 2.87 in Little Heath and 2.86 in Foleshill East.

We can understand more about our communities by using Geodemographic segmentation. The Acorn geodemographic profiler data model from CACI ltd categorises all UK households into 6 main categories ranked from most to least wealthy. Most postcodes in Foleshill and Longford (95.5%) are categorised in the three less wealthy groups of the six categories. There are three groups/types of households that dominate the area, making up more than two-thirds of the local population; the three in order down to least wealthy type are:

• ‘Steadfast Communities – Young families in ethnically diverse urban centres’ (people living in this type of household make up 34% of the population of Foleshill and Longford compared to 5% across Coventry overall),
• ‘Stretched Society – Young families struggling on low incomes in rented terraces’ (19% of local population, Coventry 14%) and
• ‘Low Income Living – Diverse young families in rented terraces and flats’ (17% of local population, Coventry 4%).

Acorn Wellbeing divides households into types according to their health needs, residents in Foleshill and Longford have a higher percentage of residents in the “At Risk” and “Healthy” groups. The four main groups Acorn Wellbeing divides residents into are:

• Health Challenges (highest levels of illness, often areas with higher elderly population),
• At Risk,
• Caution and
• Healthy (more affluent neighbourhoods with low levels of illness given their age).

Residents in Foleshill and Longford largely fall between group 2 “At Risk” (43% compared to 39% across Coventry overall) and group 4 “Healthy” (27% compared to 15% across Coventry overall). A relatively low percentage of the Foleshill and Longford population live in households in group 1 “Health Challenges”, (6% compared to 12% across Coventry overall), perhaps because of the relatively low population of elderly people.

Further analysis reveals that the three most notable subtypes in this area are:

• ‘Healthy – Gym & Juices’ (younger people with relatively healthy lifestyles; 23% of local population, Coventry 3%).
• ‘At Risk – Everyday Excesses’ (tend to be younger with higher rates of smoking and drinking; 16% of local population, Coventry 19%).
• ‘At Risk – Dangerous Dependencies’ (less well-off family areas, higher smoking, less healthy diet and high BMI, 7% of local population, Coventry 3%).

Why is this important?

The growth of new communities can change the age and ethnic profile of the city, which can have an impact on demand for local services such as schools and GP surgeries and is influenced by of many complex factors, such as living and working conditions, social inclusion, ethnicity, socioeconomic position, education, and cultural factors.

What is the local picture? How does it compare?

Coventry as a city is becoming increasingly diverse, and Foleshill and Longford is no exception with 70.2% of the population being part of an ethnic minority group compared to 44.7% in Coventry as a whole. We use ‘ethnic minorities’ to refer to all ethnic groups except the White British group. Ethnic minorities include white minorities, such as Gypsy, Roma, Irish Traveller and other white groups.  In the 2021 Census, 70.2% of Foleshill and Longford’s population were a part of an ethnic minority group, an increase of 8 percentage points from 62.1% in 2011. 

Asian Pakistani is the largest ethnic group in Foleshill and Longford, making up 14.2% of the population, compared to 3.7% in Coventry. This follows a decline in Asian Indian residents from 16.8% in 2011 to 13.9% in 2021.

There is some variation within neighbourhoods,57.4% of residents in Longford are White British, while Foleshill West and Foleshill East have much lower figures (14.6% and 17.2%).

White British residents have decreased by 8 percentage points from 37.9% in 2011 to 29.8% in 2021, a decrease of 1,286 people. Between 2011 and 2021 there has been a 5.3% (2,055) percentage point increase in White: Other with 11.2% in 2021 (3,838), up from 5.9% (1,783) in 2011. The Black African population has continued to increase, growing from 5.8% in 2011 to 8.8% in 2021. Within Coventry, Foleshill West, Foleshill East, and Hillfields had the largest percentage of their population being from an ethnic minority group with 80% or more doing so.

Among schoolchildren who live in Foleshill and Longford 78.8% are from an ethnic minority group, a higher proportion than for the population of all ages taken from Census 2021 (29.8%). The largest ethnic minority groups amongst school pupils are similar to those amongst the overall population, children of Asian Pakistani ethnicity (18.1%), Black African ethnicity (12.5%), White Other ethnicity (11.0%) and Asian Indian ethnicity (10.2%).

Religious affiliation of residents in Foleshill and Longford is diverse. Of those who responded to the question on the 2021 census, 18.6% have no religion (Coventry 31.6%). Christianity is less prevalent than the city average here but is still the most common single religion, at 37.1% of the area’s residents compared with 46.8% across Coventry overall. Islam is the second most followed religion accounting for 30.6% of residents compared to 11.0% across Coventry overall. There is also a slightly higher number of Sikhs with 8.3% for Foleshill and Longford, compared to 5.3% for the city overall.

There is notable variation between the neighbourhoods of Foleshill and Longford. The Muslim population is higher in Foleshill West and Foleshill East at 46.1% and 45.6% respectively. Christian and Sikh populations are higher in the neighbourhoods further north; in Little Heath, Christians make up 42.6% of the population and Sikhs 12.0% and in Longford, Christians make up 46.2% of the population and Sikhs 11.0%.

International migration, people moving from overseas, has been an important part of population growth in this area. This has historically been the case and continues in recent years, with levels of migration to the area being higher than average for Coventry neighbourhoods since 2011, although not amongst the very highest of all. Newly arrived communities to Coventry are from diverse sources, and include people migrating for economic reasons, international students, asylum seekers and refugees, amongst others. Foleshill and Longford have a higher population growth than other areas, mainly due to international migration. Foleshill and Longford's population growth is mainly due to international migration, not students, with only 6% of its population being students, compared to 10% citywide. Internal migration, people moving from other parts of Coventry and the UK to Foleshill and Longford, may also contribute to population growth.

19.4% of Foleshill and Longford residents were born abroad and arrived in the past decade, higher than Coventry's 14.2%. Foleshill West and East have higher migrant populations (22.4% and 23.2%) than Longford (11.2%). Overall, 41.3% of area residents were born outside the UK, compared to Coventry's 27.9%, with many from Asia (18.4% vs 10.5% citywide ) and the EU (13.9% vs 10.1% citywide). Foleshill West and Foleshill East are amongst the areas of Coventry that are home to the highest populations of first-generation migrants, with people born outside the UK making up 49.4% and 48.4% of the areas’ total populations respectively. Residents have a wide variety of countries of birth with 22 countries of origin with at least 100 Foleshill and Longford residents. The most common nations represented are India (7.1% of all residents), Romania (5.7% of all residents), Pakistan (5.5% of all residents) and Poland (3.4% of all residents).

Between 2011 and 2021, the population of Foleshill and Longford increased amongst people born in the UK and people born outside the UK; the number of UK born people increased by 400 and non-UK born people increased by 3,500 – the majority of the increase was amongst people born in EU countries, an increase of 2,700, compared to an 500 increase in the number of people born in Africa and an increase of 200 amongst people born in Asia.

Over the past 10 years, Foleshill and Longford have seen higher-than-average international migration compared to other Coventry neighbourhoods. Although data collection poses challenges, National Insurance Number (NINo) registrations offer insight into these trends. In 2022, 1,795 foreign nationals moved to the area, a higher rate per capita than the city average, returning to pre-pandemic levels after a drop in 2020. Unlike the rest of Coventry, where migration surged post-pandemic, Foleshill and Longford's increase was modest. While the area had one of the highest per capita NINo registrations in 2015, the 2022 figure is only slightly above average.

Source: Department for Work and Pensions, https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

Migration to Foleshill and Longford from South Asia has surged, with 786 arrivals in 2022, up from 310 in 2021, 88 in 2018, and 180 in 2012. EU migration, once the highest, dropped to 475 in 2022 from 1,108 in 2018 but remains above the 351 in 2012. Migration from Sub-Saharan Africa is at a peak of 347, up from 81 in 2018 and 56 in 2012.

Coventry has a long history of providing safety to those fleeing conflict and persecution and Foleshill and Longford is a particular area that homes asylum seekers. While the total numbers are relatively low compared to other types of international migration, this is still an important part of the area’s demographic when it comes to health and care needs. Coventry as a city supports more asylum seekers than most other local authorities in the country. At more than 2,000 people, Coventry supports the highest proportion of asylum seekers per head of population in the West Midlands region – Foleshill and Longford is an area where a higher-than-average number for Coventry live, approximately 230 in August 2023. These people live mostly in the areas that cover the Foleshill ward, less so in Longford.

In 2021, 19.8% of households had no people with English as their main language compared to 10.7% of households across Coventry overall. For nearly a third of residents (30.3%) English is not their main language according to responses to the Census 2021, compared to 17.5% across Coventry overall. 7.1% of residents in Foleshill and Longford stated that they cannot speak English well and 1.1% could not speak English at all, this compares to 3.0% and 0.5% for Coventry overall.

Foleshill and Longford has a greater and increasing diversity of languages, perhaps the most diverse in the city, which could act as a barrier when accessing and having an awareness of services available to residents.  In 2021, 19.8% of households had no one with English as their main language, compared to 10.7% citywide. About 30.3% of residents don't primarily speak English, compared to 17.5% across Coventry. Additionally, 7.1% of residents speak English poorly, and 1.1% not at all, higher than the city’s 3.0% and 0.5%. There are variations within the area, the diversity of main language is highest in Foleshill West and Foleshill East with 36% of residents’ main language being other than English, followed by 30% in Little Heath and 17% in Longford.

In Foleshill and Longford, ‘Any other EU language’ (likely to be mostly Romanian) (7.0%), Panjabi (5.2%), Polish (3.3%), Urdu (3.1%) and ‘African languages (1.9%) are the most common main languages spoken aside from English, although there are many more languages with a significant number of speakers.

For school children living in Foleshill and Longford an even lower proportion don’t speak English as their main language, 56.8%. The most popular languages amongst school children living in this area are Urdu (10.2%), Romanian (7.7%), Panjabi (6.2%), Bengali (3.1%), Polish (3.0%), Arabic (2.7%), Somali (2.1%) and Kurdish (2.0%). 

As it becomes more diverse, the area remains cohesive, but Coventry Household Survey data indicates that overall feelings of belonging, and cohesion, may have reduced over the last few years. Most residents agreed (61%) that their neighbourhood is a place where people got on well together, slightly lower than Coventry overall (63%) and a significant reduction since 2018 (88%). These estimates have margins of error associated when inferring about the whole population because the survey was only asked of a sample of residents, but the size of change does indicate that this has reduced amongst the wider population of the area over that period.

52% of respondents said they felt a sense of belonging to their neighbourhood down from 75% in 2018 but about average for Coventry overall (54%) Those in Longford are less likely to have a strong sense of belonging at neighbourhood level (33%).

All residents were subsequently asked if the Covid-19 outbreak has changed their sense of belonging to their local community. Only a minority of 13% feel a stronger sense of belonging to their local community after Covid-19, the same as the city average.

In Foleshill and Longford, 24% of residents in Foleshill and Longford agreed that there are opportunities to get actively involved in improving their local area, down from 54% in 2018, compared to 38% citywide.  42% of residents indicated that they were likely to get more involved in the next 12 months, compared to 51% across Coventry overall.

Cultural participation in Foleshill and Longford is lower than average, with particularly low rates in Foleshill West (47%) and Foleshill East (55%). ‘Low’ or ‘no’ participation is defined as respondents who had not engaged in any of a list of cultural activities at least three times in the previous 12 months. It varies between different neighbourhoods in the area, with higher-than-average participation in Little Heath and lower than average in Longford, Foleshill West and Foleshill East. Foleshill West and Foleshill East have particularly low rates. It is notable that the % not participating had reduced in these two areas between 2018 and 2022, whereas participation measured using this question had increased for Coventry overall, notably in Little Heath, due to the opportunities available when Coventry was City of Culture for 2021/22.

For Foleshill and Longford residents, overall attendance at City of Culture events was lower than the city average, with 36% saying they had attended at least one event in the city centre compared to the city average of 45%. 20% said they had attended an event based in their locality compared to the city average of 27%.

What else is happening? What else can be done?

The diversity of the area is celebrated through events and festivals throughout the year. This is a huge cultural asset for the city and there is a desire to expand these opportunities. The City of Culture brought many events to the city to celebrate diversity and promote cohesion. There are several groups throughout Foleshill and Longford that meet to connect, create, and celebrate different cultures. Foleshill Creates regularly meet to create artwork together culminating in exhibitions and a festival of light to celebrate Diwali. Foleshill is a starting point for many parades and celebrations, from Diwali to Vaisakhi the diversity of the city and communities is something to be celebrated. There is a desire to harness the city’s creativity with some residents in Foleshill expressing that “The city could continue and grow its culture offering…This would attract tourists and jobs to the city... We should expand our cultural offering by doing something like a Coventry Fringe Festival. I think attracting visitors is vital for the city.”-

Foleshill and Longford have an abundance of places of worship in the city. Places of worship not only create a sense of community and belonging they also make great community venues hosting many small groups, providing spaces for cultural activities, such as exhibitions, drama performances, and other community services like mother and toddler groups. These community spaces and events are integral to the community with one resident noting that they “include everyone … this makes people feel equal and less of an outsider”

Culturally aware and appropriate interventions can support newly arrived communities settle. There are many voluntary and charitable groups throughout the area helping newly arrived communities’ build a new life in the city. Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre (CRMC) welcomes and empowers asylum seekers, refugees, and other migrants in Coventry to rebuild their lives and achieve their potential. They provide a wealth of support, from advice services, English classes, translation and interpretation services and support people into gaining employment through their project building bridges. The centre also offers therapy and housing support ensuring that individuals know their rights and what they are entitle to.

Foleshill Women’s Training (FWT) also offer a culturally sensitive and appropriate place for all women to access Education, Training, Healthcare and Employment Opportunities, and be empowered and enabled in moving forward. They offer a range of courses, health programmes, and employment pathways.

The Roma Project works with the community and mainstream services to ensure that they can confidently help and provide the best support possible to the Roma Community.

Newly arrived communities are supported by Coventry Libraries work with the Syrian resettlement programme. This includes library tours, special book collections and events, as well as the use of library spaces for information and education sessions. 

Conversation cafes, libraries and children play key roles in helping families learn and practice English. The experiences of migrant families in learning and using English vary depending on their circumstances and needs. Some may face challenges such as isolation, lack of confidence, or limited access to formal education whilst others may find support and motivation from their communities, workplaces, or cultural activities. Libraries provide a useful resource in learning languages and building support systems, from opportunities to attend English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses, to conversation cafes to meet other people and practice their conversational English.  

While children often adapt to the new language environment more easily than adults, they may also face pressures and expectations from their parents or peers. Therefore, it is important to recognise the diversity and complexity of language learning for migrant families, and to provide them with flexible and inclusive opportunities to develop their skills and identities.