Access to railway stations and libraries by foot varies considerably across England and Wales, with sharp differences among areas that share the same urban or rural characteristics, new analysis shows.
There are some local authorities where the entire population is likely to be within a half-hour walk of a station or library, but others where the figure is zero – with some of the most striking variations occurring in neighbourhoods just postcodes apart.
Around 57% of the population of England and Wales are able to walk to a railway station within 30 minutes, but this figure is higher in parts of the country with light rail and tram stations, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The proportion is highest in London, at 96%, followed by north-west England (70%), south-east England (58%) and Wales (50%), with the East Midlands scoring lowest (36%).
Out of 318 local authorities, there are 41 where at least 90% of the population is likely to be within half an hour’s walk of a railway station, 31 of which are in London.
These include seven authorities where the figure is 100%: City of London, Enfield, Islington, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton and Westminster.
Outside London, Adur in West Sussex has the highest percentage (97%), followed by Epsom & Ewell in Surrey (96%) and Stockport in Greater Manchester (95%).
By contrast, there are five local authorities where none of the population is within 30 minutes’ walk of a station: Torridge in Devon, Gosport in Hampshire, Rossendale in Lancashire and North West Leicestershire, along with – unsurprisingly – the railway-free Isles of Scilly.
The figures highlight sharp differences in access to railway stations among areas that otherwise share the same characteristics.
For example, Adur, Gosport and Rossendale are all areas classified by the ONS as “urban with city and town”, but the proportion of the population half an hour’s walk from a station is 97%, 0% and 0% respectively.
Despite High Peak in Derbyshire being classified as “largely rural”, 86% of its population can walk to a station within half an hour – possibly because its “primary population centres, the towns of Chapel-en-le-Frith, Buxton, and Whaley Bridge all have railway stations,” the ONS said.
Local authorities in the “largely rural” category with the lowest percentages include Staffordshire Moorlands (7%), Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire (6%) and North West Leicestershire (0%).
Among those authorities considered “mainly rural”, Melton in Leicestershire tops the list with 53% of its population able to walk to a station in under half an hour, while Torridge in Devon is at the bottom (0%).
Approximately 57% of people in England and Wales live within a 30-minute walk of a railway station, this figure is higher in areas with light rail and tram stations and in predominantly urban local authorities. pic.twitter.com/FufQo7hpso
— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) October 17, 2024
The figures can be influenced by the location of a railway station within the local authority – for example, the historic university cities of Oxford and Cambridge have similar population sizes, but while 61% of Cambridge residents can walk to a station in less than 30 minutes, only 26% of people in Oxford can do so.
“This reflects the location of the main stations in the two cities, with the station in Oxford being in a more central location in the town centre, while the station in Cambridge is in a more suburban location”, the ONS explained.
Major differences in walking access can also be seen among neighbouring built-up areas.
In Havant in Hampshire, 84% of the population can walk to a station within half an hour – but in next-door Waterlooville, the figure drops to just 2%, while in the nearby areas of Hornden and Lee-on-Solent the proportion is zero.
The picture is slightly different when looking at libraries, the ONS found.
The figures tend to show greater access by foot, with only three local authorities in the whole of England and Wales where less than a third of the population is within a 30-minute walk of a library: Ceredigion in west Wales (32%), Malvern Hills in Worcestershire (29%) and Hart in Hampshire (23%).
This compares with 71 local authorities where the same is true for railway stations.
In 91 authorities, at least 90% of the population can reach a library on foot in under half an hour – compared with 41 for stations – while in 10 authorities it is 100%, eight of which are in London, along with Worthing in West Sussex and the Isles of Scilly.
“This close alignment to current population centres suggests a physical adaptability of library services that successfully target the England and Wales population as a whole”, the ONS said.
There is once again some variation within similar categories of local authority, however.
Among authorities classed as “urban with city and town”, access to a library on foot within 30 minutes ranges from 100% in Worthing to 36% in Guildford in Surrey; in “mainly rural” authorities the range is 100% (Isles of Scilly) to 38% (Mid Suffolk); while for “largely rural” authorities the range is 82% (Hinckley & Bosworth in Leicestershire) to 29% (Malvern Hills).
