Thorney Island is a peninsula in Chichester which contains the only regular armed forces base in West Sussex.
We have produced a new briefing that summarises the population of Thorney Island and the service personnel stationed there, using information from the 2021 Census, Quarterly Service Personnel Statistics, and Families Continuous Attitudes Survey (FamCAS).
Thorney Island is a special, coastal population, largely consisting of service personnel and their families. Whilst related, this population has been described independently of the population of coastal West Sussex, which has been described as part of a Framework for Action to Reduce Health Inequalities in Coastal West Sussex.
Key messages:
- Thorney Island has a different age and sex profile to surrounding coastal towns within West Sussex with a much younger (median = 27 years) and predominantly male population
- The population in Thorney Island has grown by more than 50% in the past 10 years
- The majority of Thorney Island residents privately rent or live ‘rent free’ - a far higher proportion than the average for minor BUAs in England. This could be indicative of the subsidised Service Family Accommodation (SFA) and Single Living Accommodation (SLA) provided to service personnel
- Most Thorney Island residents reported being in very good or good health. The age standardised proportion of residents in very good health higher than the group average for minor coastal BUAs in England.