Coventry ‘a city in decline’ but readers have mixed opinions as migration figures show more departures than arrivals

Readers shared mixed views on the latest migration figures for Coventry, which saw more residents leaving the city rather than moving in. he asked, “Is anyone surprised?”

Internal migration figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that all major UK cities saw more people move out in 2023 than moved out. Coventry saw over 8,000 more people leave than arrived last year.

23,169 moved in and 31,793 moved out of Coventry. Birmingham saw the biggest increase, with around 56,000 moving to the city last year, but 74,000 moving out, a loss of around 17,500 people.

Read more: The truth about migration in Coventry as thousands move out of the city

However, Warwickshire had more people moving into the county borough. North Warwickshire had 4,040 people moved, with 3,582 moved, an increase of 458 people. Warwick has 12,543 movers and 11,643 movers, with a further 860 people in the area.

The figures follow recent trends and appear to show that UK cities are losing their appeal, possibly due to higher rent and housing costs, although prices are below the national average in Coventry and Nottingham. The biggest net migration is in Cornwall, where 20,000 people moved, but 25,000 moved, followed by Cheshire East.

Readers took to the CoventryLive Facebook page to give their verdict on net migration statistics in Coventry.

JohnDoe007 said: “Move anywhere you want every town in the UK has problems with crime drugs etc so you won’t get away with it you may think you will but it’s everywhere look at Leamington Kenilworth , Southam, even they are not the best. The same happens everywhere. Good luck trying to escape crime and youth gangs.

Kasey62 said: “Is anyone surprised? Coventry has become a student city with enough well-paid jobs to attract non-university people. The council does as little as possible and says they don’t have enough money to do this successfully. We are a city in decline.”

Bobinder said: “The reality is that this country is loaded with debt and we spend almost as much as we earn while the debt burden grows and grows. The cost of housing, utilities and transportation for most families is pushing. at their limit and I haven’t even mentioned food.

“Housing benefit, for example, is mainly aimed at private landlords. Almost all have large buy-to-let mortgages, thus held for redemption by the banks. If rates go up, that gets passed on to tenants, but the housing benefit is limited, so the poorest and most vulnerable in society end up getting poorer, this can’t go on.”

However, Ped1970 says the figures show residents are being drawn to the city: “23,169 people moving into our city is proof that the work our council is doing is attracting new residents, so it’s working.”

You can check the migration figures for your area on our interactive map below:

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