Sharp rise in number of Europeans living in Wandsworth (From Wandsworth Guardian)

Sharp rise in number of Europeans living in Wandsworth

3:30pm Tuesday 14th August 2012 in News By Jamie Henderson

A sharp rise in the number of Europeans settling in Wandsworth has created a miniature EU within the borough's boundaries.

Since 2004 the number of European citizens choosing to live in Wandsworth has swelled from 11,690 to 23,725, according to electoral data - a rise of 12,035 which equates to 51 per cent.

An examination of the electoral role shows an increase in Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Polish and Italian nationals settling in the area.

Diasporas are popping up in certain parts of Wandsworth - for example, Italians have moving to St Mary's Park, the Spanish have opted for Queenstown, the French have emigrated to Northcote, the Portuguese to Latchmere and the Polish to Roehampton.

Councillor Ravi Govindia, leader of the council, said: "Wandsworth is a great place to live. With so much to offer it is no surprise we're popular with young families and that more Europeans are settling within our borders."

The first wave of data from the 2011 Census was also published last month which showed Wandsworth's population has increased by 18 per cent since 2001 to 307,000.

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FACTBOX

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The six EU countries with the highest numbers of registered electors living in Wandsworth are:

French: 3,085
German: 2,347
Italian: 3,677
Polish: 4,709
Portuguese: 1,634
Spanish: 1,630

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