00:00Drive across Birmingham and one thing is obvious. This is a city in transition. High streets, neighbourhoods and communities have
00:08changed and the census confirms major demographic shifts. Now another set of figures raises a different question. More than 79
00:18,500 people moved out of the city in one year. Why are so many leaving and what does that mean
00:26for Birmingham's future?
00:27I think it's in search of sort of the bucolic existence. They want to be close to sort of greenery
00:32and of course we've seen a lot of pressure on green spaces in Birmingham to sort of build more housing.
00:38They've seen the sort of centre change, the shopping habits have changed. So I think there's a whole set of
00:43sort of things. Of course the reality is that commuting is probably a lot easier than it used to be.
00:47Motorways flow, you know, when they say they're working, it's not a whole lot.
00:51Of course, commuting an hour to work is seen as sort of, you know, the norm, whereas when I was
00:57going up, that was sort of seen as exceptional. We have, dare I say, and of course people might disagree,
01:03better trains.
01:03So of course, for instance, if you live, you know, 40, about five minutes away from Birmingham, that's perfectly sort
01:09of commutable. But as I say, people's working existence is elsewhere. Now, of course, there's other sort of pressure. I
01:17think when sort of people start to sort of earn more money, they sort of think, well, we can move
01:21out, the schools might be better, the whole set of social issues. People are sort of in search of the
01:27perfect life, as it were.
01:28While the headline number of people leaving needs context, the same analysis puts Birmingham's net internal migration loss at just
01:36over 16,000, meaning many thousands were also moving into the city from elsewhere in Britain.
01:43Birmingham itself is not shrinking. ONS estimates put the population at above 1.8 million in 2024. Census data also
01:54shows demographic change.
01:56The broad white category fell from nearly 58% in 2011 to just under 49% in 2020, while Asian
02:06and black shares rose. But those census figures do not identify who is leaving, and they should not be used
02:12to suggest ethnicity is driving the outflow.
02:16I mean, ultimately, what it is, is that people want a simpler, quieter life, and they want things to be
02:22on a manageable scale. It's why perhaps we don't want to go live in London, because of course, that's a
02:27sort of a huge place, and sort of beyond the scope of most people to go with, and of course,
02:32requires lots of money.
02:33Earlier, Office of National Statistics Research found many Birmingham leavers stayed relatively close with moots towards places including Bronzegrove, South
02:43Staffordshire, and Talford, while some younger graduates went to London.
02:48The city is still growing, but the latest figures raise a clear question. What will persuade more of Birmingham's existing
02:56residents to stay?
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