Portland
Portland extends south from the main Dorset coast beyond Weymouth and is attached to the mainland by a narrow stretch of the famous Chesil Beach.
This 'Limestone Isle' has a quality all of its own - enhanced by its vast stone quarries, rows of terraced stone houses and its two castles. It has no real town centre, although Easton on the hill top and Fortuneswell on the northern slopes both have an urban appearance. Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy hosted the sailing events for the London 2012 Olympics.
Communications
Portland is linked to the mainland (Weymouth) by the A354. The nearest railway station is Weymouth (6 miles distance)
Population
Latest population figure (2011 Census) for the town is 12,844
| Age | Portland (number) | Portland (%) | Dorset-DCC area (%) | England & Wales (%) |
| 0-4 | 708 | 5.5 | 4.7 | 6.2 |
| 5-9 | 713 | 5.6 | 4.8 | 5.6 |
| 10-14 | 691 | 5.4 | 5.6 | 5.8 |
| 15-19 | 877 | 6.8 | 5.8 | 6.3 |
| 20-24 | 952 | 7.4 | 4.7 | 6.8 |
| 25-29 | 711 | 5.5 | 4.1 | 6.8 |
| 30-34 | 719 | 5.6 | 4.3 | 6.6 |
| 35-39 | 755 | 5.9 | 5.2 | 6.7 |
| 40-44 | 897 | 7.0 | 6.6 | 7.3 |
| 45-49 | 978 | 7.6 | 7.3 | 7.3 |
| 50-54 | 964 | 7.5 | 6.9 | 6.4 |
| 55-59 | 871 | 6.8 | 6.6 | 5.7 |
| 60-64 | 903 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 6.0 |
| 65-69 | 705 | 5.5 | 6.9 | 4.8 |
| 70-74 | 470 | 3.7 | 5.6 | 3.9 |
| 75-79 | 422 | 3.3 | 4.9 | 3.2 |
| 80-84 | 257 | 2.0 | 3.9 | 2.4 |
| 85+ | 251 | 2.0 | 3.9 | 2.2 |
| total | 12,844 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
selected age groups
| Age | Portland (number) | Portland (%) | Dorset-DCC area (%) | England & Wales (%) |
| Young people 0 to 17 | 2,538 | 19.8 | 18.8 | 21.3 |
| Young adults 18 to 29 | 2,114 | 16.5 | 10.9 | 16.2 |
| Older people 65 plus | 2,105 | 16.4 | 25.2 | 16.4 |
Source: Office for National Statistics ( ONS), 2011 Census
Historic population
| Year | 1921 | 1931 | 1951 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Census population | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 12,330 | 12,410 | 13,190 | 12,800 | 12,844 |
Source: ONS
Education
Chesil Education Partnership Area:
3 infant schools, 2 junior schools, 14 primary schools, 4 secondary schools, 2 special schools.
The secondary school for the area is
Isle of Portland Aldridge Community Academy - Royal Manor Campus (696 pupils - 2011 For further information on
Isle of Portland Aldridge Community Academy - Royal Manor Campus (opens in a new window) 
Commercial land
Between 1994-10, 12.0 hectares of industrial land has been developed in Portland. The total area of land with permission or allocated in local plans is 56.2 hectares, of which 11.5h are at the naval air station and 38h Portland Port.
Crime
Domestic burglaries
Rate per 1,000 households
| Area | 2002/03 | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | 2008/2009 | 2009/10 | 2010/11 | 2011/12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Portland | 4.3 | 4.6 | 8.7 | 9.1 | 4.1 | n/a | 5.4 | 5.4 | 4.5 | 2.9 |
DCC Dorset | 6.6 | 6.6 | 6.5 | 5.7 | 4.4 | n/a | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.4 |
South West | 14.8 | 12.3 | 10.7 | 8.9 | 8.4 | n/a | 8.2 | 7.6 | 7.2 | 7.0 |
England and Wales | 20.0 | 18.6 (GB) | 14.4 | 13.5 | 13.1 | n/a | 12.2 | 11.6 | 11.1 | 10.5 |
Please note: Due to the low prevailing level of offences, and the often sporadic nature of burglary, rates for small geographical areas can vary significantly from year to year
Source: Dorset County Council
Other sources of crime data
Access the
Police crime mapping Portland (opens in a new window) where you can find crime data on a month by month basis (starting December 2010) mapped to neighbourhood and street level. This looks at the crime types of burglary, anti-social behaviour, robbery, vehicle crime, violent crime and other crime. Note this comprehensive and up-to-date database only looks at numbers of crimes and not crime rates for individual crimes. It does give an overall crime rate (per 1,000 people) for the neighbourhood.
Housing growth
1998-2006
| Year | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Housing development | 20 | 17 | 12 | 24 | 76 | 41 | 61 | 40 | 85 |
2007 -2012
| Year | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Housing development | 15 | 92 | 203 | 8 | 0 | 90 |
Note: Figures allows for losses from re-development. Method revised 2009
The 2011 Census records 5,608 dwellings in Portland. Since 2011 a further 90 units have been built giving a total of 5,698. The commitment at 2012 is 555 units with permission and 12 allocated in local plans.
Index of deprivation, 2010
(Figures show LSOA ranking out of 247 SOAs in Dorset with 1 being the most deprived)
LSOA = Lower Super Output Area (minimum 400 households or 1,000 population).
| SOA | Multiple | Income | Employment | Health | Education and Skills | Housing and Services | Crime | Living |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castletown and Chiswell | 11 | 45 | 18 | 23 | 29 | 56 | 2 | 3 |
| Fortuneswell North | 3 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 36 | 10 | 34 |
| Fortuneswell South | 19 | 26 | 19 | 13 | 24 | 237 | 30 | 20 |
| Southwell and Portland Bill | 130 | 174 | 88 | 71 | 58 | 87 | 145 | 160 |
| Tophill East Easton | 60 | 80 | 67 | 26 | 80 | 222 | 52 | 27 |
| Tophill East Grove Road | 34 | 113 | 117 | 35 | 51 | 79 | 12 | 8 |
| Weston East | 45 | 56 | 65 | 43 | 21 | 189 | 22 | 93 |
| Weston West | 17 | 19 | 27 | 32 | 11 | 115 | 14 | 74 |
Click here for detailed information and mapping of the The Index of Deprivation, 2010
Source: DCLG
Poverty indicators: Housing/Council Tax benefit: March2013
| Settlement | Benefit Population | Total Population | % Benefit Population |
| Alderholt | 282 | 3,171 | 8.9% |
| Beaminster | 547 | 3,136 | 17.4% |
| Bere Regis | 305 | 1,745 | 17.5% |
| Blandford | 1,657 | 10,325 | 16.0% |
| Bridport | 2,414 | 13,568 | 17.8% |
| Burton | 631 | 4,177 | 15.1% |
| Charminster/Charlton Down | 379 | 2,940 | 12.9% |
| Chickerell | 895 | 5,515 | 16.2% |
| Christchurch | 7,747 | 47,700 | 16.2% |
| Colehill | 538 | 6,907 | 7.8% |
| Corfe Castle | 190 | 1,355 | 14.0% |
| Corfe Mullen | 948 | 10,133 | 9.4% |
| Crossways | 385 | 2,267 | 17.0% |
| Dorchester | 2,987 | 19,060 | 15.7% |
| Ferndown | 2,300 | 17,839 | 12.9% |
| Gillingham | 1,697 | 11,756 | 14.4% |
| Lyme Regis | 527 | 3,671 | 14.4% |
| Lytchett Matravers | 370 | 3,424 | 10.8% |
| Lytchett Minster/Upton | 1,338 | 7,983 | 16.8% |
| Marnhull | 245 | 1,998 | 12.3% |
| Portland | 2,880 | 12,844 | 22.4% |
| Sandford | 381 | 2,774 | 13.7% |
| Shaftesbury | 969 | 7,314 | 13.2% |
| Sherborne | 1,567 | 9,523 | 16.5% |
| St Leonards & St Ives | 536 | 6,859 | 7.8% |
| Stalbridge | 333 | 2,698 | 12.3% |
| Sturminster Marshall | 199 | 1,969 | 10.1% |
| Sturminster Newton | 664 | 4,292 | 15.5% |
| Swanage | 1,571 | 9,601 | 16.4% |
| Verwood | 1,653 | 14,852 | 11.1% |
| Wareham | 907 | 5,496 | 16.5% |
| West Moors | 981 | 7,561 | 13.0% |
| Weymouth | 11,079 | 52,256 | 21.2% |
| Wimborne | 1,268 | 6,790 | 18.7% |
| Wool | 771 | 5,310 | 14.5% |
| Dorset ( DCC area) | - | - | - |
Source: DCC
Socio-economic classifications: 2010 ACORN
| Classifications | DCC Dorset | Portland |
|---|---|---|
| % Wealthy Achievers | 40.1 | 4.2 |
| % Urban Prosperity | 7.1 | 7.4 |
| % Comfortably Off | 33.2 | 20.3 |
| % Moderate Means | 9.2 | 51.3 |
| % Hard Pressed | 10.2 | 16.8 |
| % unclassified | 0.2 | 0.0 |
ACORN is a geodemographic segmentation of the UK's population which segments small neighbourhoods, postcodes, or consumer households into 5 categories, 17 groups and 56 types.
The 5 higher level categories "wealthy achievers", "urban prosperity", "comfortably off", "moderate means" and "hard pressed" are shown above.
An ACORN profile for the whole island, with mapping of the 3 wards has been created. Access
Portland ACORN Profile (pdf, 1Mb) (opens in a new window) here.
Average house prices
| Dwelling type | Average Price July - Sept 2009 | Average Price July - Sept 2010 | July - Sept 2010 (sales) | Average Price July - Sept 2012 | July - Sept 2012 (sales) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | n/a | £194,200 | 5 | £231,750 | 4 |
| Semi-detached | £158,800 | n/a | 0 | n/a | 0 |
| Terraced | £155,813 | £149,727 | 33 | £139,817 | 22 |
| Flats/maisonettes | n/a | £110,500 | 3 | n/a | 0 |
Land Registry average prices (Prices may be affected by low number of sales). Data is based on postcode sectors DT5 1 and DT5 2.
Tenure - 2011 Census
% of all households
| Area | Owner occupied (%) | Shared ownership (%) | Social rented (%) | Private rented (%) | Living rent free (%) |
| Portland | 68.1 | 0.6 | 13.6 | 16.9 | 0.8 |
Source: ONS
Total area and perimeter of Portland
Total Area = 1,150h. Total perimeter = 18km approx
Local authority revenue
| Council tax "band D" for year | Council tax payable |
|---|---|
| 12/13 | £1,676.24 |
| 11/12 | £1,685.08 |
10/11 | £1,685.08 |
09/10 | £1,636.70 |
08/09 | £1,575.22 |
07/08 | £1,508.51 |
06/07 | £1,439.01 |
05/06 | £1,373.46 |
04/05 | £1,321.48 |
03/04 | £1,246.46 |
02/03 | £1,033.47 |
01/02 | £943.04 |
00/01 | £890.56 |
99/00 | £838.81 |
Second/holiday and vacant homes, 2011
| Category | Portland |
|---|---|
| Total dwellings on Council Tax register | 5,458 |
| Total number of second homes | 155 |
Second homes as a % of total dwellings | 2.84 |
| Total number of long term empty properties | 160 |
Empty homes as a % of total dwellings | 2.89 |
Source: Council Tax Register (parish figure)
Ethnicity (%): 2001 Census
| Ethnicity | DCC Dorset | Portland |
|---|---|---|
White British | 96.8 | 94.6 |
BME | 3.2 | 5.4 |
Health - 2011 Census (% of population)
Health limiting day-to-day activities
| Portland | Weymouth & Portland | Dorset (DCC area) | |
| Day-to-day activities limited a lot (%) | 8.7 | 9.7 | 8.6 |
| limited a little(%) | 11.0 | 11.9 | 11.5 |
| not limited(%) | 80.3 | 78.4 | 79.9 |
| limited a lot: Age 16 to 64(%) | 4.4 | 4.3 | 2.9 |
| limited a little: Age 16 to 64(%) | 5.8 | 5.7 | 4.5 |
| not limited: Age 16 to 64(%) | 55.9 | 52.5 | 51.1 |
General health
| Portland | Weymouth & Portland | Dorset (DCC area) | |
| Very good health (%) | 42.2 | 42.3 | 44.6 |
| Good health (%) | 37.7 | 36.7 | 35.9 |
| Fair health (%) | 14.5 | 15.0 | 14.5 |
| Bad health (%) | 4.2 | 4.5 | 3.9 |
| Very bad health (%) | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.1 |
Provision of unpaid care
| Portland | Weymouth & Portland | Dorset (DCC area) | |
| Provides no unpaid care (%) | 88.6 | 88.5 | 88.1 |
| Provides 1 to 19 hours unpaid care a week (%) | 7.1 | 7.3 | 8.1 |
| Provides 20 to 49 hours unpaid care a week (%) | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.3 |
| Provides 50 or more hours unpaid care a week (%) | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.5 |
Source: ONS 2011 Census
Retail profile - total town floorspace
58 shops/44,000 sq.ft. (2005)
All local shops plus Co-op & Tesco
Library - number of issues of books etc
| Library | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland Tophill | 34,506 | 32,221 | 28,929 | 30,097 |
| Portland Underhill | 10,317 | 8,802 | 7,676 | 6,722 |
Industrial estates
Osprey quay (49h), Portland Port (47h), Immosthay (7.5h),
Tradecroft (6.5h), Southwell Business Park (8h). St Georges Centre Workshops (0.1h)
Unemployment % (persons)
Proportion of resident population aged 16-64 and actual number
| Year | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
July 1998 | 4.7 (185) | 1.6 (41) | 3.5 (226) |
July 1999 | 4.0 (156) | 1.6 (42) | 3.0 (198) |
July 2000 | 3.0 (119) | 1.1 (30) | 2.3 (149) |
July 2001 | 4.1 (108) | 0.9 (24) | 2.5 (132) |
July 2002 | 2.3 (95) | 1.0 (28) | 1.8 (123) |
July 2003 | 2.0 (81) | 1.1 (31) | 1.6 (112) |
July 2004 | 1.4 (67) | 0.6 (22) | 1.0 (89) |
July 2005 | 1.5 (69) | 0.5 (20) | 1.1 (89) |
July 2006 | 2.5 (117) | 0.9 (35) | 1.8 (152) |
July 2007 | 1.7 (82) | 0.7(26) | 1.2 (108) |
| July 2008 | 1.7 (81) | 0.8 (31) | 1.3 (112) |
| July 2009 | 3.7 (182) | 1.3 (52) | 2.7 (234) |
| July 2010 | 2.5 (124) | 1.6 (62) | 2.1 (186) |
| July 2011 | 2.1 (97) | 1.5 (56) | 1.9 (153) |
| n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Of July 2009 unemployment figures, the long-term unemployed = 3.4%
Of July 2010 unemployment figures, the long-term unemployed = 12.4%
Of July 2011 unemployment figures, the long-term unemployed = 6.5%
The wider economy of the area
To see an economic profile of the wider Weymouth and Portland area follow this link to the
Weymouth & Portland Economy & Labour Market Profile 2011 (pdf, 1Mb) (opens in a new window) .
2010 employment
Total number of people working in the town: 4,000
Number of firms (excluding the self-employed): 290 (2009)
| Work pattern | percentage |
|---|---|
Full-time | 66% |
Part-time | 34% |
Type of employment | % |
|---|---|
Production and construction | 16 |
Distribution, accommodation and food | 23 |
| Other market services | 9 |
| Public Admin, education and health | 47 |
| Other services | 5 |
Source: Annual Source: Business Register and Employment Survey, 2010, ONS
Major employers
Dorset County Council, HM Prison Service, Portland Harbour Authority Ltd, Manor Marine, Ceewrite Engineering, Portland Engineering, M&N Electrical & Mechanical, Portland Stone , Albion Stone, Portland Port Ltd, The Heights Hotel , Southwell Business Park, Sunseeker International Ltd, Drumgrange, Portland Stone Firms Ltd.
Traffic counts - annual average daily traffic
Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) - numbers
| Road number | Road name | 1983 | 1990 | 2001 | 2006 | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A354 | Portland Beach Road | 12,900 | 16,500 | 15,700 | 16,100 | 15,600 | 15,200 |
Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) - percentage growth
| Road | Road name | 1 year (10-11) | 5 years (06-11) | 10 years (01-11) | 21 years (90-11) | 27 years (83-11) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A354 | Portland Beach Road | -2.6% | -6% | -3% | -8% | 18% |
Source:Dorset County Council Environment Directorate June 2012
Local authorities
Dorset County Council
County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1XJ
01305 221000
Weymouth and Portland Borough Council
Council Offices
North Quay, Weymouth
Dorset DT4 8TA 01305 838000
Portland Town Council contact details
