The Surrey Context: Surrey as a Place
Access to Greenspace
A review of evidence by the World Health Organisation found that urban green spaces can improve air and water quality, reduce noise levels and contribute to temperature regulation. They also enable stress reduction and relaxation, physical activity, improved social interaction and community cohesion. Access to natural environments can improve overall mental health, physical fitness level, cognitive and immune function, and can lower mortality rates in general.
Please follow the link or explore the ‘access to greenspace’ page of the Surrey place tableau dashboard below.
Private outdoor greenspace
Access to greenspace is important for both physical and mental health. The majority (90%) of private addresses in Surrey have private outdoor space, which is similar to the national average. This ranges from 87% in Reigate and Banstead to 92% in Surrey Heath. The average size of private outdoor space varies significantly from 240m2 in Spelthorne, to 762m2 in Tandridge.
Public outdoor greenspace
The average distance to the nearest park, public garden or playing field in Surrey is 370m, slightly below the national average of 379m. Guildford has the highest number of postcodes in a built-up area in Surrey [1].
Rural and urban areas
Please follow the link or explore the ‘rural urban classification’ page of the Surrey place tableau dashboard below.
Surrey is a large geographical area with a mix of rural and urban areas. This complex geography is significant as access to services and transport are important concerns in the rural parts of Surrey.
-
Waverley is largely rural
-
Mole Valley and Tandridge are urban areas with significant rural areas
-
Surrey Heath, Reigate and Banstead and Guildford are urban areas with cities and towns
-
Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell, Woking, Runnymede and Spelthorne are urban areas with major conurbations
Population density
Please follow the link or explore the ‘population density’ page of the Surrey place tableau dashboard below. Increasing population density can have complex and negative impacts on morbidity and mortality. Population density is an important consideration for service planning and understanding level of need in different areas.
Surrey is the one of the most densely populated shire counties in England with 724 people per square kilometre, significantly higher than the national average of 434 and the South East regional value of 487. The most densely populated districts and boroughs are Epsom & Ewell and Spelthorne, and the least are Mole Valley, Tandridge and Waverley.
Pollution and air quality
Please follow the link or explore the ‘pollution’ page of the Surrey place tableau dashboard below.
Air pollution is defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as being contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical, physical or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristic of the atmosphere. Particulate Matter (PM)2.5, are small particles with a diameter of less than 2.5µm, produced mainly from combustion of hydrocarbon fuels and Industrial processes. PM2.5 particles can penetrate deeply into the lung leading to impaired lung function, exacerbation of asthma and a cough in the short term; stroke, lung cancer and cardiovascular disease in the long term. In 2021 the WHO published updated Air Quality Guidelines, outlining a mean annual concentration of 5µg/m3 as being the safe upper limit for PM2.5 concentrations. Population-weighted annual mean PM2.5 data is provided at local authority level by The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
The population-weighted annual mean concentration of PM2.5 across Surrey in the year 2020 was 7.69 µg/m3, this is higher than the England average value of 6.93µg/m3. In 2011 Surrey’s PM2.5 level was 10.34 µg/m3, comparing this with the 2020 value shows a reduction in the PM2.5 concentration across this period.
Across districts and boroughs within Surrey in 2020, Spelthorne and Epsom and Ewell had the highest annual mean PM2.5 concentration with a value of 8.35 µg/m3 whereas Waverley had the lowest with a level of 6.91µg/m3. Looking at 2011 Runnymede (which had the third highest 2020 value, 8.00µg/m3) had the highest PM2.5 concentration with a value of 11.36 µg/ml and Waverley again had the lowest value of 9.25µg/m3.
Poor air quality is a significant public health issue. There is strong evidence that air pollution causes the development of coronary heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease, and lung cancer, exacerbates asthma and has a contributory role in mortality [2]. One metric that provides insight into how much pollution is affecting health in a local area is ‘Fraction of annual all-cause adult mortality attributable to particulate air pollution (PM2.5)’ which can be explored in more detail on the ‘pollution’ page of the Surrey place tableau dashboard.
Across Surrey in 2019 5.36% of all-cause mortality was attributable to particulate air pollution, across the same area in 2011 5.80% was attributable to particulate air pollution.
Across districts and boroughs within Surrey in 2019, Spelthorne had the highest proportional of all-cause mortality attributed to particulate matter air pollution with a value of 5.94% where as Waverley had the lowest with a value of 4.62%. Looking at 2011 Runnymede and Spelthorne had the highest proportional of all-cause mortality attributed to particulate matter air pollution with a value of 6.40% and Waverley again had the lowest value of 5.20%.
Crime
Please follow the link or explore the ‘crime’ page of the Surrey place tableau dashboard below. The dashboard also allows users to explore the data for health-based geographies including PCNs, place-based partnerships and ICS. As crime rates increase, life expectancy tends to decrease, and people live in poorer health.
The most common types of crime in Surrey are violent and sexual offenses and anti-social behaviour, and this is also seen at district and borough level. The most common outcomes of crimes are ‘no suspect identified’ followed by ‘unable to prosecute suspect’. The Surrey index can be used to further explore these indicators in Surrey.
Deprivation and Health Inequalities
Deprivation
Please follow the link or explore the ‘deprivation’ indicators page of the Surrey place tableau dashboard below. Deprivation can impact life expectancy, healthy life expectancy, morbidity and mortality.
The Index of Multiple Deprivation
The Indices of Deprivation are a unique measure of relative deprivation at a small local area level (LSOA) across England and have been produced by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and its predecessors in similar way since 2000. The Indices of Deprivation 2019 (IoD2019) is the most recent release. The Indices provide a set of relative measures of deprivation for small areas across England, based on seven different domains, or facets, of deprivation.
The Index of multiple deprivation (IMD) is a useful composite measure of the above seven domains, which can be used for identifying localities where health outcomes are likely to remain poorest.
The domains are combined using the following weights (percentages shown in brackets):
-
Income Deprivation (22.5%)
-
Employment Deprivation (22.5%)
-
Education, Skills and Training Deprivation (13.5%)
-
Health Deprivation and Disability (13.5%)
-
Crime (9.3%)
-
Barriers to Housing and Services (9.3%)
-
Living Environment Deprivation (9.3%)
There are also two supplementary indicators:
The Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) measures the proportion of all children aged 0 to 15 living in income deprived families. It is a subset of the Income Deprivation Domain which measures the proportion of the population in an area experiencing deprivation relating to low income. The definition of low income used includes both those people that are out-of-work, and those that are in work but who have low earnings (and who satisfy the respective means tests).
The Income Deprivation Affecting Older People Index (IDAOPI) measures the proportion of all those aged 60 or over who experience income deprivation. It is a subset of the Income Deprivation Domain which measures the proportion of the population in an area experiencing deprivation relating to low income. The definition of low income used includes both those people that are out-of-work, and those that are in work but who have low earnings (and who satisfy the respective means tests).
Further summary of the IMD in Surrey is available on Surrey-i Indices of Deprivation 2019 for areas in Surrey
The Surrey place tableau dashboard shows that the majority (68.5%) of LSOAs in Surrey are in in the least deprived deciles 8, 9 and 10. There are no Surrey LSOAs in decile 1 of the overall Index of Multiple Deprivation, and just four (0.6% of areas) in decile 2. These are parts of Westborough and Bellfields and Slyfield (previously Stoke) wards (Guildford), Hooley, Merstham and Netherne ward (Reigate & Banstead) and Canalside ward (Woking).
The figure below shows the proportion of the population in Surrey estimated to live in each of the IMD deciles. Most residents in Surrey live in the most affluent areas in England.
Figure 6: Proportion and estimated number of people living within each deprivation decile in Surrey
Whilst a small proportion of Surrey residents live in areas that are in the 20% most deprived nationally, it is important that these are recognised through, for example, the key neighbourhoods that are described later in the chapter. [4] Without taking such a focus there is a risk that such inequalities become hidden and are not properly addressed.