Data Story: Would you like to know where care homes are located for those aged 65+ in Cambridgeshire and how far are they from the essential services?

Specialist housing for the elderly (residential and nursing homes) is intended to enable people to live independently. Such accommodation should be provided across the County, as opposed to being concentrated in certain areas, to help enable people to remain in their local area and create and maintain balanced communities. Following the corporate priorities of helping people to live independent and healthy lives, Cambridgeshire Growth and Economy- Research and Monitoring Group has investigated whether the facilities for the aging population are located in clusters or spread evenly as per the population of this group.

What data does the “Location of facilities for the 65+ demographic” use?

This table uses data from the annual monitoring surveys carried out by Cambridgeshire County Council between 1999 and 2014, looking at planning permission commitments and completions for use class C2, in relation to residential and nursing homes.

How is the data mapped?

Thematic maps were produced for each district to show the percentage of 65+ population in each Parish and then the polygons of care homes and data for services was mapped onto this. The time taken to reach the nearest doctor, pharmacy and retail shop was mapped to see that the location is well connected with these essential services.

Why is the data useful?

It was noticed that some of the care homes are located near to these essential services which can help the elderly people to be a little more independent. However, a few of them are farther away from some or all of them, which indicated that the choice of location may be less than ideal for the care home in the context of basic services for the elderly people. Some gaps were also noticed in the provision of care home services, as some of them are located nearer to each other; some are in the areas where there is a smaller population of 65+; and some parishes which have a large population of 65+ still do not have any care home.

Please visit:

For further information, contact:

Vandana Manocha or Heather Doidge – Planning Support Officers

Cambridgeshire County Council, Shire Hall, Cambridge, CB3 0AP

Tel: 01223 699941, 01223 715684

Email: Vandana.manocha@cambridgeshire.gov.uk, heather.doidge@cambridgeshire.gov.uk