The second post I wrote on this blog was to ask how many people live in Walthamstow. That was in the autumn of 2007. Now we know a bit more: the census in 2011 came up with a starting point of 258,200 residents in Waltham Forest, not including people taking up space as visitors (which they counted as being some 1500 souls). These, of course are the figures based on people not lying about the numbers in their homes on a particular day last year, and do not necessarily include people who spend half the year in Walthamstow on visitors' visas and the other half living somewhere else.

I expect that the real figures could also have been higher, as there are people living in all manner of undeclared lofts, bedsits, squats, tents, humpies, converted garages and basements round the neighbourhood. The council officially knows almost nothing about these people. They are mainly unlikely to have received a form to fill in. And, of course, since March last year there will have been more arrivals.

And now, for those people who think this rate of population growth might not matter very much, a quick maths lesson:

See also: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/9670141/Britain-powerless-to-stop-tens-of-thousands-of-Bulgarians-and-Romanians-moving-to-UK-next-year-Theresa-May-admits.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9707455/Government-minister-warns-We-must-develop-a-third-more-land-to-meet-housing-demand.html