Cambourne residents top the region's rich list

RESIDENTS of Cambourne are the richest around, according to a new survey.

And the poorest in the region live in the Oxmoor estate in Huntingdon.

Research group CACI has released its Wealth of the Nation report which shows Cambourne residents have an average household income of £50,000.

On the Oxmoor, the average is £25,000.

CACI found the top and bottom five post code areas in the News' readership area, putting the relatively new Cambourne top.

Ruth Poulten, Cambourne parish councillor said: "I suppose it is a bit like Silicon Valley in the States. There are a lot of highly paid jobs around here that people can travel to.

"It is a new community but there is a wide range of people living here - single people, retired people and single income households as well.

"There are lots of big houses but the council is doing its best to make the village an integrated community."

Villagers living in the area covering Barley, Barkway and Nuthampstead, all near Royston, were second in the table, taking home £45,000 to each home.

Third were residents of Ellington, Kimbolton and Tilbrook, who on average earn £44,000 per household.

Next was Hinchingbrooke near Huntingdon and Abingdon, Guilden Morden and Croyden were fifth.

But the notorious Oxmoor estate, which saw full scale rioting in May 2001, was at the bottom.

Mike Simpson, a Huntingdonshire district councillor and trustee of the Oxmoor Community Action Group, said: "It is not surprising as a large proportion of residents there are on benefits and in social housing.

"But the estate has gone up in social standing massively in the last three years. The residents have started to take ownership of their area and are putting a lot into it to improve things."

The second poorest in the table was Haverhill with an average joint income of £26,000 and third was the CB4 area of Cambridge, which includes Arbury and Kings Hedges on £27,000.

Mildenhall had the fourth poorest postcode and Chatteris was fifth in the table.

The CACI report looks at the incomes of more than seven million households across the country.

A computer model has tracked householders' gross income before tax covering every source, including investments, income support and welfare.

As reported in the Cambridge Evening News