The number of households with people over the age of 65 in East Cambridgeshire will rise by more than 60 per cent within 25 years, according to official projections.

There will be 18,130 households where the head of the household is over 65 by 2041, calculations by the Office for National Statistics show. That’s a rise of 63 per cent.

And households with people over 85 will more than double, rising by 127 per cent to 3,974.

Age UK, a charity working with older people, says a “revolution” is needed in social care to support the ageing population in their own homes.

Joanna Harkrader, from the centre for ageing and demography at the ONS, said: “We project the majority of household growth over the next 25 years will be because of the rise in the number of households being headed by someone aged 65 years and over.

“This shows the impact an ageing population is having on household growth.”

The ONS defines a household as a single person living alone, or a group of people who live at the same address and share rooms and a kitchen.

A household may be a family, more than one family, or a group of unrelated people.

The projections show that the changes to the number of younger households is much less marked in East Cambridgeshire.

Under 25 households will grow by five per cent and there will be three per cent more in the 25-34 age bracket.

The number of households in the district will climb to 43,716 by 2041, while the population will grow by 10,627 to 98,007.

Dr Elizabeth Webb, of Age UK, said it was great news that people were living longer.

She said that while many would remain independent there would be a growing need for health and social care that could not be fulfilled already.

“The over 85 group is the fastest growing and the most likely to have the greatest needs for social and health care, which has an impact on the health service.” Dr Webb said.

“It’s about having a person there to help get them out of bed, help them wash and dress and to put a meal on the table. This needs people, not a technological solution.

“The social care workforce is understaffed and there’s not enough cash to provide the support that’s needed.”