There could be tens of thousands of extra households in Cornwall by 2032, new figures suggest.

New analysis by the Office for National Statistics explores how the population of England could change over the coming years, with more older people living alone and fewer families with children.

The think tank Policy Exchange said Britain "is on the road towards greater social atomisation" and warned of a "looming demographic crisis".

A projection based on current trends and data from the 2021 Census suggests there could be 286,288 households in Cornwall by 2032, an increase of 33,659 (13.3%).

This was more than the overall increase of 10.3% across England over the same period, which would see the number of households rise from 23.5 million in 2022 to 25.9 million in 2032.

Ben Ramanauskas, senior research fellow in economics at Policy Exchange said England's existing housing stock "is already inadequate for the current population".

He added: "The overly restrictive planning system, Stamp Duty, and historically high levels of immigration have all led to our current housing crisis.

"This negatively impacts young people who wish to start or grow their families, older people who want to downsize, and also places a strain on the public finances."

The data also reveals the impact of England's shifting age demographics.

Age projections are based around a household reference person (HRP), defined as the eldest economically active person in the household or the eldest inactive person if there is no economically active person.

Nationally, total households with an HRP aged 85 years and over are projected to increase 42.3% to 1.5 million in 2032. Of these, 280,000 (61.9%) are projected to be living alone.

Meanwhile, the number of households containing children is projected to fall by 8.4% over the same period, from 6.7 to 6.1 million.

In Cornwall, the number of households with one child is forecast to fall by 11.8%, those with two children could fall by 10.5%, and those with three or more children could fall by 10.2%.

Meanwhile, the number of households made up of two or more adults could rise by 18.9%, and the number of one-person households could rise by 23.9%.

The ONS warned at the local level, household change is influenced by economic development and housing policies, factors that are not included in these projections.

Dr Rakib Ehsan, senior fellow at Policy Exchange, said: "Single-occupancy households will increasingly become the norm, which is likely to heighten feelings of loneliness and isolation among the elderly.

"Meanwhile, projected decreases in the proportion of households including children underscore the reality of declining birth rates and the looming demographic crisis.

"The breakdown in intergenerational cohesion and rise of individualistic lifestyle preferences will place considerable pressure on future housing availability in the UK."

The figures are not intended as a forecast of how many houses should be built but are a prediction of how things would change if current trends continued.

Mairi MacRae, director of policy and campaigns at Shelter, said investing in social housing was the solution to the housing crisis.

She added: "Only councils know the needs in their local area, so it is also important that they are proactive in planning for the homes that local people really need."

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said the Government had introduced "ambitious" housebuilding targets, and a new method for assessing housing needs that "better directs new homes to where they are most needed and least affordable".

They added: "We will leave no stone unturned to build the homes this country desperately needs and alongside our landmark new towns, we will drive growth and restore the dream of homeownership across the country.

"Our revised housing targets have been set in line with the needs of local areas, so more homes will be built in the right places alongside the necessary infrastructure."