Additional plantations by the local council, in 1980, have also included maple, grey alder, grey willow and guelder rose. Other plants include holly, English elm and sycamore. The area has a pond which contains a good population of invertebrates and some amphibians, with a significant colony of common toad. The meadow is and the habitat is rare, within the local area. Upton has a temperate maritime climate (Köppen: Cfb), similar to much of the rest of the United Kingdom. Being close to the sea and sheltered from the prevailing south-westerly wind by Snowdonia, the area has relatively warm summers. The winters are generally mild and wet, mornings with light frost are common, and there are few days of snow. The nearest official weather station, as the crow flies, is at Hall Road in Crosby, which is about away. The population was 141 in 1801, 227 in 1851, 622 in 1889, and 788 in 1901. At the 2001 Census, the population was 15,731 (7,268 males, 8,463 females), although as a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, encompassing a larger area, it was recorded as 16,200. At the 2011 census, the population is 16,130 (7,529 males, 8,601 females). In 2011 there were 31.7 persons per hectare, and 7127 households. The division of educational standards is more markedly split than the average of the rest of the country. 17.2% of people aged 16 or older have five or more grade A-C GCSEs or equivalent. This figure is higher than England as a whole. Whilst 29.2% have no formal qualifications, which is a figure that is also higher than England as a whole. Of the adult population, aged between 16 and 74 years of age, 34.7% of people are economically inactive, whilst 5.4% are economically active, but unemployed. This gives a combined non-employment rate of 40.1% of the adult population. 59.9% of adults are, therefore, occupied with work, training or education, in one form or another. 95.3% of the population is White British, with the remainder being of other ethnicities. With regards to religion, are that 73.4% of people are Christian, 18.7% of people have no religion, and 6.7% of people did not state their religion, with the remaining 1.2% of people have other religions.