Sign up to FREE email alerts from KentLive - Daily Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

There are a few pockets of deprivation around Kent: some areas of Sheerness and Maidstone to name a few.

But recent statistics show Chatham Central tops them all as the most deprived ward in the entirety of Kent and Medway.

The area has the highest concentration of people living in poverty, who earn a below average income, according to the ONS.

Speaking to the those who live and work in the area, there are definite divisions between communities.

And it's easy to understand why - with a population of around 11,000 people, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to bring people together.

One thing everyone we spoke to can agree on is that the area is in desperate need of some tender loving care.

The health of Chatham Central residents is a hot topic, as GP surgeries are few and far between and it can take weeks to get an appointment.

After the Dockyard shut up shop in 1984, there has not been another large employer to replace it, resulting in a lack of well paid jobs available for its immediate community.

And while it is not Medway's most expensive ward to live in by any means, there are concerns that some private landlords do not operate at a high enough standard, making it difficult for people to feel at home.

Bags of rubbish and broken furniture

I spent an afternoon walking the streets of Chatham Central, to try and get a feel for the area.

Something I considered odd was the lack of children playing in the streets, in play parks or on green spaces.

It was a warm and sunny day in the middle of the school summer holidays, yet there were very few people out and about, let alone kids or teenagers.

And the appearance of the homes and streets varied widely from door to door.

Some homes were nicely put together, with manicured lawns and ornaments in the front windows.

But others were a completely different story, with bags of rubbish and broken furniture stacked up in the gardens. I even walked past a home which appeared to have been burned out, and another with its front door boarded up.

'We do tend to look after each other'

One such example of a smaller, close knit community within Chatham Central is the one described by Cole Singh.

Mr Singh, 45, is born and bred Chatham and has lived in the ward since 1981.

His family runs a shop on the corner of Magpie Hall Road and Glencoe Road, and he manages it on a day-to-day basis.

He says he is very happy living in the ward, and he has a great relationship with his neighbours in around a 100 yard radius.

He said: "I’m happy living here, it’s fantastic. We know a lot of the local people, it is a nice place to live.

"It’s rare for us to have any trouble, rare for any of my neighbours to have any trouble to be quite honest.

"But in this little area here, this little crossroads, we do tend to look after each other."

According to Mr Singh, Chatham Central struggles with a drug problem, and a lack of community options to keep young people entertained and out of trouble.

"Up to about the age of 18, they need more stuff for them to do, because otherwise they find things to do," he said.

"We’ve got a bit of a drug problem in the area, that’s one of the main things we have got.

"I can see the boys dealing stuff to each other, it’s not hard to look out the window and see it happen. Most people turn a blind eye to it, whether it happens here or somewhere else it will happen.

"But if they’re not led down that path, if those people who are using that stuff have something better to do, they won’t need to find that sort of stuff to do.

"It’s not something you have to have, is it? If you had an alternative to spend your money on and spend your time on, you would."

'There's a lot of people here on the social'

Gerald* has lived in Chatham for most of his life, and now works as a handyman on a private housing estate in the ward.

His duties include litter picking, and he has noticed an increase in rubbish, as well as white goods and furniture, discarded on the streets of Chatham Central in recent years.

He said: "People just don't seem to care.

"We used to be allowed three bulk rubbish collections a year, but part of spending cuts mean you have to pay £20-£36 to have bulk rubbish collected.

"There's lots of people here on the social and they haven't got the money for that."

Gerald's point was perfectly illustrated just an hour or so later, when I walked through Bank Street and discovered a pile of discarded rubbish alongside an old fridge freezer.

But things aren't all bad. Gerald added: "We don't get any graffiti or vandalism."

'My teenage daughter won't go out after 7pm and I don't blame her'

Sarah, Lucy and Liz* all work together at one of the businesses in Chatham Central, and have lived in the ward for many years.

Working late, they often see the worst the town has to offer.

Sarah said: "It's okay, but the big problems are the druggies and the alcoholics.

"They sit on the street corner asking for money - they're not just stopping us, they're asking school kids.

"I got called a whore because I wouldn't give one of them a cigarette.

"Where I live, it's not the best place, but if you keep yourself to yourself it's alright.

"My teenage daughter won't go out after 7pm and I don't blame her. You've got to keep yourself safe."

Lucy added: "I live in a block of flats and we don't talk to people.

"The NHS needs more doctors and nurses, a bigger emergency room, and more GP surgeries. They're shutting the surgeries down, but there are so many patients I can't get an appointment."

Liz, however, was extremely critical of the ward.

She said: "There are people shooting up in the stairwell in my block of flats.

"I don't like going out on my own after 7pm or 8pm.

"There are lots of stabbings. And there are hardly any police around.

"I'm used to everybody - I grew up with them and know the good and bad families.

"You've got to be able to stand up for yourself.

"If you haven't got a gob you might as well move out of Chatham completely.

*We have used false names for these interviewees as they requested Kent Live retain their anonymity

'Screaming, shouting and fighting'

"We need more no drinking zones.

"At 3-4am when Tap and Tin kicks out people are screaming, shouting and fighting.

"There are prostitutes on New Road. My husband was asked if he wanted some business when he was parked outside the house.

"If I could pick up the flat and move it to a nicer area we would."

Another Chatham business owner is 24 year old Hossain Mozafari.

He moved to the area from Cambridge in 2013, when he bought his Persian Rug shop alongside his brother.

He said he did not know much about the area before moving, and he was disappointed by what he found.

Mr Mozafari explained: "We were looking for something to buy the freehold in Maidstone, Tonbridge or Tunbridge Wells.

"We wanted a big shop and Chatham was cheaper. We didn't have much information about Medway.

"We were going to run away and go back to Cambridge but we didn't have any other option. We bought the business, but if we paid rent we would not stay.

"It's not such a good area. People put rubbish out anywhere they want.

"Drunk people come into the shop and don't want to buy anything. They have drinks in their hands and they try to drop them on the rugs, or come in trying to steal something.

"If they do I have to sort them out myself."

'A lot of employment is zero hour contracts or minimum wage'

Vince Maple is one of the councillors who represents Chatham Central ward at Medway Council.

Cllr Maple, who recently became a father for the first time, said he is excited to bring up his son in the ward, but like everywhere else in Medway, it has its problems - which could explain why it is the most deprived ward in Kent.

He said: "There is some link into employment across Medway. 30-35 years ago a huge employer was the Dockyard, which employed the majority of residents across Medway. But that has never totally been replaced.

"A lot more employment is zero hour contracts or minimum wage, which is a real struggle.

"Another challenge over the last couple of years is health.

"Some of those figures are not where we want them to be. There are more people smoking in the ward which leads to higher levels of conditions like COPD.

"There is an increasing number of people in the private rent sector and less home ownership.

"For people who commute, their income may be higher but they have to pay £4,000 per year to get to work in London.

"There are poor levels of public transport, with one company providing 90 per cent of services and it's very expensive."

Mr Maple explained while there is a lot of movement in and out of the ward, a large portion of residents are people who have lived there for decades and "absolutely see this as home".

He suggested a landlord register with Medway Council would help residents to feel secure and increase standards of private sector rentals.

The council has also recently brought in a Cumulative Impact Policy, which restricts the number of new businesses opening in the ward who can sell alcohol.

But Mr Maple has high hopes for the future.

He said: "I'm looking at specific needs for additional support and I will keep shouting as loudly as I can for that."

Do you live in Chatham Central? What are the problems in the ward, and what can be done to fix them? Let us know by sharing your comments below.