Geography Unit 2, Unequal Spaces Case Study 3 - Deprivation in East Sussex

There are significant inequalities between life in British cities and life in Britain's more rural areas. This is particularly noticeable in parts of East Sussex, where people suffer from:~Poor transport and communication infrastructure, e.g. infrequent bus transport and poor internet connection.~A lack of affordable housing in urban and rural areas.~Poor access to services in some rural areas.~Coastal towns and economies in need of regeneration.~Low wages, skills and aspirations and high part-time employment.~Few high earners in East Sussex, most working outside the county.~An aging population with an increasing demand for services like healthcare.~Poor health, high rates of long-term limiting illness in some areas.~Significant areas of poverty and deprivation.~A weak local economy, dominated by small businesses employing fewer than 10 people, with a lack of space in which to grow.~Flood risk in some rural and coastal areas.~Social issues, including crime and social change.Deprivation in East Sussex is often overlooked, because many of its inhabitants are quite affluent. However, there is a very wide range of deprivation indicators across the county, which is actually the 7th most deprived county out of Britain's 34. Nearly 67 000 of all the county's residents are 'income deprived' while just under 25 000 adults experience 'employment deprivation'.Areas along East Sussex's coastal strip have been suffering a lot recently due to the decline in UK tourism. This is leading to a low-wage economy and poor housing stock. Market towns and other rural areas are suffering from the decline in traditional rural industries such as farming. Because of this, small towns are having increasing difficulty in maintaining shops and local transport, as they tend to be overlooked.Hastings is an example of a place that fits these categories, as it is a market town on the coastal strip. The 2007 Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) showed that 15 of the 327 Super Output Areas (SOAs) in the county were among the 10% most deprived in England. This represents nearly 5% of the county's SOAs and is two more than in 2004. fourteen of these 15 most deprived SOAs are in Hastings, and one is in Eastbourne. Hastings is in the 10% of most deprived areas in Britain.By comparison:~The percentage of the population that are within 20 minutes travel time (urban-walking, rural-driving) of a range of 3 different sports facility types, at least on of which has achieved a quality mark, ranges from 0% in Eastbourne to 68.8% in Lewes.~Affordable dwellings completed as a percentage of all new housing completions ranged from 0.7% in Lewes and 3.9% n Eastbourne to 21.6% in Hastings and 25.6% in Wealden.~The percentage of land and highways assessed as having unacceptable levels of litter and detritus ranges from 6.7% in Rother to 22.6% in Hastings.~Violent offences committed per 1 000 of the population ranges from 10.14 in Wealden, 16.75 in Lewes to 34.84 in Hastings.~According to the latest statistics compiled on East Sussex in Figures, the number of Job Seeker's allowance claimants in January 2008 ranged from 609 in Wealden to 1 859 in Hastings.Young people and people of working age are the most affected by the deprivation in East Sussex. The aging population means there is a need to provide young people with enough opportunities, jobs and affordable housing to enable them to stay in the county. In some rural areas young people are often unable to continue living in the same community they grew up in if they aspire to home-ownership or seek rented accommodation that they can afford. This affects migration within the county (e.g. from rural to urban areas), and migration of young people out of the county. Some of the urban areas lack the better paid career opportunities that would keep the brightest young people.Housing is also a significant challenge: local people have to borrow up to 8.5 times the average county house salary to buy an average priced home in the county, compared to a regional average of 8.0 and a national average of 6.9 times the average salary. The levels of people classed as homeless is above the average.

Deprivation in East Sussex