Residents in one of the UK’s most deprived towns say they fear it will slip further into decline after a £175 million deficit was exposed at its ruling county council.
Gosport, in Hampshire, a town of 82,000 people, boasts a proud naval heritage and sits around across the Solent from Portsmouth.
But last month it was revealed that Hampshire County Council, which funds vital social services, transport and investment across Gosport, would be facing the biggest financial black hole of any council in England after experiencing soaring child and social care costs – which it is obligated to provide – and forced to make mammoth cuts.
The news was a slap in the face to Gosport, the most deprived borough in the county, who, after already being hammered with £845,000 worth of cuts by Hampshire County Council in February, now face a further onslaught to its budget.
Following the revelation, MailOnline visited Gosport this week and spoke to its residents – many of whom feel abandoned, left behind and angry at how valuable cash reserves have been squandered.
Boarded up shops in Gosport. Its ruling county council was exposed to be operating on a £175million deficit
Vacant shops to let on the town’s high street. Many locals feel feel abandoned, left behind and angry at how valuable cash reserves have been squandered
Three quarters of shops are now closed in what used to be a ‘thriving’ community, residents say
‘Gosport used to be thriving, we were a community, everybody knew everybody, now you come down and three quarters of the shops are closed, we don’t have a police station and people don’t come out anymore’, says Alison Driscoll.
The 65-year-old is part of ‘Knit and Natter’, a weekly event hosted by outreach group C2U on the high street where local women gather to do arts and crafts and have a chin wag. It is one of the only community groups left in Gosport and many women in it say it is one of the only reasons they have to leave the house.
They say money is being frittered away on ‘pointless’ council projects such as the construction of a new £6 million bus station 100 yards from the previous one.
Another plan to develop bars and clubs on the seafront – despite less than eight percent of the town being aged 18-25 – was branded ‘a joke’ by one woman.
Rachel Webber, who was awarded a British Empire Medal for her community work, said such projects have left residents surviving on scraps of funding that’s left over.
She said: ‘We’re lucky if we get a few hundred quid here or there, this place costs £80,000 a year just to rent, they’re [women that use the service] charged £1 per visit but that’s only if they can afford it, the rest comes from donations.
‘All the community centres are closed and they [the council] want to spend money converting a bingo hall into an entertainment venue. That money could’ve gone to other things and looked after people of the town.
‘The council should be helping these people, they have paid their taxes all their life, and now, at a time when they need it most, nothing. There is no investment in people that live here.’
Many at the group expressed major concerns over homelessness, drug addiction, the over 1,000 people on social housing waiting lists and that 21 percent of kids in Gosport living below the poverty line, according to figures from Save The Children.
Gosport’s average salary of £32,082 is 8.6 percent lower than England’s national average of £35,106, while around 9,000 people, i.e. 16.5 percent of the population aged 16 to 64 in Gosport, were ‘economically inactive’ in the year ending December 2023, according to ONS figures.
The collapse in funding in the town has been exasperated by the Labour government’s decision to take the Winter Fuel Payment off millions of pensioners, who make up around 25 percent of Gosport residents.
Jacqui revealed she was just 31p over the pension credit threshold meaning she is not eligible for the payment – the move has left her with little hope and fearing the coming winter.
That ‘morally wrong’ decision by the government will cost lives in Gosport says councillor Lesley Meenaghan, citing conversations with the head of NHS Hampshire.
The Conservative councillor at Hampshire County Council, who lives in Gosport and served in the RAF before a 22 year career at Hampshire Constabulary, added: ‘Gosport is very, very poor. We’ve got a foodbank that is just for pensioners.
A tower block in Gosport. Homelessness, drug addiction, the over 1,000 people on social housing waiting lists are among concerns for local people
A derelict shopfront on the town’s high street. A local councillor described the Hampshire community as ‘very, very poor’
The back of an apartment block in Gosport. One local said the area was a ‘wasteland’ where jobs are at a minimum
Washing hanging on balconies. Around 21 per cent children in Gosport are living below the poverty line
A view over the Solent river. Poor health is such an issue in the town that the average life expectancy is ten years less than neighbouring areas
‘Our health is so low that on average people live ten years less than somewhere like Fareham (in Hampshire). There is a massive childhood obesity problem in this town and we are getting a McDonalds.
‘They are coming here because they can’t keep up with the deliveries to homes in Gosport. Is this what we want for our local community?’
Over 25% of children in Gosport aged four to five are either obese or overweight, a council report showed.
Councillor Meenaghan continued: ‘We have real challenges here. We have been knocking on the door of central government for more money.’
It is a sentiment echoed by Lawen, 17, and college pal Jayden, 16, who have dreams of becoming doctors, and pal Tom, also 16, who wants to go into forensics.
For three bright young men, they say Gosport should be offering so much more to youngsters like them, but a critical lack of government investment has made prospects here appear few and far between.
Jayden told MailOnline: ‘Jobs here really are minimum. I want to do medicine and I definitely won’t be here. More government funding would make it better.
‘They need family owned shops here, maybe five or so banks, a few high-end clothes brands and that would be it.
‘I come from Southampton, I go to college here, the difference is very noticeable. Can’t you just tell here it’s quiet, there is not much energy, that’s what Gosport is as a whole. You don’t see young people around here.’
Lawen, from Portsmouth, added: ‘Since I’ve come to Gosport I’ve realised it’s quite a poor area. It’s a wasteland, there is nothing to do here. When we’ve got breaks, we sometimes go back to Portsmouth [on the ferry].’
Given the challenges faced by Gosport today, it is hard to believe that it was in fact pivotal in ensuring the success of one of the most seismic events in world history – D-Day.
In the run up to Operation Overlord, Gosport and its residents, eager to do their part, were at the heart of coordinating, organising and loading supplies, men and tanks onto thousands of landing craft bound for Nazi-occupied France.
Just under a fifth (27,000) of the men who landed on Normandy’s beaches on the 6th June 1944 embarked from Gosport. The operation began the liberation of Western Europe and helped bring an end to World War II.
The town’s storied history lives on through its residents, some of whom are descendants of D-Day heroes, while the town hosts hundreds of current and ex-service personnel.
But Kristy Stone, who owns Fryday Fish and Chip shop and a resident of 40 years, feels Gosport’s proud history is a distant memory and that the town’s decline began around 20 years ago.
‘We have a lot more poverty than back then, people on the streets, what will it be like for our children in the future?’, she feared.
Meanwhile local estate agent Megan Jones believes the town’s ills are not helped by extortionate rents commanded in an area which simply cannot afford it.
The 24-year-old explained: ‘Affordability is through the roof, interest rates have gone up massively to five percent. People just can’t afford it. Renting is more expensive than a mortgage but you can’t get on the property ladder because you either need a deposit or you need the income.
‘It’s £1,300-£1,400 average rent for a two up two down. That’s a mortgage on a three bed house with a driveway. Rent on a three bed terraced house, £1,400-£1,500 a month, if not more, depending how nice it is.
‘A two bed house, depending on area, can sell for anything between £200,000 to £260,000. Three bed up to £350,000. It’s just absolutely through the roof.
Shops in Gosport Town centre. Given the challenges the town faces today, it’s hard to believe that it was in fact pivotal in ensuring the success of D-Day
Left to right: Tom, Iawan and Jayden. Gosport should be offering much more to the three bright men but a lack of Government investment has left prospects few and far between
A run-down disused building blockaded by construction barriers. Residents say home affordability is ‘through the roof’ and people are struggling to get on the property ladder
‘The council say they will help people but the council don’t match what estate agents are putting on for a rental so people just can’t afford it. We have to turn people away and people just become homeless.’
John Ash, 59, originally from the Isle of Wight, has worked in finance in Hong Kong since 1992 but recently moved back to the area.
He says his time abroad has opened his eyes to the delivery of part-private, part-public health and social care which he says the UK should learn from and adopt as the current system is not working and is holding back the country.
But not all Gosport residents were so down about their town.
Mr Bartlett was enjoying a pint of lager in The Star Wetherspoons on the High Street when he insisted services have been ‘pretty good’.
Ming Wu is also upbeat. He is the director of the art space Imagination Refinery on Gosport high street. The space allows local people to use its facilities to paint, while artists can showcase and sell their work.
He told MailOnline that while the town undoubtedly has its struggles, people are still flocking into his space for workshops and buying art at a reduced price.
Dame Caroline Dineage, MP for Gosport, agreed that it is not all doom and gloom in the town – but urgent funding to its key services is ‘vital’.
She said: ‘We have seen marked improvement in school performances and infrastructure investment, like the Stubbington Bypass and Enterprise Zone, which are so vital to attracting economic opportunity, jobs, skills and prosperity.
‘However, given our demographics, it’s vital that the services we rely upon, from adult social care to homelessness support continue to be funded.’
Hampshire County Council said local government funding had not kept pace with growing social needs, particularly for children and adults with disabilities and older people requiring care, putting its budget under ‘immense strain’.
Councillor Lesley Meenaghan said the Government’s decision to take the Winter Fuel Payment off millions of pensioners, including 25 per cent of Gosport residents, was ‘morally wrong’
This ‘Knit and Natter’ group is one of the last community groups left in the town, and for many women, one of the only reason to leave the house
A spokesperson for the local authority said: ‘Times are incredibly difficult for the whole of local government, and we have always been very upfront about the financial pressures we face.
‘We have had to make over £600m of savings during more than a decade of austerity and have always reported regularly on our budget position, including the £175m shortfall we are facing over the two years leading up to 2025/26, and thereafter. We’ve also consulted Hampshire’s residents, earlier this year, on a range of proposals to help towards closing £84m of that gap.
‘We have been open about the very difficult decisions that we have had to take to try and ensure the local authority remains sustainable into the future and can continue to support those people who are most in need.
The spokesman added that the council continues to make the case for additional Government funding, while pursuing measures to ‘drive down costs’, including focusing on services ‘that form our core purpose as a local authority’.
