Some places in Essex have a bad reputation, whether it be due to high crime levels or just the area being run down and in need of some TLC. Jaywick, a little village near Clacton, is probably the most notable of these places.
Rightly or wrongly, Jaywick does not have a glowing reputation, having been branded the most deprived area in England in the past, and has some pretty high crime levels. It is also home to one of the cheapest streets to buy a house in the county, due to the disrepair of some of the dwellings here.
Jaywick was originally used as a low-cost holiday site, and the majority of the housing stock in Jaywick is cheaply built accommodation not intended for permanent habitation. However, during the British housing shortage in the aftermath of World War II, the houses began to be used as permanent residence – and their disrepair shows a lot of the cheap, poorly-made housing that contributes to Jaywick’s poor reputation.
Read more: The unheard of Essex village with only 4 roads and a name you’d think was made up
Read more: Plans to build huge new Lidl opposite Tesco in Essex town
EssexLive decided to head to Jaywick to speak to some of the residents to see what they think about living in the country’s “most deprived” area. What we found was some happy residents, and a stunning beach.
As soon as you park up in Jaywick, you are met with its beach. This is one of the most gorgeous beaches you will ever see in the UK, unspoilt and clean, and the residents love that about the village too.
One resident said: “Jaywick definitely has a bit of a reputation, but the good things about it are completely ignored. I mean look at this beach – it’s absolutely stunning”.
Jaywick’s absolutely stunning beach
(Image: Essex Live)
There are a few independent shops on the seafront, all with a different offering – from tailors to cafes. Walking around the village, you can see that everyone says “hello” to each other, and there were people chatting with neighbours on the steps of their house on every street you walk down.
This is not to say that the entirety of Jaywick is aesthetically pleasing. The area around Brooklands is in desperate need of some love and care, complete with boarded up homes and businesses, and a lot of flytipping.
Essex Avenue, one of the county’s cheapest streets to live on, is also not the most gorgeous in Essex. With peeling paint, broken windows and furniture strewn on front gardens, you can see why the village is often seen as deprived.
Residents of Jaywick, however, don’t see it that way. One resident said: “People are always saying Jaywick’s this, Jaywick’s a s***hole, all of that – and yeah some parts definitely need sorting out.
Jaywick, a small village in Clacton
(Image: Essex Live)
“But it’s really not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. There’s lovely people, lots of good greenery, some nice new homes and we try to support local businesses. People say it’s horrible when they haven’t even been here before!”
Another added: “The best thing about Jaywick is the people. Because it’s so small, everyone knows each other and we all really look out for one another.
“It’s such a tight knit community. Just because some parts of it look bad, doesn’t mean we’re all “deprived” – there’s good and bad places everywhere you go.”
Recently, Tendring District Council (TDC) has entered into a new Community Regeneration Partnership with the Government after the authority was awarded £19.7million by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to help regenerate the village of Jaywick. It might be the case that Essex’s most deprived village won’t be having this name for itself for much longer.
At EssexLive we’re on a mission to highlight every corner of Essex. We will be visiting a new neighbourhood every week to talk to the people who live there and capture what life is like across our county. For some places that will highlight the hidden gems there or the reason people are flocking to live there, for others it might allow us to shine a light on an issue that’s troubling residents.
Our aim is to get everyone #ExploringEssex more, and venturing further across the county to discover different areas to visit and live in. If you have a suggestion for where we should visit next let us know below.