Connecting three doubly disadvantaged communities on the island of Sheppey

When we talk about *‘left behind’ or doubly disadvantaged neighbourhoods – as defined by Local Trust’s work with Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion (OCSI) – we mean communities that lack places to meet, community participation, and access to key services.

Those communities are mostly located in the North and the Midlands. Just 16 (or 7.1 per cent) can be found in the South East, including two – Sheerness and Eastern Sheppey – which sit next door to each other on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. 

Like many ​‘doubly disadvantaged’ areas, Sheppey boasts a rich and colourful history. The Vikings invaded here, Henry VIII would regularly visit, and after Admiral Nelson died in the Battle of Trafalgar, his body was transported to Sheppey in a cask of brandy. 

In 1909, the island became the home of British aviation. As it was secluded, it was an ideal place to test aeroplanes, and Lord Brabazon famously flew over the island with a pig in a basket to prove that ​‘pigs could fly’. That history is celebrated at the Eastchurch Aviation Museum. 

Yet, if you mention Sheppey to anyone outside of the area who is familiar with the name, the reaction is rarely a positive one. 

“I’ve got a very close friend who was having a right go about the island one day,” recalls Paul Murray MBE, chair of the newly formed Eastern Sheppey Community Hub. 

“So, I said, ​‘When was the last time you came here?’ and she replied, ​‘Well, I’ve never been.’” 

This is something that Sheppey has grown used to, but even within the island, the eastern part often feels like the poorest relation. 

As Paul adds, ​“This is a part of the island that doesn’t get a lot. So when Big Local came along, it felt like an opportunity for some of us to step up and make a real difference.” 

Lee-Anne Moore is the current BLES chair, as well as being a local councillor for the Sheppey East Ward. 

“You would hear people at events and meetings saying, ​‘You’ve got a million pounds,’ as if that solves everything,” she says. 

However, the biggest challenge for BLES was that it covered three communities – Warden, Eastchurch, and Leysdown. How could it ensure they would all benefit from Big Local? Leysdown, for example, is a seaside resort, which thrives in the summer months but then becomes a ghost village in the winter. 

“One of the major issues was making sure that it was the residents we looked after, rather than holidaymakers,” Paul says. 

During the early years of the BLES partnership, dozens of local groups and projects received grants through its Community Chest, including Warden Bay Playgroup, the Eastchurch Aviation Museum, Leysdown Parish Council, 5th Sheppey Scout Group, local cricket and football clubs, as well as The Autism Apprentice CIC. 

But it was during the COVID-19 pandemic that BLES came to the aid of families across the three communities. One example of this was the Sheppey Support Bus, which addressed a clear need in bringing emergency supplies to areas of the island that had become cut off. The support bus helped 42 families in Eastern Sheppey alone, and BLES subsequently donated Christmas hampers to those families who needed the most support. 

The bus service was the brainchild of the Sheppey Community Development Forum. The forum was founded by Reverend Steve Chalke, who was once a regular fixture on breakfast television, and the bus was also supported by the Salvation Army, Morrisons Community Champions, and BLES. 

BLES also identified pockets of deprivation that affected people across all three villages. Emma was appointed as a Big Local worker for BLES in 2021 and set up a project called Swale Sisters with help from the Fuel and Water Advisor from Children and Families, to address the issue of period poverty for women across Swale. 

“We were able to hand out free sanitary products for women, including tampons,” she says. ​“It was partly funded through BLES, but we also got funding through Hey Girls, a nationwide charity set up to tackle period poverty.” 

One of the biggest BLES projects was the community garden, which was funded through an environmental grant they gave to a residents’ association. They’ve since transformed a piece of land surrounded by houses into a wildflower garden which, as Lee-Anne describes, ​“is bringing bits of wildlife into that community.” 

BLES also ran competitions with local primary schools to encourage creativity, including one to design a mural to decorate the seafront at Leysdown. The winning entries were painted onto the promenade in 2022, just before the summer season got into full swing. 

Meanwhile, the single largest investment made by BLES was restoring the old Leysdown police station, turning it into a purpose-built, brand new community hub. It provides a space that anyone from the three villages can access – and to ensure the building serves as a legacy to Big Local in the area, the Eastern Sheppey Community Hub CIO was formed in 2023, with residents from the BLES partnership becoming its trustees. 

While none of this suddenly means Eastern Sheppey ceases to be a doubly disadvantaged area, it has helped to highlight and address issues around places to meet, community participation, and access to services. 

When asked to comment for a piece in the Financial Times about the Sheppey Support Bus, Steve Chalke said, ​“We need a new civil contract between government and the voluntary sector; one built on respect and trust rather than servitude.” 

Above all, the experience of Eastern Sheppey, like other Big Local areas, demonstrates what can happen when local volunteer groups are given the trust and resources to make decisions that benefit their own communities – and how much they are willing to give, beyond their time and resources.