One of Kent’s poorest areas is set to receive £20 million to upgrade it to make it a “better place to live”.

Ahead of a meeting on the Pride in Place funding, business owners and residents of the Sheppey East ward told KentOnline what they think the money should be spent on…

Sheppey East, a ward which includes the villages of Warden, Eastchurch and Leysdown, is set to receive £2m every year for the next decade.

The cash is needed as the region is one of the most deprived not only in Kent but also in the country.

In 2019, the government ranked Eastchurch 591 and Leysdown and Warden 322 among the most deprived places in England out of 32,844 areas.

This puts Eastchurch in the top 2% of the poorest areas in the country, and Leysdown and Warden in the top 1%.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced the funding on September 25 as part of the wider Pride in Place scheme, saying: “For too long, people have watched their towns and streets decline – powerless to stop boarded-up shops and neglected parks. That ends now.”

Sheppey East is the only area in Kent that is getting some of the £5 billion that is being ploughed into 339 regions across the country as part of the project.

It can be spent on reviving high streets and restoring parks to breathe new life into pubs, leisure centres and community halls.

Communities will also gain new powers to seize boarded-up shops, block nuisance businesses and buy assets before they close.

With such a wide range of projects that the funding could go on, KentOnline spoke to residents and businesses across Sheppey East to find out what they think the cash should go towards.

Owner of Leysdown DIY Stores, Mark Hayes, said that while the area cannot “be revived” unless the state of the economy improves, he would like the money to spent on improving parks.

The 62-year-old has run the store in Leysdown Road since 2014 but has lived in the village for around 30 years.

He moved from Brixton in London to the seaside after holidaying there.

Since moving, Mr Hayes says the area has been “going downhill” due to a “decline in visitor numbers year on year”.

“I don’t think you can revive Leysdown, unless people get more money,” the shopkeeper said.

“A lot of my customers are holidaymakers and some have told me they simply cannot afford to come to Leysdown anymore.

“There used to be another three big pubs in the village – Merlin’s entertainment complex, The Seahorse and Talk of the Town – and it used to be difficult getting in them because they were so busy.

“But they have all closed, and it's difficult to fill up the two we do have in Leysdown.

“But I think a bit of the money could be spent on the parks and bring some swings to the one in The Promenade because there is not much for young families, and the arcades do cost you.”

In the store was Leysdown car mechanic Paul Stacey who was buying a packet of screws. He has lived in the village for 40 years.

He says the area used to be “a lot better” and that the area needs the money, which he would like to be spent on a “decent food shop”.

At the moment, there are five corner shops in the ward – Leysdown Store, the Costcutter in Eastchurch, as well as Sun & Mirror Convenience Store, Oasis Store and Warden Bay Convenience Store, which are in Warden.

But the 56-year-old, who is also a painter and decorator, says they are “expensive” compared to supermarkets in Sheerness and Queenborough.

He said: “The area does need the money and we need a decent food shop.

“At the moment, you have to go to Morrisons [in Queenborough] to do a big shop.

“There are enough of us down here, even out of season, for a Tesco Express.

“The area is already good for the holiday makers.

“But you could spend it on traditional beach activities, like dodgems or donkey rides that don’t cost a lot.”

Sunny Singh, who owns Sunny’s Boutique in Leysdown Road, says money should be spent on public transport, which he believes will boost visitor numbers out of season.

The 35-year-old, who lives in Rochester and opened the store three years ago, said: “If you look outside, there’s no one around. You’re lucky to see 10 people.

“So money should be spent on showing we are open all year round.

“We are in the middle of nowhere, so we need the Sunday bus service back to get elderly people and teenagers here.

“Access to cash in this area is also a problem since the post office closed around a year ago.

“A lot of visitors have not updated to cards and we only have a cash point in the convenience store. So a free cash point would be good.”

At Bayview Home and Garden Centre between Eastchurch and Warden, salon owner Julie Mason says the money should go towards a family centre.

The mum-of-three, who lives in Lordswood and has been cutting hair for 34 years, opened House of Hair and Beauty four months ago.

The 54-year-old said: “There is not enough for children or teenagers around here.

“There are not any clubs around here, and they can’t get away from Leysdown because there are not enough buses.

“You could turn Merlin’s into a community club where parents and children can go with pool tables, a cinema, soft play and a cafe for the parents to meet up.

“It would bring mums together and would be somewhere to go for a coffee.”

In Eastchurch, All Saints churchwarden Sue Hopper says she hopes some of the money can be spent on the church in the High Street.

The 76-year-old, who lives in the village, says without cash injections, the church could close.

She said: “People think the church has a lot of money, but we don’t.

“I want our church to stay open for weddings, baptisms and funerals for our villagers.

“At the moment, we are living on a shoestring.

“We need a bit of money to fix the clock, which is not working, and the villagers are on my case about it.

“We have an amount of money that was donated to us, but we need more because we have had to have the floor mended.”

Labour MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, Kevin McKenna, will sit on a Neighbourhood Board which will help direct the spending of the funding.

He has hosted coffee mornings and has sent letters to residents asking for their ideas, as well as launching an online survey.

Mr McKenna says Islanders have “had their fingers burned in the past” by promises that have not come to fruition, but this project has learnt from past mistakes.

He said: “In the country as a whole, there's this pervasive feeling of decline, and that's been allowed.

“It's very much what I stand to against, and the country's best days are absolutely ahead of it. That's true for the east of Sheppey as well.

“We're the place where modern-powered flights started. There is no reason why in the 21st century we can't find something else as well that puts us right back front and centre.

“I do get that people have had their fingers burnt. They've had projects that have come along before, promised the earth, and not worked.

“The way this funding is structured has learnt from a lot of mistakes. It's not just on Sheppey, or just more generally in my constituency, where that's happened. There are lots of parts of the country where they've had great shiny projects that haven't delivered.

“The reason it runs over 10 years, run by a neighbourhood board is because it's a commitment to funding, with a clear objective of being locally led. That's all learnt from a lot of projects that have failed in the past.

“Let's try and overcome the cynicism, because the only way we do that is if we actually go, ‘right, this is our moment, let's seize it’.”

To discuss the funding further, the Island Forum is holding a meeting at the Criterion Theatre, in Blue Town, Sheerness tomorrow (Tuesday, October 21) at 6.30pm.

The group is a collection of individuals and organisations passionate about improving Sheppey.

Co-chairman John Nurden has apologised that the meeting was not being held at the east end of the Island.

“This meeting was already booked at the Criterion before this news broke,” he explained, “I am sure when it comes to setting up the Neighbourhood Board, crucial meetings will be held at that end of the Island.”