Life on the UK island where debt is everywhere — BBC News

[0:00] First bus, 5 past 10. Last bus, 20 past 1. [0:05] Millions of pounds have been spent trying to improve this town, but look at it. [0:08] A high street is dying. People are in debt. [0:11] I'm about to be evicted as well. I think a lot of people are getting evicted around here. [0:15] Businesses are closing. This is the front line of the Costa Living crisis. [0:19] Welcome to the Isle of Sheppey. [0:22] So what's your name, sorry? [0:23] Shania. [0:23] Shania. And how old are you? [0:25] I'm 22. [0:26] 22. You've got two kids. How are you finding money? [0:32] It's tight. [0:33] I've found that I've had to get an overdraft now, so I've got in a bit of debt. [0:37] I've had to cut back on things, treats and things for the kids or whatever. [0:42] I'm about to be evicted as well. I've had a lot of issues with mould. [0:45] Right. [0:46] So I think they just got sick of me moaning at them. [0:48] Right. How's the house hunting going? [0:50] Not great. Every time I put in my budget, nothing's coming up. [0:55] We're in the Thames estuary in Kent, where Sheppey boasts several beaches, [0:59] a stunning nature reserve and a friendly community. [1:01] But in many other ways, it's seen better days. [1:05] And almost everyone here says there's no money now. [1:10] So is it getting harder and harder to make ends meet? [1:12] Yeah, I haven't had a holiday for probably six, seven years. [1:17] Like, tonight's my only night out of the week. [1:19] I work like 60 hours a week as well. [1:21] Do you? [1:21] Yeah, like, doing tons of overtime. [1:24] I'm not saving anything either, so that's just a sort of make ends meet, really. [1:29] Everywhere you look, there are money problems. [1:31] Debts, bankruptcies and insolvency are all above average. [1:35] Remember levelling up? Boris Johnson's big idea. [1:38] Leveling up. Leveling up. Level up. [1:39] Well, Sheerness got £20 million from that. [1:43] And the money has been allocated. [1:45] There was developments to a local college. [1:46] That was quite popular. [1:48] And they built an adventure mini golf centre. [1:50] Apparently nobody wanted that. [1:52] But to be fair, it was apparently doing quite well. [1:54] The trouble is, when you look around, [1:56] the area does not feel revitalised at all. [2:00] And for the last few months, businesses have continued to shut down. [2:05] Some days, you could sit there all day and not get anything. [2:10] As well as restoring furniture, Paula makes novelty cards. [2:13] Until a few months ago, she had a shop on the high street. [2:16] But she had to close it, and she couldn't make ends meet. [2:18] A lot of customers were on benefits. [2:21] And I think also, you price things to reflect the area. [2:26] We would have people come from London to stay in their caravans. [2:29] And even they would come in and go. [2:30] It would be three times that, where I live. [2:34] And that was quite self-destroying. [2:36] Friday, drive time with Adam and Jess on Sheppie FM 92.2. [2:40] This is Sheppie FM listening to. [2:42] Local radio stations have been going about 15 years or so. [2:46] They're facing the biggest financial challenge in many years. [2:50] With the high street dying, Sheppie FM is now struggling [2:53] to find the advertisers that pay its bills. [2:55] We used to have a lot of local family businesses [3:00] that would go out their way to support community projects, [3:04] us being one of them, [3:05] and also supporting other community projects going on on the island. [3:10] There is a lot less of that now. [3:12] It's not just the residents facing financial difficulties. [3:15] Two local councils cover Sheppie. [3:17] Both are in debt. [3:18] Struggling for cash in early 2025, [3:21] Kent County Council cut almost 90% of the funding [3:24] it used to give this children's centre. [3:27] It helps around 400 mainly deprived children each week. [3:30] We've got a lot of families that, you know, [3:33] really are struggling to feed their children. [3:36] Do you feel let down by the council? [3:38] Yes. [3:39] Yes, absolutely. [3:40] The children and the families have been let down. [3:43] It's not fair what they've done to them. [3:45] Kent County Council told us it is experiencing [3:48] significant financial challenges [3:50] and has had to make difficult decisions [3:52] to ensure services remain sustainable. [3:54] It's worth bearing in mind that the whole country is in debt [3:57] and that taxes are risen to plug the gap [3:59] and pay for services. [4:01] Here in Sheppie, another council, Swaleborough Council, [4:04] has infuriated locals by introducing parking charges [4:07] to help reduce its debts. [4:10] This is the high street and as you can see, [4:11] cars double parked. [4:13] If you go further up, it's even worse. [4:15] It's almost impossible to get through at some points. [4:18] But here's the irony. [4:19] Look at this. [4:20] An empty car park. [4:23] But up until the beginning of April, it was free. [4:26] Since then, there are charges. [4:28] The locals are furious and refusing to use it. [4:31] No one came down to give a decent explanation. [4:35] It's just not fair. [4:38] And it's not just myself. [4:39] It's a lot of the local pubs and businesses [4:41] in the local area who are going to suffer tremendously. [4:44] People drive down there just to have a portion of fish and chips [4:47] and a beer maybe on the beach [4:48] and they have to park up [4:49] and off they go for a couple of hours with the kids, [4:51] especially this time of year. [4:52] Can't do that now [4:53] because everyone's jostling for car parking spots. [4:57] Swaleborough Council says it brought in the charges [5:00] to bring the affected sites in line [5:02] with other car parks across the borough. [5:05] Another issue on the island is buses. [5:08] Kent County Council told us [5:10] it has increased spending for subsidising journeys [5:12] across the county, but getting around this island [5:15] is a nightmare on public transport. [5:17] First bus, five past ten. [5:20] Last bus, twenty past one. [5:24] Not much opportunity there to get to jobs. [5:26] Go to hospital, see some friends. [5:29] It's a chance of being isolated in a community like this. [5:33] So we do need to get the buses right [5:35] and of course there's been changes to the national legislation [5:37] that will help with that [5:38] with the two bus acts that have come through. [5:41] You need a bus that actually connects [5:42] the first train and the last train [5:44] so that people can get to and from work. [5:46] We've got a very high proportion of people [5:48] who are not earning or learning. [5:49] We've got high proportions of people [5:51] that have come from families [5:51] where there's multi-generational unemployment [5:54] and actually therefore haven't necessarily [5:55] got the habits and support into work. [5:59] There are still jobs to be had. [6:01] Aldi has a large distribution centre here for instance. [6:03] But without a car, locals can't get here [6:06] for many shifts due to the poor bus service. [6:09] Sheerness Port, where lots of cars and fresh fruit arrive, [6:12] still does employ hundreds [6:14] but at once had thousands on its books. [6:18] There's not much work on there. [6:19] We used to have a lot of industry [6:20] like steel mills, rolling mills. [6:22] They got bought and sold off to countries like India. [6:25] So you've got a large town [6:27] and people haven't got the work here [6:30] unless you want to work in a warehouse [6:31] or a McDonald's. [6:32] So a lot of them are looking at cabin. [6:37] Communities are getting split up. [6:38] The island used to be a big luck. [6:40] Everyone knew each other and that [6:41] and where they took away the industry as well, [6:45] families are out there separate [6:46] and move off the island [6:48] instead of staying local to where their family is. [6:53] Revitalising the island now falls to Reform UK [6:55] which has run Kent County Council for a year. [6:58] My name is Maxwell Harrison. [6:59] I am one of your two Reform UK Kent County Councilors [7:02] here on the Isle of Sheppey. [7:05] Maxwell Harrison is the party's Sheppey Councilor. [7:08] He said he'd speak to us [7:09] then stopped answering our calls. [7:11] So we spoke to another representative from Reform. [7:13] What would Reform do in Sheerness or in Sheppey [7:17] to make this island cheaper or affordable? [7:20] We would definitely be a more encouraging business. [7:22] Personally, what I would say is [7:23] we need something like a business czar [7:25] to get someone to promote the island for industry. [7:28] Right, let's gain some factories [7:30] rather than gain just some shops, you know. [7:33] Because a shop, yeah, employs people [7:35] but not as much as someone that produces things. [7:37] The kids, there's nothing for them to do. [7:39] The apprenticeship schemes, yeah, great idea. [7:41] If we've got the businesses, which we don't seem to be having [7:43] because they seem to be folding because it's too expensive to be here. [7:47] Sheppey comes alive at this time of year. [7:49] Tourists come to visit, bringing energy and jobs. [7:52] But it marks the reality for locals. [7:54] Wages are low, public transport is awful [7:57] and some don't even have proper roads. [8:00] What keeps the island going is a strong sense of community [8:03] and willingness to help each other. [8:06] Come the wintertime, it's like a ghost town. [8:09] And the people that live here all year round, [8:12] you don't get to see them much. [8:13] They struggle. [8:14] How big is the need on the island? [8:18] How high is the sky? [8:20] There's an old lady I help out. [8:22] I take her to all the hospital treatments she needs, [8:25] cancer and whatever. [8:26] Loads of people on this island [8:28] have made it, trying to make it a big community again. [8:32] Sheppey is like many similar places in Britain, [8:35] a struggling high street, rising costs and fewer services. [8:38] And the public money that has been spent here [8:40] doesn't yet seem to have made a difference. [8:43] Many people feel they're trying harder than ever, [8:46] working longer than ever, [8:47] but can't see the benefits. [8:49] But can't see the benefits. [8:49] But can't see the benefits.