The Thames Estuary Growth Board surveyed two of Faversham’s most challenged areas – North Preston and Bysing Wood – and explored how the town can grow without widening divides.

The report available online [https://thamesestuary.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Fair-Growth-Faversham-Summary-Document.pdf]  Their research across the Thames Estuary Identifies a range of issues which affect all left behind communities around the estuary, two are particularly relevant in Faversham:

1. Lack of Appropriate, Affordable Housing

“Housing is becoming increasingly unaffordable  for those who live in the Thames Estuary. Migration from London and lack of adequate supply has led to many of London’s issues increasingly being mirrored in the Thames Estuary. The housing market itself is not fair and too often does not provide the basic foundations that our communities need to live a fair and happy life.”

• Lack of Trust and Community Resilience
  “Residents feel let down, and trust in institutions is low, with a feeling of being disengaged both physically and psychologically. The Thames Estuary is still dealing with the long-term impacts of deindustrialisation, which is exacerbated by a feeling of change that is not benefitting the area. Residents can no longer think long-term due to immediate challenges, nor are they able to see themselves staying in the Thames Estuary.”
  
  
• The Changing Nature of Work
  “Real incomes have declined in the last decade, with work no longer providing a route out of poverty. People in the Thames Estuary work (often more than one job) and still cannot afford life’s basics. Training routes and physical connections are often not strong enough or sufficiently resourced, meaning significant parts of the population are not linked to the opportunities in their area.”
  
  
• Disengagement and Lack of Voice for Future Generations
  “Young people in the Thames Estuary do not feel they are getting a fair deal. Increasing housing costs, a lack of social and community spaces, and unclear routes to work worsen their life chances and access to opportunities. To become a fair region, we need to elevate the role of and conversation with young people, giving them a stronger voice and creating intergenerational dialogue, which recognises the importance of future generations as agents of change and safeguards their needs and interests, respecting their need to connect and grow differently.”

There is more about the situation in the Thames Estuary, much of it relevant to Faversham, here

This independent research into the situation in Faversham concluded

• “Faversham enjoys a higher level of economic wellbeing, compared to some parts of North Kent. But this masks pockets of acute deprivation and high internal inequality. Up to now, growth has often created (and been driven by) inward migration from London, sometimes making the area less affordable for more established residents.”
• “The wider Faversham area has high deprivation when it comes to the specific issue of access to housing and services. Most of those on the North Preston and Bysing Wood estates live in social housing, and there is often over-crowding, with younger adults unable to move out. Many have spent years on housing waiting lists.”
• Faversham experiences “many of the housing problems which are seen across the Thames Estuary. It is experiencing the rising house prices of London, without the localised jobs and pay-scales to match at least for those unable to commute to the capital.”
• “.. people on the two estates haven’t been very positive about the new housing developments near the town. The new houses are seen as unaffordable for local people, and driving up existing rents
• . Additionally, there is a strong perception that housing is being built without the necessary support services and infrastructure.”
• “Jobs in trades often offer reasonable pay. But this comes at the cost of long, anti-social hours out of the house, or night shifts. This in turn fuels a clear gender inequality, with women taking on the majority of childcare responsibilities despite being highly qualified and wanting to work in paid employment. The cost-of-living crisis has exacerbated this, as childcare is often seen as prohibitively expensive on top of other outgoings.”
• “In some cases, women were looking for informal jobs in cafés or shops. In some cases, they were developing ‘side hustles’, making and selling things online. In some cases, they wanted to work in fields including paid childcare or nursing, but could not commit to the anti-social hours. But few had been able to access the types of opportunities they were looking for.”

Harold Goodwin, Chair FCLT