Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile

Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of Contents

Introduction 1

People and Place 2

Community Participation 3

Community Safety 4

Economy 5

Education 6

Environment 7

Public health 8

Housing 9

Gravesham ‘Quality of Life’ Analysis 10

Reference tables (1-14) 11 1 Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering for the Community 1 Introduction

Overview How is a Community Profile compiled? In order to effectively plan and run its public services, it is In reviewing this Community Profile it is worth essential Gravesham Borough Council fully understands considering: the needs of local residents and the borough. • content is sourced through the research and analysis The findings from this Community Profile ultimately help of key material from a wide range of stakeholders to tailor our corporate priorities and better target our including; central and local government, partner resources when designing service interventions with the organisations and a series of independent bodies. greatest local impact. • profiling is a continuous process as the council seeks to identify any growing trends within the various What is a Community Profile? sectors of the community. The information outlined The Community Profile acts as a key marker in our in this Community Profile is therefore reviewed on a equalities agenda. With a Corporate Plan that commits regular basis to ensure the latest and most accurate us to “developing a cohesive and resilient community”, data is analysed. undertaking such a study helps identify where inequality exists and to overcome social challenges to: • it is a snapshot of the borough at the time of writing. Wherever possible the latest available data and • stop unlawful discrimination; statistics have been used.

• improve equal opportunities; and • in presenting Gravesham’s position within Kent, this refers to the council comparatively against all 12 • encourage good relationships. Kent district councils.

More broadly, as a tool a Community Profile delivers in a number of areas:

• makes publicly available a summary of data and information on the quality of life for local residents;

• helps public service providers identify both where improvement is most needed and in the design of targeted service interventions for the local community; and

• enables government and wider regulators to concentrate strategically on those areas that most need support.

4 Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 1 GraveshamGravesham Borough Borough Council: Council: Community Community Profile Profile Delivering aDelivering Gravesham for to the be Communityproud of 02 2 People and Place

Overview Gravesham is a vibrant and culturally rich borough Complimenting this information is a series of estimated located in North West Kent, renowned for its physical and projections that build on the baseline Census results to social diversity. present the latest available demographic position within the borough. Central to understanding the local community and its socio-demographic picture is the national Census. The The key demographic content in this chapter relates to: Census is a detailed national survey undertaken by • overall population data; the Office for National Statistics (ONS) every 10 years, • age; providing a snapshot of the local population. • gender; The last national Census was taken on 27 March 2011 • ethnicity; and the results are used throughout this Community • households; and Profile. The published results of Census 2021 will form the • religion. basis of a revised Community Profile.

Category Facts

As at mid-2019 Gravesham had a population of 106,900, the lowest figure across the 12 Kent Overall districts. The 2019 population estimate represents a growth rate of 6.7% in the last 10 years, below the equivalent Kent (9.7%) and national (7.8%) averages.

Riverside ward has the largest recorded population with 9,937 residents, whilst Chalk ward has the fewest recorded residents with 2,204 (Table 1). Riverside and Chalk are the only Gravesham wards represented in Kent’s top-25 highest and lowest population figures respectively.

Natural growth (more births than deaths) is Gravesham’s primary source of population expan- sion, supported by net migration. In the last 10 years Gravesham has seen more residents leave for elsewhere in the UK than move into the borough (-1,600 reduction), the only Kent district to observe a negative net internal migration trend. This has been offset by the increased level of net inward international migration to the borough over the same period (3,400) (Table 2).

Gravesham presents the third highest population density in Kent (10.8 persons per hectare (p/h)). When considering the defined urban area of the borough however, a figure of 37.43 persons / hectare represents the most densely populated equivalent area across Kent districts.

6 Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of In 2019 the mean average age for a Gravesham resident was 39.5 years, up from 38.7 years in Age 2011. Gravesham’s figure is however second only to Dartford (37.5 years) as the lowest in Kent, and is lower than the county (41.2 years) and national (40.2 years) averages.

There are an estimated 2,600 residents (2.4%) in Gravesham aged over 85 years and this age group is projected to increase to 4,300 by 2038. As at 2019, 20.2% of the total Gravesham population was aged 0-14 (Table 3).

Istead Rise has the highest proportion of residents at retirement age (31.8%) and the lowest proportion at 0-14 years (13.7%). Conversely Riverside has the lowest proportion of residents at retirement age (9.0%) and Northfleet North the highest proportion at 0-14 years (26.5%).

Gender In regards to gender statistics, as at 2019 the proportion of males to females in the borough was (49.2% - 50.8%), in keeping with the Kent average of (49.1% - 50.9%).

All age groups over 65 record more females than males, with the ‘90+’ age bracket seeing the highest proportionate share of females (64.5% - 600) than males (35.5% - 300). Conversely there are 800 more males than females in the 0-24 bracket.

Ethnicity Gravesham has the highest number (17,494) and proportion (17.2%) of residents from a Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) group in Kent. When adding residents identified in the Census as ‘other white’ (primarily EU immigrants), this figure grows to 22,187 (21.8%) of the population.

At a ward level, Pelham Ward has the lowest figure of residents of ‘white British’ ethnic background (51.8%). In comparison, Istead Rise has the highest figure across the borough (94.5%).

Over 2,011 households within Gravesham have no occupants with English as their main language. This equates to 5% of all households and is the highest number and proportion of all Kent districts.

Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 7 Households Across the borough, 41% of households are occupied by couples, 74% of which have dependent children. 28% of households are occupied by single people, the majority of which are occupied by females. 15% of couples have other adults living in their homes, and 7% of households in the borough are lone parent families.

In terms of marital status, within Gravesham 48.8% of people aged 16 and over are married, the sixth highest rate in Kent. Istead Rise ward has the highest marital rate of 63%, with Riverside ward presenting the lowest rate at 38.8%.

Religion The Christian faith is the largest declared religion in the borough with 60.6% of residents, with those declared as ‘no religion’ being the second largest group (21.5%).

Across Kent, Gravesham has the highest proportion of Sikh residents with 7,743 or 7.6% of residents and also the largest proportion of Muslim residents with 1,894 or 1.9% of the population.

8 Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of GraveshamGravesham Borough Borough Council: Council: Community Community Profile Profile Delivering aDelivering Gravesham for to the be Communityproud of 02 3 Community Participation

Overview Gravesham Borough Council Elections Gravesham has a strong sense of community cohesion, Gravesham Borough Council has 44 elected Members with a long history of resident participation. This chapter representing 18 electoral wards. presents an overview of the levels of participation in both formal elections and local resident forums. Following the local council elections in May 2019, the council is represented by three political groups, with the Political activity within Gravesham follows traditional Labour group holding an overall majority and forming the patterns across both Kent and nationally with the highest controlling administration. electoral turnout at general elections, decreasing across local council and county council elections respectively. The council’s current elected representation is as follows: • Labour: 22 members Details of elections in Gravesham can be sourced via; • Conservative: 19 members Election results • Independent: 2 members General Elections The Gravesham parliamentary constituency has Kent County Council Elections previously been called a ‘Bellwether’ constituency as, On 4 May 2017 the Kent County Council election traditionally, in parliamentary elections Gravesham took place, whereby 81 councillors were elected with constituents have voted for an MP from the winning Gravesham contributing five. Within Gravesham, the party. This was again the case in the general election 2017 elections saw the Conservative Party win three held in December 2019. seats and the Labour Party win two, with Labour retaining a seat in the 2019 Northfleet and Gravesend At the most recent general election for the Gravesham West by-election. parliamentary seat, electoral turnout was 64.9%, slightly below the national average of 67.3%. In terms of results, the incumbent Conservative candidate Adam Holloway MP regained his parliamentary seat.

10 Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of Community Engagement • Consultations Within Gravesham there is a healthy participation of Alongside the opportunities presented through the residents in a variety of citizen panels, voluntary groups established forums, the council provide various and community events. consultation opportunities enabling the community to help shape policy and service provision: To achieve the council’s ambition of Delivering a Gravesham Borough Council consultations Gravesham to be proud of, one of the council’s key policy commitments is to; “implement a leading programme of In addition local Councillors provide community engagement initiatives, showcasing the borough’s diversity engagement opportunities through their open ‘surgeries’ and enabling greater participation in civic life.” or online channels. Here residents can ask questions about the council and its policies, or raise concerns with This council’s engagement programme covers a variety their local elected representative about problems in the of groups, forums and committees which include: local area.

• Gravesham Youth Council Aimed at young people aged between 11 and 19, the Gravesham Youth Council (GYC) meets on a monthly basis to discuss current and future projects and issues relating to the borough’s young people.

The GYC gives young residents the chance to have their voice heard, debating real issues including matters of inclusion, holding officials to account and discussing council policies that involve and impact young people. Youth Council

• Gravesham Business Network The idea of the group is primarily to stimulate local business activity and collaborations, and to promote special offers and services to members.

Along with local business support partners, the network informs members of business support workshops, networking opportunities and other events. As part of the network, free business networking events are delivered on a quarterly basis. Gravesham Business Network

Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 11 1 Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering aDelivering Gravesham for to the be Community proud of 4 Community Safety

Overview Gravesham Borough Council plays a significant role in This exercise allows the CSP to gain a better addressing community safety, working as a key partner understanding of current community safety issues in our of Kent Police and Kent Fire and Rescue within the local area based on information recorded by partner agencies. Community Safety Partnership (CSP). Annual data from the 2020 Strategic Assessment, covering the period 1 October 2019-30 September 2020, Each year the CSP is required to conduct an audit of forms the basis of the findings presented in this chapter. crime and disorder levels in Gravesham known as the Strategic Assessment.

Category Facts

The number of offences recorded in Gravesham in the last year amounted to 12,182 - a Crime proportionate rate of 113.9 offences per 1,000 population. This represents the second highest recorded rate across Kent districts behind Thanet.

The leading category of recorded crime in the borough is ‘violence against the person’ accounting for 5,148 recorded incidents, 42.3% of total crime in the borough over the period.

Despite hate crime reducing by 5.5% in the last year, at 3.1 offences per 1,000 population Gravesham still presents the highest rate of hate crimes in Kent - the vast majority being racially motivated (74.6%).

At a ward level, in the last year Pelham recorded the highest level of crime in the borough (2,178 offences). Istead Rise recorded the lowest number of offences for the same period with 112.

Proportionately when considering crime per 1,000 population, both Pelham (266) and Istead Rise (34) again post the highest and lowest values respectively (Table 4).

Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 13 1 Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering aDelivering Gravesham for to the be Community proud of Category Facts

Comparatively, at 3.6 fires per 1,000 population Gravesham is recorded as having the highest Environment proportionate rate of total fires in Kent.

58% of fires in Gravesham are deliberate, with Gravesham presenting a rate of deliberate fires per 1,000 population more than twice the Kent average.

At a ward level, 77 deliberate fires in the last year took place in Riverside Ward - over one third of all the borough’s deliberate fires and the greatest number of all wards across Kent districts.

The total number of reported fly-tipping incidents in Gravesham in 2018-19 amounted to 2,240 – 13.2% of the Kent district total. This represents the third highest recorded outturn across Kent districts, behind Swale and Dartford respectively (Table 5).

On Gravesham’s roads there were 359 road traffic accidents (RTA) in 2018. When considering Transport the number of traffic casualties per 1,000 population Gravesham is directly in line with the average experienced by Kent districts.

Between 2018-19 and 2019-20, offences recorded by British Transport Police rose by 36.1% - the largest increase across Kent districts and significantly ahead of the 8.8% district average increase.

Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 15 1 Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering for the Community 5 Economy

Overview Gravesham’s economic profile points to a legacy of low-skilled employment and a dependence on now declining economic sectors, specifically manufacturing through historical river-based heavy industry. Gravesham presents much lower levels of higher professional occupations than Kent or national averages, with only 7% of total employees classified within the knowledge sector – seen as a key driver for economic growth – a figure inside the lowest 20% of authorities nationally. Despite this background, and the lasting legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic upon the local economy, there are a number of important economic regeneration and house building projects being undertaken in and around the borough. Initiatives including; London Resort, Ebbsfleet Garden City, North Kent Enterprise Zone and significant town centre regeneration projects will create a wealth of new job opportunities for Gravesham residents, whilst delivery of key transport infrastructure developments will help attract inward investment.

Category Facts

The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2020 presents that the average full-time Earnings weekly earnings for residents in the borough was £544.90, representing the second lowest figure across Kent districts and £62.20 below the Kent district average (Table 6).

For Gravesham residents working part-time, average weekly earnings were £205.70, £11.60 above the Kent average.

In terms of workplace earnings for jobs located in the borough, Gravesham recorded the highest full-time weekly earnings across Kent districts (£652.20), £106.50 higher than the Kent average.

For part-time jobs in the borough, Gravesham offered the second lowest level of wages across Kent districts (£175.90), £16.30 below the Kent average.

Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 17 Category Facts

As at November 2020, across Kent districts Gravesham had the second highest rate of Unemployment people claiming unemployment benefits (JSA or Universal Credit) at 7.4%, ahead of the county (6%) and national (6.3%) averages (Table 7).

In line with most other Kent districts the largest level of unemployment in terms of population age groups in Gravesham is found amongst those aged 18-24 with 12.7% unemployed as at November 2020, the second highest rate in Kent and ahead of the county average (9.7%).

At a ward level, as at November 2020 Pelham recorded the highest rate of unemployment (9.8%), whilst Meopham North recorded the lowest rate at 3% (Table 8).

The three core disability related benefits are: Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment and Attendance Allowance. At the time of writing, Gravesham had 7.9% of its total population in receipt of a disability benefit, the ninth highest figure across Kent districts. Equally, in terms of employment Gravesham had the highest rate in Kent of residents with a disability in active employment (81.2%).

In consideration of travel to work patterns, Gravesham has the highest level of commuting activity across Kent. As at 2012, figures indicate only 43.2% of working residents actually work in Gravesham suggesting significant numbers of out- commuting, primarily to London.

18 Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of Category Facts

Business As a proportion of the overall types of business in the borough, Gravesham posts the highest percentage of businesses in Kent in the following sectors; Construction (21.7%) and Transport and Storage (8.7%) – both within the highest 20% of authorities nationally.

Conversely, Gravesham has the lowest proportion of employees in the ‘knowledge economy’ (Publishing, Scientific Research and Development and Higher Education) in Kent at 7% of all employees, within the lowest 20% nationally.

In 2019 a total of 665 new companies were registered in the borough, with 540 companies dissolved during the same year. This represents a growth ratio of 1.23 enter- prise ‘births’ to ‘deaths’, the second highest figure in Kent and ahead of the equivalent national figure (1.17).

In terms of business sustainability, Gravesham presents a figure of 45.5% of businesses surviving 5 years or more, the eighth highest rate in Kent and ahead of the county average of 45.4% (Table 9).

Gross value added (GVA) is the value of the goods and services produced in the economy, the traditional measure for the overall economic well-being of an area. In 2018, the GVA generated in Gravesham was £15,538 per head of population, the 2nd lowest figure in Kent and amongst the lowest 20% in the south east region.

In 2019 ten ‘Value Added Tax and/or Pay As You Earn’ based enterprises in the borough were recorded as having over 250 employees, representing 0.3% of the total number of local businesses.

Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 19 1 Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 6 Education

Overview As at January 2020 Gravesham had 37 schools across the borough covering all school age pupils, along with North Kent College as a site for further and higher education. Schools in the borough range from community and voluntary aided schools through to the recently integrated academy schools.

Category Facts

In 2020 there were 10,211 primary school pupils in Gravesham with the borough Demographics having capacity for 9,957, the only Kent district posting a level of oversubscription. Similarly, Gravesham is also the only oversubscribed district at secondary level with 8,314 pupils and a capacity of only 8,172 (Table 10).

16.9% of all pupils are eligible for Free School Meals in Gravesham, the sixth highest figure in Kent.

In 2020 11.9% of Gravesham pupils were in receipt of SEN support from their school, the highest rate in Kent. Despite this, only 2.4% of pupils in Gravesham had been allocated an Education, Health & Care Plan, the second lowest rate in Kent.

As at January 2020, 25.7% of primary school pupils did not have English as their first language. Gravesham’s figure is considerably ahead of all other Kent districts, with the county average at 12.7%. In addition, 42.4% of pupils are identified as ‘non-white British’, again the highest figure in Kent.

At secondary school level, 21.9% of pupils did not have English as their first language, again the highest figure in Kent and well ahead of the county average of 10.2% (Table 11). In addition, 39.2% of pupils are identified as ‘non-white British’, the second highest figure in Kent behind Dartford (42.9%).

Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 21 Category Facts

Gravesham presents the third highest percentage of primary school pupil absences in Absenteeism Kent at 4.3%. For pupils classed as persistently absent (defined as those pupils missing 10% or more of available sessions) the primary school outturn was 10% of pupils in the same year.

Conversely, at secondary level Gravesham presents the second lowest level of pupil absences in Kent at 5%. For pupils classed as persistently absent, the secondary school figure was recorded as 12.5% of pupils.

Gravesham’s primary schools had an average of 0.8% of pupils on fixed term exclusions from school in 2019, the second highest rate across Kent. In addition there were three reported permanent exclusions from the borough’s primary schools.

Gravesham’s secondary schools had an average of 5% of pupils on fixed- term exclusions in 2019, the fifth highest figure across Kent. There were a recorded seven pupils permanently excluded from Gravesham’s secondary schools in the same year, the highest figure in Kent.

As at 2020, 89% of Gravesham’s primary schools had an Ofsted rating of ‘good’ or Inspection ‘outstanding’, the second lowest level in Kent.

In regards to secondary schools, all of Gravesham’s schools present a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding rating, one of five districts to present a 100% level (Table 12).

22 Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of Category Facts

At Key Stage 4, from 2016 pupil attainment has been identified through the Attainment Attainment 8 score where grades are converted into scores in; English and Maths, the 6 English Baccalaureate subjects and other approved academic, arts or vocational qualifications. In 2019, the average score of Gravesham pupils was 47.6, the fifth highest in Kent, and ahead of the Kent (47.4) and national (46.8) averages.

For A-Level students, in 2019 the average point score per entry in Gravesham was 29.7, the tenth highest in Kent, behind the county (33.1) and national (32.8) averages.

When considering achievement at higher education levels, the 2011 Census reveals that within Gravesham 20% of residents have ‘Level 4 qualifications and above’ i.e. Degree level (and equivalent) and above. This is the fourth lowest figure across Kent districts.

Continuing this theme, these figures can be broken down into electoral wards in the borough. At ‘Level 4 and above’, Meopham North ward with 29.9% has the highest percentage of residents qualified at higher education levels, whereas Singlewell at 12.4% has the lowest level across the borough.

Finally in consideration of the number of residents who have no qualifications, Gravesham recorded a figure of 24.4%. This is the fifth highest level across Kent districts and therefore means that there are more residents in the borough without any qualifications than there are with those classed as ‘Level 4 and above’. This is at odds with the county and national averages where more people have achieved Level 4 and above than those with no qualifications.

At a ward level in Gravesham, Coldharbour ward (32.5%) has the highest proportion of residents with no qualifications, whereas Meopham South and Vigo have the lowest proportion (16.8%).

Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 23 1 Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 7 Environment

Overview Built environment This chapter aims to provide details of Gravesham’s Gravesham has a high quality built environment. landscape and biodiversity, built environment and water Currently there are: supply. • 9 scheduled monuments; • 23 conservation areas; Landscape and biodiversity • 310 listed buildings and; The borough of Gravesham has a striking urban-rural • 2 historic parks and gardens. split, primarily divided by the A2 road. Key facts relating to the natural and built environment include: Water supply Southern Water is the public water supply operator • The land to the north of the A2 is urban based and for most of the borough. Ebbsfleet is supplied by both is included within the ‘Kent Thameside’ area of the Thames Water and Southern Water. In addition, South wider Thames Gateway. East Water supplies two small rural areas within the • The rural area to the south of the A2 and to the borough around Longfield Hill. The source of water east of Gravesend, approximately 80% of the whole before treatment varies across the borough and other borough, is virtually all Green Belt land and is of external locations. significant landscape and biodiversity value. Water is pumped from various local sources including • The nationally important landscape of the Kent underground sources in the chalk at Hazells, Higham, Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is Strood, Cuxton and Fawkham, from both the greensand located in the south and east of the borough. and chalk at Luddesdown and Northfleet, and from the • The internationally important biodiversity area of the River Medway. North Kent Marshes is located in the north east of the borough.

Alongside a diverse and quality landscape, there are a number of sites in the borough which receive special protection because of their international, national or county-wide importance for nature conservation.

These include the Thames Estuary and Marshes Special Protection Area (SPA) and Ramsar site, the North Downs Woodland Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Sites of Special Scientific Interest and Local Wildlife Sites.

Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 25 1 Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 8 Public health

Overview When considering the health of people in Gravesham, it can be concluded that considerable progress in a number of areas over the past few years has resulted in the health of local residents now being broadly aligned to national levels, with overall deprivation now lower than average.

Despite this progress Gravesham has significant areas of health inequalities, as outlined by the variation in socio- economic deprivation across the borough, including average life expectancy rates.

Category Facts

The rate of mortality from cardiovascular diseases has fallen in recent years. As at 2019, Mortality Gravesham’s outturn of 68.1 deaths per 100,000 residents was below the national average of 73.5.

Gravesham has seen significant improvements in the rate of early deaths from cancers (under 75 years of age). Despite this, as at 2019 Gravesham recorded 135.3/100,000 residents, slightly higher than the national average of 129.2/100,000 residents.

In 2019, Gravesham recorded a net average annual increase of 462 in the number of births Births against deaths (natural change), the second highest average increase in Kent.

Gravesham recorded a general fertility rate of 68.2/1,000 women (aged 15-44) in 2019, the second highest rate in Kent and significantly higher than the county (59.4) and national (57.5) averages.

Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 27 Category Facts

Figures for life expectancy in the borough reveal an average age of 79.4 years for men, slightly Life below the national (79.6) average. Conversely, at 83.7 years life expectancy in Gravesham for expectancy women was ahead of the national average (83.2).

In terms of inequality, there is a sizeable gap in life expectancy of 13.9 years for men and 7.7 years for women between the wards with the highest life expectancy and those with the lowest.

Coldharbour ward has the lowest life expectancy for men (76.0 years) whereas Riverview has the highest (89.9 years). For women, Northfleet South ward has the lowest recorded age for life expectancy (80.9 years) whereas Chalk has the highest recorded figure (88.6 years) (Table 13).

Within Gravesham, 2.2% of all unpaid carers are under the age of 16, slightly below the county Care average (2.3%). However on a ward level basis, this figure ranges from a high of 4.1% in Riverside to 0.9% in Whitehill.

As at 2019, 20.4% of all Year 6 (10-11) children in Gravesham were identified as obese, the fourth Obesity highest rate in Kent and ahead of the national average (20.2%).

65.1% of adults in Gravesham are identified as overweight or obese, the sixth highest rate in Kent and ahead of the national (62%) average. Equally, in 2019 only 59.5% of adults in Gravesham were identified as ‘physically active’, the lowest outturn in Kent.

28 Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of Category Facts

Gravesham recorded the fifth lowest rate for smoking prevalence across the 12 Kent Districts Smoking with 10.7% of adults, ahead of the national average at 14.4%.

Similarly, at the time of giving birth 10.5% of women in Gravesham are identified as smokers, slightly ahead of the national (10.6%) average.

On interpreting the results of the Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2019 study, Gravesham is Deprivation identified as the fifth most deprived local authority in Kent, and 119th (317) nationally.

At a ‘Lower Super Output Area’ (LSOA), pockets of Northfleet North and Westcourt wards are within the top-10% most deprived in England, with LSOAs in Singlewell, Central and Riverside ward also featuring in Kent’s top-10% most-deprived areas. Conversely, parts of rural Gravesham are in the least deprived areas nationally.

The Annual Population Survey is used to identify resident ‘life satisfaction’. In 2020 Gravesham Satisfaction presented an average life satisfaction score of 7.62, the third lowest figure in Kent and below Kent (7.65) and national (7.66) averages.

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Overview This chapter presents a collection of statistics relating to the health of the local private and social housing sectors in Gravesham.

Category Facts

It was established from the 2011 Census that Gravesham had the highest proportion of homes in Private Kent deemed over-occupied in consideration of the number of bedrooms. At 5.5%, Gravesham’s figure was also ahead of the national average (4.7%).

As at 2019, Gravesham had the lowest number of second homes owned in the borough in comparison to other Kent districts (49).

At 82.9% of the total, Gravesham has the lowest proportion of homes in the private sector across Kent.

In 2019, Gravesham presented the second lowest proportion of vacant properties in comparison to other Kent districts (860 – 2%), below the Kent (2.5%) and national (2.7%) averages.

In the year 2018-19, a net 292 homes were built in the borough – the second lowest figure across Kent districts – with 89 of those recorded as affordable dwellings. At 231, the average annual number of completed dwellings since 2011 is the lowest in the county.

In 2019 the average house price paid in Gravesham was recorded as £320,817, the eighth highest figure across Kent districts and below the Kent (£342,070) and south east regional (£383,324) averages.

As at 2019, Gravesham had the fifth highest average private sector rent cost (£874/month) across Kent districts, above the Kent average (£869/month).

Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 31 Category Facts

In 2019, Gravesham had the highest number of council housing stock properties (5,690) com- Social pared to the other six councils providing social housing in Kent. In addition, across all sectors Gravesham had the highest percentage of stock identified as either council housing or other social rented housing in comparison to all other Kent districts (17.1%).

Gravesham’s average council housing rent in 2019 equated to 43.7% of the equivalent average private sector rent in the borough. This ratio is the fifth highest of the seven comparable districts in Kent (Table 14).

Of the seven council housing providers across Kent districts, in 2019 Gravesham presented the third highest weekly rent at £88.15 per week, with Ashford being the highest at £94.64 per week.

As at 2020, there were 1,906 applicants on the council housing waiting list. Gravesham’s is the largest waiting list in Kent proportionate to the number of local resident households.

With an average purchase price of £143,000, Gravesham saw 21 council properties sold under the ‘Right to Buy’ scheme in 2018-19.

32 Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 10 Gravesham ‘Quality of Life’ Analysis

People Crime Deprivation Education Health

All people aged 16+ Total recorded % unemployed Indices of Multiple % of people Average male Average female People declared % of total Gravesham in household have crime/1,000 hd Deprivation 2019 with a ‘Level 4’ life expectancy life expectancy as ‘good health’ unpaid Electoral English as a main of population (or above) (years) (years) or above carers Wards language Average Barriers to qualification who are LSOA housing and under-16 Score: Rank services: Rank

Central 82.4% 115 9.6% 8 9 25.5% 78.3 82.6 81.5% 2.5% Chalk 97.9% 60 5.4% 14 2 18.9% 83.1 88.6 80.5% 2.1% Coldharbour 94.4% 104 8.0% 3 13 13.2% 76.0 81.2 76.6% 1.3%

Higham 97.4% 60 4.8% 12 8 22.3% 80.6 84.1 81.0% 1.0%

Istead Rise 98.6% 34 4.1% 16 17 22.0% 82.8 87.8 82.1% 1.3% Meopham North 98.1% 50 3.3% 18 6 29.9% 83.2 85.9 84.6% 1.4% Meopham South 98.1% 59 4.4% 15 3 26.5% 82.3 84.5 85.4% 2.1% and Vigo Northfleet North 85.2% 131 10.2% 4 5 16.3% 77.2 81.3 81.8% 3.6%

Northfleet South 88.1% 159 7.5% 7 15 18.2% 80.8 80.9 82.7% 2.4%

Painters Ash 95.4% 86 5.9% 10 12 15.3% 77.8 81.2 76.2% 2.1% Pelham 75.5% 266 9.9% 6 10 22.9% 76.6 83.6 79.9% 3.1% Riverside 79.7% 159 11.4% 2 4 19.4% 76.5 82.8 83.3% 4.1%

Riverview 96.7% 43 3.8% 17 18 17.6% 89.9 85.6 84.7% 1.1%

Shorne, Cobham 96.6% 63 4.1% 13 1 27.5% 78.5 88.4 83.4% 1.8% and Luddesdown Key

Singlewell 96.2% 82 8.1% 5 11 12.4% 76.7 85.3 79.7% 3.0% Least challenged Westcourt 95.4% 93 8.9% 1 7 13.7% 76.9 84.4 78.7% 2.5% Mid-point Whitehill 94.0% 128 7.2% 9 16 18.5% 82.1 81.9 81.8% 0.9% Most challenged Woodlands 93.7% 88 5.8% 11 14 24.6% 82.6 82.6 83.9% 1.2%

Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 11 Reference tables

Table 1

Gravesham ward level population: 2019 10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

0

Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 35 Table 2

Kent district net migration: 2009-2019 16,000 14,000 12,000 10,000 Internal 8,000 6,000 International 4,000 2,000 0 -2,000

36 Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of Table 3

Gravesham population projections: 2019-2038

30000

25000

20000 2019 15000 2038 10000

5000

0 0-14 15-24 25-44 45-59 60-74 75-84 85+

Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 37 Table 4

38 Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of Table 5

Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 39 Table 6

Kent resident & workplace based full-time weekly earnings: 2020 £700.00

£600.00 Resident Workplace £500.00

£400.00

40 Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of Table 7

Kent residents claiming unemployment benefit (%): November 2020

20

16

12 All 8 18-24

4

0

Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 41 Table 8

Gravesham residents claiming unemployment benefit (%): November 2020 20

16

12

8

4

0

42 Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of Table 9

Kent business survival rates (%): 2019 100

80

1 Year (%) 60 3 Years (%)

40 5 Years (%)

20

Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 43 Table 10

Kent pupils on school roll as a % of capacity: 2020 110

100

90 Primary

80 Secondary

70

60

44 Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of Table 11

Kent pupils with English not as first language (%): 2020 30%

25%

20%

15% Primary Secondary 10%

5%

0%

Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 45 Table 12

Kent schools rated as good or outstanding by Oftsed (%): 2020 100

80

Primary 60 Secondary

40

46 Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of Table 13

Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 47 Table 14

48 Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of Gravesham Borough Council: Community Profile Delivering a Gravesham to be proud of 02