With six of the UK’s ten most prosperous council areas found in Surrey, it may be easy to assume that every part of the county is sitting pretty.
Unfortunately, this is not the case.
The UK Prosperity Index has rated the South East number one for overall prosperity, living conditions and health. But while this paints a rosy picture of the region, it is unrecognisable to some who are having to decide between buying food or paying their gas bill.
One reminder that parts of the county are struggling is Woking Foodbank, which is currently supporting around 50 families.
Last year about 6,000 adults and children turned to them for an emergency food supply.
Lorraine Buchanan, chief officer at Citizens Advice Woking, which issues vouchers for the foodbank, said: “It has been a lifeline, it’s amazing.
“The pandemic has impacted on individuals who were never at risk before.
“Some of these people may have been kind of sniffy about people on benefits, but now they’re on them themselves they realise just how hard it is.
"You cannot live on benefits, you just exist.
“It’s caused through no fault of their own whatsoever. You’ve got people furloughed, who instantly lost 20% of their income.
“You’ve also got people making claims for Universal Credit for the first time, and there is a five week wait for the first payment.
“In that intervening period, you’re having to juggle which bill to pay.”
Despite Woking as a whole ranking fifth overall out of 379 local authorities in the Centre for UK Prosperity report, two areas in the borough are among the 20 per cent most income deprived areas of the country.
Out of 32,844 neighbourhoods on the 2019 index of income deprivation, one section of the Goldsworth Park ward ranked 5,142 while part of Canalside was 5,472, with one being the most deprived.
The data, published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, are based on people out-of-work and those in work who have low earnings.
Sheerwater in Canalside, currently undergoing a regeneration project, was made up of 80 per cent council housing, according to ward councillor Tahir Aziz.
He said many people who had been housed there needed rehabilitation. "They should be in sheltered accommodation with the proper support, not single occupancies, for their own well-being and for the neighbourhood as well," he said.
The Bellfields estate in Stoke, Guildford, had a similar income deprivation ranking of 5,512 - and these are not the most deprived places in Surrey.
According to the index, that neighbourhood is found within Merstham, which ranked 4,992. This is a marked decline since 2015 when it was 6,428.
Despite this, Guildford also came in the UK Prosperity Index’s top ten while Reigate and Banstead was not far behind at 19th out of hundreds of local authority areas.
Mrs Buchanan said: “I saw that Woking came fifth and I thought, ‘OK, well that’s not what we are seeing’.
“I find it upsetting to read some of our case records. They are in the minority, but it makes it harder living somewhere like Woking because the rent is so much higher, everything is more expensive.
“One person came to us who’d always been in employment; she was in the airline industry and was made redundant.
“Her only option was to claim Universal Credit. As a single person she’s entitled to £74 a week. Your rent in Woking for a one-bed property could be £800.”
Mrs Buchanan said Citizens Advice are really concerned about the amount of debt being built up.
While their queries about employment issues went up 20 per cent following coronavirus, the number of contacts asking about debt was actually lower, but she said this is because the problem has been "put on hold".
“At some point that dam has got to burst,” she said.
“Furlough comes to an end in September and employers will really have hard decisions to make about whether they can sustain their businesses.”
Last year saw Woking Foodbank process 24 per cent more food vouchers than in 2019.
Project coordinator Alison Buckland said: “Since we started in January 2014 we’ve seen our numbers go up year on year as people became aware of it, but it was levelling out - and then Covid hit and people lost their jobs.
“In an affluent area like Surrey you don’t necessarily realise there are people who can’t put food on the table. It is a very basic need.
“It is humbling to see life isn’t quite as simple for people as you thought.”
The charity, supported by The Trussell Trust, has a team of about 70 volunteers who help to pick up donations, pack food parcels and deliver them.
Because of coronavirus it is currently operating via a delivery service from its Knaphill warehouse, but it hopes collections can restart at the end of June.
Donations can be dropped off at the warehouse as well as at major supermarkets.
“The positive aspect of it being an obviously affluent area is that we get a massive amount of support; people are ever so quick to put their hand in their pockets," said Mrs Buckland.
“All our food is donated by the public. But there are areas that are struggling.
“It’s very diverse. Sheerwater and Maybury is where you see the biggest take-up and quite a few in Westfield, after that it’s pretty spread out.”
People are mainly referred by Surrey council’s children’s services and Woking council’s housing team. People who do not have a support worker can also be issued vouchers through Citizens Advice as well as schools and mental health or addiction charities.
“People have to be referred because we want to make sure they’re getting the support as well, not just the food,” said Mrs Buckland.
“We never run out of food but there are certain things we could do with, and we always have too much pasta and beans, especially now. I think everyone stockpiled pasta during Covid.”
At the moment Woking Foodbank has enough sanitary products and washing up liquid but particularly needs toilet rolls, tinned potatoes and mashed potato.
ONS data published on Monday (May 24) shows out of all of Surrey boroughs, Spelthorne has the highest proportion of its population experiencing deprivation at 7.9%, followed by Woking and Reigate and Banstead with 6.7%.
Mole Valley has the lowest at 5.4%, yet even within this district, there is a neighbourhood among the 20 per cent most income deprived neighbourhoods of the country in 2019 - part of Goodwyns in the Holmwoods ward.
- Woking Foodbank’s emergency advice helpline, 07309 115862, is manned 10am-2pm Monday-Friday.
- Lovebanks runs a foodbank supporting people within Merstham, Netherne and Hooley, call 07912 628013. See where to donate food here.
- North Guildford foodbank runs out of St Clare’s Church and can be contacted on 07583 025435. Donate here.
- Dorking Area Foodbank is based at The Christian Centre, call 07494226743 or donate here.
- Citizens Advice can be contacted for free money advice on 0808 278 7945 for Reigate and Banstead; 0800 144 8848 for Woking; 03444 111 444 for Dorking; 0808 278 7888 for Guildford or 0808 250 5706 for Spelthorne.
