The rich and the poor often rub shoulders in cities across the world but one of the starkest examples of the wealth gap exists in what passes on this grey rainy day as a typical British seaside resort.
As an increasing number of people are forced to use foodbanks in Poole, this week the coastal town’s outcrop of Sandbanks became the most expensive place to live on the planet.
A four-bedroom bungalow on the exclusive outcrop in Dorset has just sold for £13.5million – making the peninsular even pricier than Monaco, New York and Hong Kong.
But as the cost of living crisis rages the latest figures also show Poole is among the areas in the South East accounting for half of the rise in rough sleeping across England.
Some of those homeless shelter from the cold on the day we visit in disused doorways of the businesses forced to shut their doors.
The town is a mix of discount stores and charity shops interspersed with boutiques and trendy coffee bars.
Alan Purchase, deputy food bank manager at Jimmy’s Place, reveals the stark reality for some struggling residents.
“Last year we were 80% up on requests for food compared to the previous year, which was during the pandemic. And it hasn’t slowed down this year,” he reveals.
Alan explains his volunteers are assisting people on benefits as well as more and more people who are working part-time or full-time jobs.
“A lady came in who works for the NHS as a nurse,” Alan explains. “She was doing some extra training meaning she had to travel to Bournemouth. She couldn’t afford to get the bus and is a single mum to two children so couldn’t do overtime.
“We’re also helping a young family with a baby who have moved to emergency accommodation and have nothing. They can’t work as one has medical needs and the other is their carer.
“Most people are very independent and only come to us as a last resort.”
Meanwhile, over in Sandbanks, the small peninsular crossing the banks of the harbour has always been an exclusive place to live, home as it is to famous residents such as Harry Redknapp and his retired footballer son Jamie Redknapp.
But I’m a Celebrity winner Harry is proof that despite the extreme differences in wealth, people are working together to make Poole a better place to live for everyone.
Food bank volunteers Pat, Sue and Alison tell me Harry was here last week, finding out about the problems Poole faces and asking how he can help.
And Alan is grateful for all the help he receives from locals like Harry and also the businesses who chip in to help the less fortunate.
In the town centre, Karen Wilmshurst is running an event helping people with the cost of living. She has lived in Poole for 30 years and says she is not surprised Sandbanks is now the most expensive place to live in the world.
“It does make me feel uncomfortable that there’s such a gap and we do have significant areas of deprivation in Poole and across Dorset,” she says.
“The cost of living issue and the energy prices are making life even more difficult for locals. When you think about that and people who live in £13.5m houses it can be hard to swallow.”
A little further down the high street, Kim Marchant, 57, works at the ironmongers Boone and Co. She says: “I’ve lived in Hamworthy all my life. I was born where my parents still live.
“My in-laws live half a mile from Sandbanks. It’s lovely down there but it’s silly money.
“They live in Lilliput on the side of the road that hasn’t got any sea water. They’ve got no harbour views – just glimpses – so their house is half the price of across the road.”
At the same time, Kim says she sees evidence of how the homelessness problem is getting worse on a daily basis in the town.
“There is a big divide,” she says. “They are sleeping in doorways all along here and it’s getting worse. We see drug use, people sleeping rough and they use our windowsill as a toilet. I go out every lunchtime to take the dog for a walk and they’re dealing in the alleyway directly behind us. It’s really sad to see. It’s like the other half don’t know how hard one half lives.”
Market trader Rachel Taylor, who has been working in Poole for 10 years and lives nearby in Bournemouth, says a big part of the problem is many of these million-pound properties are not even lived in, but are bought as second homes.
“It doesn’t surprise me as house prices have been going through the roof anyway let alone the ones in Sandbanks,” she says. “Sandbanks has always been very exclusive and expensive but even the house prices on the other side of Bournemouth are way inflated – kind of like London prices but the wages are not London wages.
“In Southbourne there are a lot of second home owners which is just adding to the problem. It’s not just here – it’s an outrage all over the country that there are very affluent people and others having a terrible time.”
Although we are unable to view Sandbanks’ most expensive property, we know the property is set within 1.5 acres of land and features a swimming pool and sensational sea views. Extended in the 1950s the chalet bungalow, called North Haven Point, has floor space of 2,909sq ft - meaning the new owners paid the equivalent of £4,640 per square foot.
And while we cannot get a glimpse of the house, we drive past mansion after mansion boasting sprawling driveways, expensive cars and palm trees blowing in the wind.
Robert Dunford, of estate agents Tailor Made, which handled the sale on Panorama Road, said waterfront property prices in Britain have risen sharply following Covid.
“Sandbanks is popular for many reasons – award-winning golden sandy beaches, the Jurassic coastline of the Isle Of Purbeck on your doorstep and easy access to London,” he says. “People have realised they can work from home and don’t need to be tied to an office.”
It’s a stark contrast to life for many a few minutes down the road.
Ash Islam, 49, who has lived in Poole for 40 years, says: “It’s extortionate – there’s not many people that can afford it round here. Most of us are living on a budget – struggling to pay bills.
“A lot of the people who own the houses in Sandbanks don’t even live there but rent them out to people from abroad and visit two or three times a year.”
However, not everyone has to live in a mansion to enjoy some of the benefits at least.
Jack Green, 47, who lives in a seventh floor apartment in Poole town centre might not be lucky enough to live in Sandbanks, but he does wake up every morning and watch the sun rise above those very mansions from his window.
Although he has an amazing view, would he like to live in Sandbanks one day? It’s such a beautiful place, he says. “I think I’ll buy a property there when I win the EuroMillions.”
