Jaywick - People and Housing

People and Housing

The village of Jaywick was planned by Frank Stedman as a cheap holiday retreat for Londoners in the 1930s. Many of the original houses became permanent residences, and the population now includes large numbers of retired and working people. A 2009 report found that four out of Eastern England's ten cheapest streets in which to buy property are in Jaywick, with property on Tamarisk Way selling for an average of £44,050. In March 2011 East Jaywick was named as the most deprived area in England according to the Indices of deprivation 2010, based on multiple factors including poverty, crime, education and skill levels, unemployment and housing, as assessed in 2008. In 2012 it was labelled the UK's youth unemployment hotspot.

Parts of the Brooklands area face demolition, particularly the dilapidated properties, which under new legislation will see the areas opened up to return to green open spaces. As the areas of CO15 and its environs fall under planning policies on CL15/CL15a, and due to directives such as Article 4 considering the area to be a flood risk, no new properties are allowed to be built, even on sites where buildings have been demolished, or through the extension or alteration of existing properties. The local controlling council, Tendring District Council, are working with the residents of Brooklands on improving the area.

Most of Jaywick's shops are on the Broadway, the main shopping street. One of the main attractions of the coastline is a 200-year-old Martello Tower, which is now an arts and heritage centre. The "46 Brooklands Gardens" artwork by Nathan Coley was erected onsite in a deprived area as a 3-month show piece, central to Brooklands.

Many residents choose to avoid referring to the area as Jaywick due to the town's reputation, opting instead to refer to the town as "West Clacton".

Jaywick is part of the parliamentary constituency of Clacton, represented by Douglas Carswell of the Conservative Party. In 2011, a worldwide meeting of coastal nations took place in Clacton's town hall to discuss the more successful promotion of Clacton to tourists.