Behind the grandiose facades and sweeping seafront squares of Hove live some of the most deprived citizens of this country.

Yesterday, The Argus revealed how despite £47 million investment into east Brighton’s estates, the gap between these areas and the rest of the city has widened. Today, Local Government Correspondent Lawrence Marzouk looks at pockets of extreme poverty across Brighton and Hove and at how the targeting of certain communities with cash has left the city divided.

The stately Brunswick Town is home to some of the finest Regency architecture in the country, crowned by two sparkling seafront jewels – Brunswick Square and Adelaide Crescent.

But the magnificent fronts mask levels of poverty, unemployment and overcrowding unfathomable to those strolling through the manicured lawns.

The most in-depth neighbourhood statistics ever compiled by the Government reveal the southern sections of these squares are among the bottom 10% of areas in England for deprivation.

Once the holiday homes of British high society, the buildings are today divided into dozens of flats, ranging from the sea-view penthouse to dingy bedsits.

Ward councillor Paul Elgood said: “I get a huge number of people coming to me for help.

“The whole of life is in the Brunswick area.

“This is a thriving area but there is hidden poverty and people face huge difficulties.

The outside of the buildings have to be perfectly maintained but that is just a veneer to what is behind it.

“Behind the fronts there is a huge mix of families and social issues as you would expect in a city centre area. Some of the accommodation is really quite poor. We also have a sizeable Polish and Middle Eastern population and it is a transient population.”

According to a major report into inequality in the city, the areas of East Brighton around central Whitehawk, Whitehawk Way, Cooksbridge Road and Nuthurst Place are among the most deprived 10% of all areas across England on each of the five key domains – income, employment, health, education and crime.

A further eight areas in the city are among the most deprived 10% on four measures: four in east Brighton, two in Hollingbury and Stanmer and one each in St Peter’s and the North Laine.

Looking at the most detailed level, tiny pockets of poverty are also uncovered in areas around Portslade and at the bottom of Preston Drove where it joins London Road.

Swathes of central Brighton and seafront Hove also fall in the overall bottom 10% and 20% nationally – and most of the city centre is within the 40% most deprived bracket.

Despite the widespread nature of poverty in the city, since 2001 east Brighton has been the main beneficiary of Government cash – £47 million to be exact.

While the Brunswick and Adelaide ward has received funds as a Neighbourhood Renewal Area, Coun Elgood said this has been negligible in comparison to sums to other parts of the city.

He said: “I cannot describe the difference the kind of investment received by east Brighton would have made to this area.”

Councillor Dee Simson, cabinet member for community affairs and inclusion, was a member of the Conservative opposition when eb4u was first launched and believes the money should have been handed out across Brighton and Hove’s pockets of poverty, with more city-wide projects.

She added that targeting the cash at specific areas has led to tensions across communities. She said: “The rest of the city did not receive the money and it was very unfair.

“There are pockets of deprivation right across the city – some that probably haven’t been considered. These are the areas we need to get to.” The council would in the future be directing money towards “people not places”.

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