Seven H&F Neighbourhoods Lifted Out of 'Serious Deprivation'

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But Clem Atlee Estate remains poorest while south Fulham areas are richest

Hammersmith and Fulham Council has said a number of its neighbourhoods have been lifted out of 'serious deprivation' thanks to improvements in the area's economy.

A recent government study placed Fulham’s Clem Attlee estate among the top 10 per cent of the most-deprived places in England. And singled the estate out as the most deprived area in the borough.

But this was a marked improvement on a 2015 version of the study, when eight Hammersmith and Fulham neighbourhoods were put in the most severe category, compared to just one this year.

Councillor Andrew Jones, cabinet member for the economy, said the improvements were part of the council’s mission to make the borough the best place in Europe.

“We want all residents to share in the prosperity of a booming borough as we make Hammersmith and Fulham the best place to live, work and play in Europe,” he said.

“But I don’t think booming business is enough on its own. Instead, we must translate this prosperity into new opportunities for local people. And it looks as if it’s starting to work.”

However there are still 19 neighbourhoods, beside the Clem Attlee estate, which sit in the top 20 per cent of most-deprived areas of the country ― the second worst category.

Among them were:

Homes in the area of Kensal Green Cemetery and Harrow Road
Streets to the west of Scrubs Lane
East Acton
Wormholt Estate
White City Estate
The Hammersmith Estate
Beryl Road and Biscay Road, Hammersmith
Streets north and south of Goldhawk Road
Richmond Way, south of Shepherd’s Bush Green
The West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates
Area north of Glenthorne Road
Queensdale Crescent, Notting Hill

The Ministry of Housing and Communities’ “Index of Deprivation” study breaks up the country’s 314 council areas into 32,844 neighbourhoods. 

It rates their levels of “relative deprivation” using seven factors: income levels, employment, education, environment, barriers to housing and health.

Like many inner-London boroughs, areas of rich and poor rub shoulders. Four areas of Hammersmith and Fulham were listed in the study as being among the 10 per cent of the least deprived areas in England.

Concentrated in the south, they included:

Parsons Green
Streets around Hurlingham Park
Streets west of Ravenscourt Park
Streets to the west of Palace Road and around Craven Cottage

The study explains that every neighbourhood in England was included, and ranked according to their levels of deprivation relative to the rest of the country. This means a neighbourhood ranked 100th is more deprived than a neighbourhood ranked 200th, but it does not mean it is twice as deprived.

By Local Democracy Reporter Owen Sheppard

October 18, 2019