Once-thriving UK seaside town ruined by abandoned shops and feral yobs urinating in public.uk

Behind the picturesque seaside and Victorian charm, Ilfracombe has faced years of well-documented decline. As well as having the lowest healthy life expectancy of any rural town in the UK, the North Devon resort is also gripped by high levels of poverty and deprivation, and by a weakening of its traditional tourist economy.

According to a report from Public Health Devon, healthy life expectancy in Ilfracombe is just 59, while almost four in 10 children in the town live in poverty, and around 30% of residents face hardship. Despite its sweeping seafront and dramatic cliffs, the town is plagued by pockets of deprivation, ranking among the top 20% worst hit in England. Like other seaside towns across the UK, Ilfracombe is also the victim of seasonal popularity, leaving many people out of employment during large parts of the year.

“I think a lot of families here are very hard up,” 71-year-old Theresa Powell tells the Daily Express. “I can say I’m one of them really. I’m a pensioner, and I live hand to mouth, and I’m sure it’s the same for a lot of families with children.”

Ms Powell has lived in Ilfracombe for 12 years and noticed the town changing for the worse over this time. As well as notable problems with poverty and deprivation, she also notes a surge in closed shops and drug crime in the town centre.

Speaking where the High Street meets Fore Street, the resident adds: “You’ll see plenty of boarded-up shops around here. Every year you’ll see shops that suddenly open for the summer season and then disappear again. They’ll shut down for good as trade isn’t sustainable.

“We have a problem here with people that come in and they bring crime with them. They then leave again having caused damage to the town,” she continues. “I know there’s a drug problem here in Ilfracombe which impacts employment and health rates.”

Despite the challenges facing the town, Ms Powell believes Ilfracombe “should be one of the best places in Devon”. She says: “It’s a shame as Ilfracombe is a lovely town with a great beach. There are people who live here that are wealthy but unfortunately they don’t all come down to the high street to spend their money which is a shame. They usually go elsewhere and that’s why the shops struggle here.”

Devon County Council said Ilfracombe Mini Market was granted a three-month closure order on April 7 after continuing to sell illegal tobacco despite an earlier warning. One raid, which involved police dogs, saw illegal tobacco with a value of around £2,000 seized from the shop.

Meanwhile, Ilfracombe Town Council acknowledged in last year’s annual meeting that “high street trading continues to be extremely challenging”. They cited “pressures from online shopping and rising costs such as rent and staffing” for the closure of businesses throughout the high street.

Susan Cunningham, who works in the Promenade Gift Shop, believes local trade is being hindered by the behaviour of local youths who have been causing trouble due to the lack of opportunities in the town. The 64-year-old moved to Ilfracombe as a teenager and has noticed the once-thriving town go downhill in recent times.

“There’s a big drug issue here. We see the young lads walking around and they’ve had a really bad effect on Ilfracombe,” she says while standing in the shop. “They go on the beach, get drunk and urinate everywhere on the paths. It is a beautiful part of the world but it’s struggling.

“It’s changed and a lot of people are wary of the crime. Some people visit once and then don’t come back again. People ask: ‘What’s happened to the town?’ It’s different to what it used to be – especially the high street. We never used to have all those empty shops. Even the gardens they’re not touching any more.

“If you head down to the car park, you’ll find groups of men just drinking and doing drugs. And it’s not fair on the people that live here.”

However, Ms Cunningham believes the issue can be helped by more job opportunities for the young people. She says there “bored” which leads to increased crime and anti-social behaviour.

“There’s a lot of young lads around here that are bored. There’s nothing here for them so that’s why they cause problems,” she explains. “Most of the kids want to work but there aren’t the opportunities. So you see them walking around the town and it’s upsetting”

Sitting on a bench on the promenade, under the looming Capstone Hill, is 66-year-old local Steve Prigg. He moved to Ilfracombe from Newmarket around seven years ago and believes the struggles facing Ilfracombe are similar to those impacting the rest of the country.

“Shops are closing down everywhere, it’s not just Ilfracombe,” he says. “It’s the same as the rest of the country. Towns are struggling, and they’re not getting the help.”

When asked if the town lacks job opportunities, Mr Prigg points towards how quiet Ilfracombe becomes in the winter months. The town relies on summer trade, with residents being forced elsewhere for work.

“I used to come here on holiday before I moved down here permanently,” he explains. “There’s a lot of seasonal work here, but it does get quiet in the winter. A lot of people have to go to Barnstaple for their work.”

He adds: “I don’t see lots of crime, but I do read about it on Facebook and hear about it from other people, which isn’t nice.” He then points to the line of shops on the promenade and adds: “We get teenage vandalism here.

“One of the windows down there got smashed recently and one of the benches was graffitied. It doesn’t help the look of the town.”

Although Ilfracombe High Street is lined with boarded up shops and closed units, The Cabin Cafe is continuing to operate with success. Its owner, Luisa Turner, questions claims that the town is among the most deprived in the UK and believes that businesses can be successful in Ilfracombe.

“For me, it’s how you define poverty,” the 65-year-old says. “The World Health Organisation definition of child poverty is internet and mobile phone access rather than them being physically starving. So I think the data is unrepresentative of the town.”

Child poverty, as addressed by the WHO, is defined as children living without essential material and social resources needed for survival and development. It also includes lack of nutrition, education, water, sanitation, and health care.

“I’ve only been here a year, but everyone has made me feel so welcome,” Ms Turner adds. “I was in Ludlow, in Shropshire, before and have been welcomed more here in a year than I was in 15 years there.

“I have another friend who moved to Ilfracombe from Manchester two years ago and it’s given him a new lease of life. We’re surrounded by beauty here. I only have to go five minutes and I’m at the most beautiful sea.

“We’re close to Woolacombe and Saunton Sands which are both beautiful. The beaches are white and you could be in Mauritius. I go to the beach at 4pm and there can be nobody else there sometimes apart from me and the dog. It’s just amazing.”

Since opening her cafe in Ilfracombe, Ms Turner says that “at least six new shops have opened in the towns”. Although she accepts that the town is struggling, it is not alone.

“Yes, the town is struggling, but you drive to any high street in the UK, with a few exceptions, and there’s struggles,” she adds. “If the council could give a big push to tell people how cheap the rents are, that’s what drew me in, then I think more shops could open.

“I think we must have the cheapest rents in the country, it’s ridiculous. If people were aware of this, then I think we would get some more independent retailers in the town.”

According to Zoopla, commercial rents in Ilfracombe town centre, particularly on the High Street and Fore Street, range from £600 to over £1,000 a month. This is lower than the average rent price in other towns of a similar size in the UK.

In order for businesses to be successful in Ilfracombe, Ms Turner believes they must offer something unique and be willing to open throughout the week. She reveals how she was questioned for opening an Australian chalet-themed cafe in a seaside town, but has managed to be successful.

“I think people have had enough of traditional places so we’ve worked,” she says. “People don’t realise that to run a successful business you have to be every single day. For some reason, everything shuts here on Sundays and Mondays. I’m the only cafe, bar one, that’s open on a Sunday.

“But people come here for the weekend and bank holidays? I realise people have staffing issues but you have to make it work.”

She also relies on a core of elderly customers who help her cafe stay alive during the quieter winter months. Ms Turner believes that if other potential businesses are willing to adapt, they can be successful in Ilfracombe.