With £6 billion pounds of private investment flooding into the Thames estuary since 2017, life and the world of work are changing rapidly in the small town of Tilbury in Essex.
In episode 1 of Heartlands, we follow Sophie who recently turned 18. Sophie descends from Romani travellers who settled in Tilbury three generations ago. Growing up she remembers riding horses in nearby fields with her dad. Those same fields are now home to Europe’s largest Amazon fulfilment centre and an electric car manufacturing plant called Tevva. Businesses and multinational corporations have flocked to Tilbury in recent years drawn by the expansion of the Thames Freeport.
Despite huge investment, Tilbury remains one of the most deprived communities in England. The local expectancy is 9.4 years less for men and 6.5 years less for women than the national average. In some areas, more than half of young people grow up in poverty (56%) – more than double the national average.
Join Sophie as she tries to understand why and how this disparity arose in her hometown and what’s being done to halt the decline in living standards. With thanks to Frank Thompson, Kevin Sadler, Harry Blackman, Peter Ward, MP Jackie Doyle Price, Paul Swinney, The Tilbury Community Centre and Tilbury’s Irish Association.
Presenter: Sophie Ryan
Producers: Hunter Charlton & Ben Tulloh
Assistant production: Anna Bud and Guy Gardiner
Exec Producer: Arlie Adlington
Artwork: Edd Wellesley-Davies
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