Needs Analysis 2022 FLIP - Manual / Resource - Page 10
8
Medway
Dartford
Gravesham
Thanet
Swale
Sevenoaks
Tonbridge
& Malling
Canterbury
Maidstone
DOVER
Dover is the closest English port to the European
mainland. The district has undergone many
transformations with a high-speed rail link to London,
new retail in Dover with St James’ area opening in 2018,
and a revamped promenade and beachfront. It has also
been a point of destination for many illegal migrant
crossings during the English channel migrant crisis.
The Port of Dover and tourism provides much of the
town’s employment. There were over 368,000 tourists
visiting Dover castle in the year of 2019 plus the
thousands that visit the White Cliffs of Dover.
Tunbridge
Wells
Dover
Ashford
Folkestone
& Hythe
Five (out of the 67) Lower-layer Super Output Areas
(LSOAs) in the district are in the top 10% most
deprived areas in England.
Dover is the closest English port to the European Mainland
DEMOGRAPHICS
PRIORITY AREAS OF NEED
Resident population of 118,500.
1. Provide a safe and welcoming place for
unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC)
Dover is uniquely placed at only 21 miles from the coast
of France as a prime landing spot for the many dinghies
and small boats that cross the Channel, trafficking
asylum seekers. June 2021 saw nearly 2,200 people
picked up after crossing the English Channel, an all-time
high.37 Equally the Port of Dover picks up lorries
harbouring asylum seekers some of whom have been
in dangerously enclosed spaces with little ventilation
for a considerable time. In June 2021, Kent County
Council had reached an unsafe capacity to support
UASC, so the UK Government had to find other local
authorities through the National Transfer Scheme to
accept the young migrants. The government’s
recommended maximum number of under 18-year-old
UASC that Kent should care for is 231. Kent’s number of
under-18 UASC in care has risen from 274 to more than
400 since the beginning of 2021 and the numbers are
rapidly increasing.38
270,000
260,000
278,556
280,000
250,000
240,000
230,000
220,000
210,000
200,000
190,000
NEEDS ANALYSIS
113,300
114,100
118,500
Ton
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Ma
id
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ay
100,000
106,900
110,000
118,900
120,000
121,400
130,000
131,000
140,000
132,600
150,000
141,500
160,000
166,800
173,100
170,000
0
151,000
180,000
Those coming into the country come from many
countries with different languages, different reasons for
fleeing their home countries, many with traumatic
Dover has the highest rate of Infan
died between 2017- 2019
