A FORGOTTEN estate strewn with rubbish, druggies and rundown buildings has been labelled a ghetto by locals, but sits just yards from a swanky new neighbourhood – and down the road from millionaires’ mansions.
Despite being only a short drive from some of the UK’s richest postcodes, where many Premier League footballers dwell, Sheerwater in Woking, Surrey, highlights the county’s glaring division of wealth.
An enormous eyesore block of derelict flats that dominates the scenery has become a “literal dump”, according to some residents.
And the areas is now allegedly home to squatters and rats, and a popular hangout for drug users.
While other properties earmarked for demolition have been left to rot – and are highlighted further by nearby newbuilds which border the grottier sections.
The Government’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has recently released data for the ‘indices of deprivation’ in England in 2025 – showing Sheerwater is estimated to be 72 percent more deprived than most neighbourhoods in the country.
Taking into account a number of factors, including but not limited to, average income, employment, education and skills, housing and services alongside multiple others which all come together to create an overall Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) for each area.
Sheerwater is not the worst spot in the UK as per the data, but it ironically neighbours some of the least deprived communities.
This includes upmarket celeb hot spot Oxshott and just five miles away is Cobham – home to Chelsea FC’s training ground and plenty of stars and nicknamed the “Beverley Hills of Britain”.
Peter Crouch, Jorginho and Raheem Sterling are just some of the current and ex players calling the nearby Surrey areas home, along with former Hollywood veterans Stanley Tucci and Antonio Banderas.
Also just a stone’s throw away, and within the borough of Woking itself, is the £300million McLaren Technology Centre – home to the Formula 1 team.
‘There is a huge class divide’
Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ “quids-for-kids budget” – which will remove the two-child limit for Universal Credit and Child Benefit from April 2026 – offers some hope for the single mums stuck there.
But residents have pointed the finger at Woking Borough Council (WBC) for its part in the area’s demise.
The local authority effectively declared itself bankrupt in 2023 and abandoned plans for a major regeneration of Sheerwater.
Single mum-of-two, Carly Saggers, 21, lives with her own mum, and two younger sisters, one of whom is also a stay-at-home mother.
She told The Sun during our visit this week: “I think the posh people and rich people in Surrey don’t have a right to complain about being taxed more.
“There is a huge class divide and these run down areas are just getting neglected even more.
“People in their mansions should try raising a family opposite to that,” she added, gesturing towards the eyesore empty flats.
“I hope the Budget means that I will have more money to move out and get a place of my own.”
However, Carly’s mum, Hailey Crooke, said that her daughters have been bidding for council properties, but to no avail.
She blamed WBC for failing a regeneration project for more than 1,100 new homes to be built once they had demolished the derelict flats.
Hailey said: “Both my daughters are bidding for a council property and none are coming up.
“Carly has two daughters. That derelict building, loads of flats there, it is huge, and there are loads of others nearby just sitting empty and my daughters need housing.
“I think the Budget could have saved itself some cash by giving people more benefits and helped bail the councils out of messes like this.”
‘Drug dealers and dumped rubbish’
Mr Khurmy, 58, who works as a property developer, lives in a new build neighbouring the ugly flats.
He said his neighbours in their plush modern homes joke that they live next door to a ghetto.
“There is a drug issue here too, police sniffing around, drug dealing loitering, clearly there are issues,” he claimed.
“This modern development was built to try and improve the area – and out of the homes here only two have been bought because nobody wanted to buy because of Beirut, which is what we call the derelict flats.
“People come here to dump their rubbish. I don’t see it improving, but here, just next door, is an oasis.”
Brian Flynn, 79, says he lived elsewhere in Woking before moving to Sheerwater.
Bluntly, he called the area, which is his new home, a “s***hole”, and is scathing at both the council and government for letting it get this bad.
“It was great here when I was a teenager, really fun. It’s a s***hole now. Council have neglected it. Such a shame,” Brian said.
“I don’t think Reeves has her priorities right at all, why is she giving more money to lazy people who quite easily could get off their a*** and go to work?
“Instead, if she put that money towards the council, which is a mess, they could get these flats sorted, people could move in, people would spend money locally and things would get better surely.
“Do you think the Chelsea footballers taking home obscene amounts of have a clue that this slum of an area is just a couple of miles away from where they live?
“I see rats running around here, people dumping their c*** here, it’s become a literal dump and it’s just shocking really.
“But remember, I am not living here out of choice. My neighbours are lovely though.”
The original scheme to transform the flats, costing £450million and beginning in 2017, was supposed to mean hundreds of new homes, shops and a medical centre would be built, reports the BBC.
But there is no sign of that work beginning anytime soon – and locals also say that the council paid the residents £8,000 each to move.
Many did vacate, leaving now empty buildings – but many refused.
Michaela Hodge, has lived in Sheerwater her entire life. She lives opposite the flats and did not take up the offer to move when the council tried to buy her out a few years ago.
“All I want is a nice view out of my house, but I suppose I’ve got used to it now, annoyingly,” she said.
“The shops just up the road have been forced to close and the community, that was really strong here, is gone – which is a shame.
“I am sure in the posh areas of Surrey there might not be a community, people keep themselves to themselves now more and more.
“Hopefully it will change soon but can’t see that happening.”
Steve Wilson just wishes that somebody would clean up at the very minimum.
“Sheerwater, whilst never being poshest, used to be a very desirable place to live,” he said.
“I moved in about 22 years ago and there was a really good community, but that has just been eroded now.
“Now there is a rat problem because people come and dump their rubbish here, nothing is being done about the mess.
“And shockingly you walk within 50 yards, you see the new builds and it’s like two different villages almost.
“We have complained to the council until we are blue in the face.”
Sandra Roberts, 63, has lived in Sheerwater her whole life.
And despite earlier this year, Property Finders Garrington naming Epsom as one of the best places to live in England, she dismissed the idea that Surrey was a posh county.
“People have a misconception in thinking Surrey is a rich area,” she said.
“Of course there is wealth around, but you wouldn’t have thought it was nearby if you came to this part of the area.
“Go down the road to Surrey Hills or Cobham everything is rosy, but, of course, the area is going to struggle with such bad interference by the council.
“Now they can’t afford to do anything. The empty houses are now falling apart and the community is differing as a consequence. Squatters have moved in.
“It is an awful situation, central government seem to have given more money to low income people rather than councils who need the money which would make the area better.”
Cllr Ann-Marie Barker, Leader of Woking Borough Council, said she “couldn’t apologise enough” for the delays to the area’s regeneration.
She told The Sun: “The Sheerwater Regeneration Project was started by the previous council administration and contributed significantly to the council’s enormous £2.5bn debt pile and subsequent Section 114 Notice.
“In 2023, my administration put the brakes on the project and worked with residents to develop a new plan for Sheerwater that would deliver what residents wanted in a more affordable way.
“It has taken far longer than anyone imagined to unravel the legal and planning constraints surrounding the original scheme and residents have had to live in the most challenging conditions during that time.
“I completely understand their frustrations and can’t apologise enough for the time it’s taking to give them back an estate they’re proud to call home.”
A statement added: “We agreed to sell the old flats to a private developer back in November 2024 and after many months of negotiation, we expect to exchange contracts shortly.
“On completion, the developer will submit a planning application for 300 to 350 homes, and now that the flats and commercial units are vacant, we are looking at options to further secure the empty buildings, such as installing hoarding, which will significantly improve the appearance and safety of the estate.
“To date the project has delivered a total of 491 new homes, all of which are occupied. Of these, 47% are affordable, which have been let to households on the council’s housing register, including homeless families previously living in temporary accommodation.
“Around 30 properties on the estate, some of which have stood empty for six or more years, have been fully refurbished and turned into social housing, with more underway, and the Eastwood Leisure Centre, with its two pools and 3G football pitch (delivered in the first phase of the regeneration scheme in 2021), continues to be as popular as when it first opened.
“This fantastic community space is shared with the neighbouring high school giving pupils access to vastly improved sports facilities as well as a new canteen and dining area.
“Six of the ten new retail units are occupied or under offer, and the council is in the process of selling or transferring assets in the area to local community groups or charitable organisations enabling them to continue supporting Sheerwater residents.
“The regeneration project continues, and although progress has been slower than anyone would like, we are committed to working with private investors to create the vibrant, sustainable community that residents deserve.”
Do you know more? Email bruno.brown@thesun.co.uk
Jobless mums hail Reeves’ ‘Benefits Street Budget’ as ‘dream come true’
JOBLESS parents hailed Rachel Reeves’ quids-for-kids Budget as “a dream come true” yesterday and vowed to cash in by sparking a baby boom.
They spoke of their joy after the Chancellor scrapped the two-child benefits cap and raised taxes to their highest level in history to pay for it.
More than half a million families will get an extra £5,310 a year, with workers expected to foot the colossal £3billion bill.
Critics labelled it a Budget for Benefits Street, as fury mounted over Ms Reeves’ decision to put skivers ahead of strivers.
Last month, the Chancellor and PM Sir Keir Starmer visited a community centre in Rugby, Warks, to tell working families how the “fair” Budget will deliver change.
But Tories said Ms Reeves’ fiscal measures would attract at least 25,000 more on to state hand-outs.
For those out-of-work, there was relief and jubilation and a promise to reap the rewards by having more children and staying at home.
Pregnant mum-of-two Juliette Howard, 25, will see her benefits soar from £28,628 to £32,480 a year.
That includes Universal Credit, additional vouchers, discounts and other elements offered by the government, local councils, the NHS and schools.
She would need to find a job paying £40,320 before tax to earn the equivalent sum.
The former cleaner, of Melton Mowbray, Leics, said she now wants five children and is keen to remain a stay-at-home mum.
She said: “I don’t need the stress of running back to work when my children need me at home.
“I get to be an amazing mum and not have to worry about how to pay for the extra cost of my third child. I would’ve been living in poverty without Universal Credit.
“I shouldn’t have to go without to ensure the children have everything they need. I want five children. Now I can do that and not be stressed about being forced back to work. It’s a proper dream come true.”
The benefit cap currently means she gets £333 a month for her first child and £287 for her second — but nothing for any subsequent kids.
When the cap is lifted next year, she will get another £3,513 a year for her third baby and each one after.
