Gosport has one of the lowest levels of job density in the UK, with only 0.5 jobs available per working-age resident, similar to Clackmannanshire in Scotland, and against an average of 0.86 for the South East.

In 2023 there were 1,800 businesses – less than half that of neighbouring Fareham, which has a population of 110,000.

Heather Brown, professor of health inequalities at Lancaster University, says that coastal towns like Gosport tend to be more economically deprived than their inland neighbours, with poor transport links a key reason. There used to be a railway station in the town, but it was bombed in 1941 and eventually closed in 1953.

She says: “Many of these railways that were built for Victorian tourists have been closed, and also with decreasing bus routes, it then makes it harder for people to commute to city hubs.

“This then leads to a decrease in house prices. Then people can’t afford to live in cities, which creates a vicious cycle where these people who don’t have jobs are stuck in areas where there are no jobs.”

‘Brain-drain’

Like many towns in Britain, Gosport has an ageing population. Between 2011 and 2021, the number of over-65s in Gosport rose by a quarter. However, the working age population fell by 5.5pc, compared to a 3.6pc increase across England.

Joe Weston-McDowell works for Motiv8, a charity supporting young people across Portsmouth, Havant, Fareham and Gosport.

He says: “People often think of Gosport as a small town, but actually it has a lot of issues a big city might have. You have the top half of the peninsula which is quite rural – it’s got a big country park, the lovely Lee-on-Solent, a really beautiful place.

“Then you come to the town side, and it’s very dense. It has many of the challenges you’d expect to see in a much larger city in terms of provision, urban density and material deprivation. Space is limited. Access to good quality public transport is limited.”