Has Deal become Hackney-on-Sea?

That’s what was suggested in a recent article by the Financial Times, reflecting the effect of DFLs (people moving ‘Down from London’).

Hackney was once known for high levels of crime and deprivation - but parts have since been gentrified and today it is described by the Michelin Guide as “London’s Hipster Paradise”.

The FT says “foodies and families” have sparked a similar transformation of the cultural landscape in Deal, with the ship-looting smugglers of its past now replaced by tourists and day-trippers.

Other east Kent towns such as Folkestone, Margate and Whitstable have seen such changes too, accompanied by rising house prices and rents, along with a boom in Airbnbs.

But is an influx of Londoners something that should be welcomed?

Some residents and traders KentOnline spoke to last week argue people relocating from the capital have improved the area.

Coco Walsh, who works at the Yellow Giraffe café in Deal High Street, says Londoners are to thank for keeping the town busy - especially in comparison to its neighbour along the coast.

“Deal has changed because of them, such as with the diversity,” she said,

"Without them, this town would be totally dead. I know the locals don't always like them but they always say how terrible Dover is.

“Without the Londoners, Deal would be as bad as Dover.

“There's nothing in Dover, there's hardly any footfall and Deal would go the same way without the Londoners.

"They have kept up Deal's businesses, especially its public houses and its live music.

“Without all the Londoners and the holidaymakers, that would go because they're the people that spend the money.”

David Beamish is originally from east London and has settled as a Deal resident for four years.

He said: “I welcome the DFLs, especially at the weekends. Their presence reverberates around the town, and it makes it a little bit more upmarket. It livens up the town, as far as I can see.“

Mr Beamish had lived in Dagenham and Romford but now prefers his new home on the coast.

"I enjoy having a cup of coffee in town and going to the beach in the summer and the grandkids come down,” he said.

Among Deal’s attractions are The Blue Pelican Japanese-inspired restaurant and Jenkins and Son Fishmongers which offers street food - perhaps a perfect example of the city’s influence on traditional businesses.

However, not everyone is convinced of the benefits of Londoners coming to town.

Alan Ross, from Tankerton, who worked in Deal cafés and shops for many years and still regularly visits, said: “I’ve noticed over the last five years the London brigade have come down, though not so much in this neck of the wood as in other seaside towns.

“I don't mind them visiting here but not moving here.

“I think they push up house prices and the locals are pushed out. And they think this is London-on-Sea but we are not a London borough.”

Figures from Rightmove say properties in Hackney cost an average of £701,612 over the last year, compared to £339,535 for Deal. This is far higher than the figure for Dover, at £255,032.

So maybe there is a price to pay for attracting Londoners.

One of Deal’s newer arrivals, Ruth Leigh, daughter of London-based chef Rowley Leigh, had told the Financial Times: “Fifteen years ago, there wasn’t a deli with great coffee or a nice cocktail bar. Now it’s a tiny bit Hackney-on-Sea, but with its own identity.”

Local man Andrew, who asked not to give his surname, does not think Deal is similar to the inner London borough.

“But I think this town is definitely split about DFLs,” he told KentOnline.

“Some people like them and others despise them.

“Personally I think they are good for this town because they have raised it up, brought money in and made it more sophisticated and classy.

“You used to have a lot of greasy spoon cafés in the town and you’d be guaranteed a fight in the town centre.”

Mick Morgan, who lives in Essex, and is originally from Dagenham, was visiting Deal last week.

He has worked in Hackney and describes it as a “cosmopolitan, lively, energetic place with lots of going on and diverse communities”.

While there are some “rough estates”, other parts such as Dalston have become gentrified.

Some of Hackney’s wards are still among the most deprived in the capital but poverty and crime have gone down.

It was the second most deprived borough in England as late as 2010 but by 2019 was 22nd.

Hackney was formed in 1965 with the core area merging with the then boroughs of Shoreditch and Stoke Newington.

Its population as of 2022 was 261,491. Of that, 53.1% are white British or European (33.9% British), 21.1% black British, African or Caribbean, 10.3% Asian British, Indian or Pakistani, and 6.7% mixed heritage.

Deal, meanwhile, is a former fishing, mining and garrison town which is now a seaside resort.

The area was part of the Kent Coalfield and its colliery, Betteshanger, closed in August 1989.

Census 2021 figures show Deal town's population at 20,300. Its ethnic make-up is 97.1% white, 1.2% mixed heritage, 1% Asian including Asian British and. 0.3% black British, African or Caribbean.

‘My memories of Hackney - and a defence of Dover’

I was surprised to learn to what extent Hackney had become gentrified, writes reporter Sam Lennon.

Living in the borough next door, Islington, at the turn of the 1970s and 80s, we only knew it as a place of grinding poverty and high crime.

In the mid-1980s, Hackney’s own council frankly labelled it as Britain’s Poorest Borough.

In the early part of the decade, our school librarian was hit by a stone when she cycled in Stoke Newington, which caused blood to pour from her head.

She recovered but I heard she had, understandably, “freaked out”.

When I went to a friend’s party at a cadet hall in that neighbourhood, in January 1982, I lost my way and asked a man for directions.

His cut and bruised face made him look as if he'd just come out of a punch-up. He said: “I don’t think there is a cadet hall around here – if there was I’d have done it over by now.”

Hackney itself gradually became gentrified in the late 1980s with the arrival of the yuppies (young urban professionals).

They often worked in the City of London and their culture, and wealth, were fuelled by The Big Bang in 1986, the deregulation of financial markets.

They took advantage of the cheap housing in nearby East London, leading them to being accused of pushing up the prices and so causing resentment.

Graffiti on walls said: "Mug a yuppie.”

As for Dover, I would argue it’s not “dead” and has lots to offer.

One test is I moved there 37 years ago and nothing has made me leave since.

I would say that in recent years it has had considerable improvements, such as with the opening of the St James’ Retail and Leisure Park in 2018, which looks busy enough with shoppers.

The town centre precinct next to it seems to have adequate footfall to this day despite initial fears that competition from St James’ would destroy its businesses. Both areas exist well side-by-side.

The constantly evolving Dover Western Docks Revival has greatly improved that part of the town with the opening of a new walkway, the Marina Pier in 2019 and Clock Tower Square in 2021.

The square is now home to a number of new food stalls and cafés.

For entertainment, Deal has the Astor Theatre but Dover has a lively rock music venue in The Booking Hall. Music fans can hope to enjoy the hall for years to come, now that it has been saved from closure after being bought by a charity.

Dover has one particular advantage over Deal - its steep hills and cliffs provide magnificent views over the town and across the Channel to France.

They also offer a great opportunity to keep fit by walking.

Capping it all is the rich history of Dover, with the castle as the jewel in the crown and attracting tens of thousands of visitors a year.

Maybe the DFLs from Hackney are drawn to small, attractive towns like Deal but Dover can hold its own, with or without them.