Chatham has been highlighted as a national beacon of deprivation in a TV programme.

The Kent area, which suffered hugely from unemployment when the dockyard closed in the mid eighties, was pinpointed as an area where young people 'languish in the bottom 15 per cent nationally in terms of employment, education and training.".

The programme, Prescott, the North South Divide, went out on BBC 2 at 9pm yesterday.

Chatham was highlighted as an example that not everyone in the south is affluent and living a yuppie lifestyle.

It said "many parts of the district are rundown."

But the programme said the Medway town was not the worst area for negative factors, citing Jaywick in Essex as suffering from greater social exclusion problems.

Medway Council leader, Cllr Rodney Chambers, spoke about Medway’s regeneration programme and his views on the north/south divide.

Mr Prescott interviewed the leader about the closure of the dockyard, how this affected the area, how the council has helped people get back in to work, and the regeneration of Medway.

Do you agree with the programme's slant on deprivation? Or, like Cllr Chambers, do you think the town has plenty going for it? Join the debate by clicking on the Make a Comment tab below.

He also asked questions about a north/south divide, and what he thought about people’s northern and southern accents.

Cllr Chambers said: “Being interviewed on the programme gave us an opportunity to present Medway and all its achievements on a national stage.

“We were able to show how this area has come through the closure of the Royal Naval Dockyard 25-years ago and how regeneration is gathering pace.

“Already, we have Chatham Maritime and four universities based here, attended by 10,000 students, and the regeneration of Rochester riverside, Gillingham waterfront and Strood riverside will open up the river.

“The programme aimed to show how the north and south compare.

“I think we showed John Prescott and his television team how Medway is leading many areas, both north and south, in terms of regenerating and improving where we live for all residents.”

The programme will be repeated on BBC2 at 11.20pm today and can be watched on the BBC iPlayer for the next week.

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