THE most deprived areas in the Test Valley have been revealed in the latest 2021 census results.

As part of the 2021 census, households in England and Wales were classified in terms of four different dimensions of deprivation, which have been based on certain characteristics.

The first is where any member of a household, who is not a full-time student, is either unemployed or is long-term sick. The second covers households where no person has at least five or more GCSE passes or equivalent qualifications, and no 16 to 18-year-olds at the home who are full-time students.

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The third dimension is where any person in the household has general health that is bad or very bad or has a long-term health problem.

Finally the fourth is where the household’s accommodation is overcrowded or is in a shared home or has no central heating.

Office for National Statistics data shows 44.3 per cent of households in the Test Valley were deprived in at least one of these dimensions when the most recent census was carried out.

It meant the area stood below the average across England and Wales​ at 51.7 per cent. ​

It also represented a drop from 47.7 per cent at the time of the last census in 2011.

A further breakdown reveals which of the area's 17 neighbourhoods were most affected by deprivation last year.

In the Test Valley, the three areas with the highest deprivation rates were Newbury Road in Andover at 61.7 per cent, Andover South East at 57.1 per cent and Romsey Town at 52.9 per cent.

In contrast, the neighbourhood with the lowest level of deprivation was Valley Park at 33.2 per cent of households.

Leader of the Hampshire County Council, Rod Humby said: “As a County Council, we work hard with a wide range of partner organisations, including other local authorities such as Test Valley Borough Council, health services, statutory bodies including the Police, and voluntary and community organisations to tackle social exclusion, in whatever form it takes.

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"This includes programmes in education and public health, economic investment, and initiatives to improve the physical environment, targeted at local communities and tailored to local needs."

He continued: “There is no single initiative that can be taken to reduce deprivation, nor can a single organisation, working alone, effect the change required; rather it is about joint action and collaboration, including working in partnership with central Government where necessary, to help address the inequalities experienced in some parts of our county, and the wider UK.”

The census results can be seen in full at www.ons.gov.uk.