All over Essex there are beautiful places to live. There are built-up urban districts, rural areas with stunning countryside and coastal locations with gorgeous views over the sea.
Tendring in one such area that falls into the last category, but house prices there are rapidly falling. The district – home to the popular holiday destination of Clacton – has an unfair negative shadow hanging over it but there are plenty of reasons to live in the area.
The average house price in Tendring was £260,245 in the 12 months to October, according to the latest figures from the Land Registry. That makes it the cheapest place to buy a home in the county.
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But house prices in the district area also falling. Prices fell in the local authority area by two per cent over the last 12 months, the most among Essex area.
A survey by the ONS in 2023 called Tendring the unhappiest place to live in Essex. The district is famed for its seaside location, seasonal popularity and being a cheap place to own and rent homes. It’s so popular that thousands have second homes in the area.
Despite this, it has a relatively high unemployment rate, and some towns within it have got a bad name due to crime rates and states of disrepair. It was in the running to be crowned the ‘worst place to live in England’ in 2023 and was also mentioned by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for anti-social behaviour issues.
But the district is constantly improving and becoming a nice place to live. The area – which has Nigel Farage (Reform UK) and Sir Bernard Jenkin (Conservative) as its MPs – has seen anti-social behaviour decrease in the 12 months to September 2024.
Chief Inspector Ella Latham is the District Commander for Tendring
(Image: Essex Police)
There was a drop of 13.4 per cent in ASB incidents in the district according to the latest police figures. Meanwhile all crime as a whole dropped by almost three per cent.
Despite having negative accusations, the town of Clacton has previously been dubbed as ‘fantastic’ for family holidays and named one of the happiest places to live. Clacton, where thousands of visitors descend each year to enjoy the beach and go for a swim, is far from the unhappiest place to live according to those that live there.
Visitors only have to take a short walk down the seafront to be given a warm smile and wave from locals out walking their dogs or just out for a stroll. “We both love it here,” said Peter Leonard when on a walk with Jill Ayling in December 2023.
“I’ll walk along the high street and the shops are everything we want,” said Jill Ayling, 76. “It’s lovely. It’s nice to have the independents. We’ve got everything we need for our age group.”
The former Sainsbury’s in Clacton has been empty since 2021
(Image: Matt Lee/EssexLive)
Bob Goddard added: “I can’t believe that we’re the unhappiest place to live in Essex. I walk from Jaywick to Clacton and everyone says hello and talks to you. What more can you ask for? You walk through some towns or cities and people will walk on the other side of the road instead.”
He added: “It’s such a friendly place to live. Some people will blank you but the are more that speak to you than those. It’s a real community feel. Nearly everyone says hello even as far up as Jaywick.
Tendring was one of five authorities in Essex where house prices fell. They include: Epping Forest (0.4%), Thurrock (1.1%), Castle Point (1.3%) and Maldon (1.6%).
Uttlesford, meanwhile, has seen more growth in property prices than anywhere else in Essex. The average house price there rose by 5.7 per cent or £25,009 over the last 12 months to £462,902.