This week, Sandbanks, an outcrop of the coastal town of Poole, became the most expensive place on earth to live. This is due to the growing number of Poole residents forced to use food banks.

The recent sale of a four-bedroom bungalow on an exclusive peninsula in Dorset for £13.5 million makes the peninsula more expensive than Monaco, New York, and Hong Kong.

Nonetheless, as the cost of living crisis rages, the most recent statistics reveal that Poole is among the South East regions responsible for half of the increase in rough sleeping in England.

Some homeless seek shelter from the cold in the abandoned doorways of businesses forced to close.

The city consists of boutiques and trendy coffee shops interspersed with thrift stores and charity shops. Alan Purchase, the assistant food bank manager at Jimmy’s Place, describes the harsh reality for some struggling residents.

“Last year, requests for food were 80% higher than the previous year, during the pandemic. This year, it has not slowed down,” he reveals. Alan explains that his volunteers are assisting more and more people with part-time and full-time jobs and those receiving government assistance. Alan explains, “A nurse who works for the NHS entered the room.” “Because she was participating in additional training, she had to travel to Bournemouth. She could not afford the bus or work overtime as a single mother of two children.

“We are also assisting a young family with an infant who has moved into emergency housing with nothing. They cannot work because one has medical needs, and the other is their caregiver.

Most people are extremely ­independent and only seek our help as a last resort.

The small peninsular connecting the harbor’s banks in Sandbanks has always been a ­exclusive place to live, with notable residents such as Harry Redknapp and his retired footballer son Jamie Redknapp. However, I’m a Celebrity winner Harry is evidence that despite the extreme disparities in wealth, people are cooperating to make Poole a better place for everyone to live.

Foodbank volunteers Pat, Sue, and Alison told me that Harry was here last week, inquiring about Poole’s problems and requesting assistance. Alan appreciates the assistance he receives from locals like Harry and businesses that contribute to aiding the less fortunate.

Karen Wilmshurst is hosting a cost-of-living awareness event in the downtown area. She has lived in Poole for thirty years and is not surprised that Sandbanks is now the world’s most expensive place to live.

It makes her feel uneasy that there is such a disparity and significant poverty areas in Poole and throughout Dorset.

“The locals’ lives are made even more difficult by the skyrocketing cost of living and energy costs. Considering that and the fact that some people live in homes worth £13.5 million, it can be difficult to swallow.”

Kim Marchant, 57, is employed by the ironmongers Boone and Co., a short distance down the street. She states, “I have always resided in Hamworthy.”

“My in-laws reside a half-mile away from Sandbanks. It’s beautiful there, but the prices are absurd. “They reside in Lilliput on a roadside devoid of seawater. They have only partial harbor views, so their home is half the price of the one across the street.

Simultaneously, Kim asserts that she observes evidence of the town’s worsening homelessness problem daily.

She says, “There is a significant chasm.” “They sleep in doorways throughout this area, and the problem worsens. They use our window sill as a toilet and engage in drug use, which isn’t very pleasant. It’s as if the other half has no idea how difficult one half’s life is.” Rachel Taylor, a market trader who has worked in Poole for ten years and resides nearby in Bournemouth, cites that many of these million-pound properties are purchased as second homes as a major contributor to the problem.

She says, “I’m not surprised because house prices have been skyrocketing regardless, let alone in Sandbanks.” “Sandbanks has always been extremely exclusive and expensive, but even the house prices on the opposite side of Bournemouth are exorbitantly inflated – similar to London prices, but without London wages.” “There are many second-home owners in Southbourne, which exacerbates the problem. It’s a national scandal that some people are extremely wealthy while others suffer terribly.”

Robert Dunford of Tailor Made, the real estate agency that handled the sale on Panorama Road, stated that waterfront property prices in the UK had risen sharply in the wake of Covid.

Ash Islam, 49, has lived in Poole for the past four decades, states, “It’s extortionate – not many people can afford it here.” Most of us live on a budget and struggle to pay our bills. Many homeowners in Sandbanks rent their homes to foreigners and only visit the area twice or thrice a year.

However, not everyone must reside in a mansion to enjoy at least some of the benefits.