On November 27, 2025, the Welsh Government unveiled the latest Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD), shining an unflinching spotlight on the persistent pockets of hardship across the country. For the second time since 2019, the area surrounding Rhyl High Street—officially known as Rhyl West 2 in Denbighshire—was named the most deprived neighbourhood in Wales. This revelation, while not altogether surprising for many locals, has sparked renewed debate about the effectiveness of long-running efforts to tackle poverty and regenerate struggling communities.
The WIMD, published every few years, is Wales’ official yardstick for measuring deprivation. This year’s report ranked 1,917 small neighbourhoods, each with an average population of 1,600, using a complex blend of eight indicators: income, employment, health, education, access to services, housing, community safety, and the physical environment. According to the Welsh Government, “being deprived does not just mean being poor, it can also mean having fewer resources and opportunities than we might expect in our society, for example in terms of health, education or access to services.”
Blaenau Gwent, a local authority in the south, was identified as having the highest concentration of highly deprived neighbourhoods, with nine areas falling into the most deprived 10% in Wales. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Monmouthshire was the only council with no neighbourhoods ranked as highly deprived, and its Chepstow area was found to be the least deprived in the country. Notably, the Queensway area of Wrexham climbed to the seventh most deprived spot in Wales—up from ninth in 2019—highlighting the shifting landscape of hardship in the nation’s towns and cities.
The WIMD’s analysis doesn’t just offer a snapshot in time; it also tracks which neighbourhoods have faced entrenched deprivation over the past two decades. The 2025 data revealed that 22 small areas have remained in the top 50 most deprived in every WIMD index published over the last 20 years. All but two are situated in urban rather than rural Wales, underscoring the urban nature of deep-rooted deprivation.
Despite these sobering statistics, the Welsh Government has been keen to emphasize its ongoing commitment to tackling poverty. Jane Hutt, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, stated, “WIMD 2025 will help in ensuring that support can be targeted to these communities that need it most. We have invested over £7 billion between 2022 and 2026 to support households across Wales through programmes to alleviate financial pressures, help maximise income and to help keep more money in their pockets.” She also pointed to targeted employability programmes and a new Child Poverty Strategy, which aims to ensure children in deprived areas have the same access to services, opportunities, and rights as others.
The government’s approach is multifaceted. The deprivation domains are weighted according to their impact: income (22%), employment (20%), health (15%), education (14%), access to services (10%), housing (9%), community safety (5%), and physical environment (5%). These weights, the government says, help direct resources to where they will have the greatest effect. Yet, as Ms. Hutt acknowledged, “the challenge of breaking the cycle of poverty is not one we can solve overnight.” She added that many of the most powerful policy levers—such as welfare, taxation, and wage policy—remain under the control of the UK Government, not devolved to Wales.
This year, the Welsh Government welcomed a significant policy shift from Westminster: the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap, a move expected to benefit 69,000 children in Wales. “We are pleased the Chancellor has listened to our call in relation to welfare reform to scrap the two-child limit, which will help to tackle the scourge of child poverty,” Ms. Hutt said.
But for many residents of Rhyl, official statistics and government pronouncements offer cold comfort. On the town’s high street, locals voiced a mix of resignation and cautious hope. Valerie Long, 62, who has lived in Rhyl for four years, told BBC Wales, “People are struggling. There are more things for children, like the new park up the road,” she added, acknowledging some positive changes. Meanwhile, Jay Street, 26, who still lives with his parents, shared his frustration: “I can’t see a light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to affording my own home.”
Community groups like Brighter Futures, which operates in the heart of Rhyl West, have become lifelines for many. Jay Street, now a volunteer after benefiting from the charity’s services himself, said, “Places like this have saved a lot of people, me included.” The group’s community garden, according to organiser Penny Pearce-Whitby, offers a rare oasis for residents: “Green spaces are incredibly important for people's mental health and wellbeing. It’s not always about the money, it’s about encouraging people to get outside.”
Despite these grassroots efforts, frustration is mounting over the lack of meaningful progress. In a social media post, Brighter Futures lamented, “Tough reading in the latest Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation. Once again, Rhyl appears four times in the top 10 most deprived LSOAs in Wales. It’s heartbreaking and honestly infuriating to see our community ranked 1st, 5th, 9th, and 10th for deprivation with Rhyl West 2 topping the list again. This isn’t new. And it’s clear that the previous and current regeneration programmes are not working. The same issues keep coming back because the deep-rooted deprivation in our town is never properly addressed. Rhyl deserves better. We need radical, meaningful change, not another cycle of short-term projects and broken promises. Something has to change, and it has to change now.”
Political leaders, too, have weighed in. Gareth Davies, Conservative Member of the Senedd for the Vale of Clwyd, which includes Rhyl, remarked, “It’s disheartening to see Rhyl once again labelled Wales’ most deprived area and I meet constituents regularly who tell me they feel left behind and see no clear vision to breathe new life into the town. Although there has been some investment, the area has been in decline since the start of devolution, and this data underlines that deprivation is complex and deep-rooted, driven by challenges in housing, health, employment, and access to services that cannot be fixed by piecemeal projects alone. We now need a renewed, coordinated plan from the Welsh Government, with meaningful investment in regeneration that creates long-term job opportunities and a thriving local economy.”
For its part, Denbighshire Council insists that the deprivation figures “do not represent Rhyl as a whole,” pointing to more than £100 million in public investment over the past decade. The council highlighted a major flood defence upgrade, a new promenade, a large children’s play area, and the modernisation of the Rhyl Pavilion Theatre, as well as hundreds of new affordable homes. “Rhyl’s regeneration is under way,” a spokesperson said, “but this long-term vision takes time.”
As the WIMD 2025 makes clear, deprivation in Wales is a complex, deeply embedded issue that resists easy solutions. The data may be tough reading, but it is a clarion call for renewed urgency, innovation, and—above all—hope for the communities that need it most.
