A Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Prosperity and Deprivation Now Sit Side by Side in England.
In Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy properties just a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high barricade physically separates the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off roads and walkways that previously linked them.
“This is the posh-poor divide,” remarked a resident, aged 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.”
An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country
Analysis of official figures reveals how deep disparity often exists, at times over little more than a short distance of asphalt, a line of hedges or a barrier. Decades of austerity and underinvestment mean almost two-thirds of local authorities now have a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the nation.
The geographical widening of deprivation has coincided with a sharp rise in the quantity of locations where deprived and well-off people find themselves living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived areas adjoined one of the least deprived. This number rose to 119 in the most recent data.
A Wall That Divides More Than Land
At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the biggest in the UK and starkly obvious. The wall transcends being just a metaphorical divide; it creates tangible difficulties for everyday life.
- The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long detour.
- Reaching key amenities like grocery stores, schools and employment centres is hindered.
- The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with instances of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other issues.
“You try to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one local, motioning at the corroded barricade.
Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Hardship
At a local community centre, staff emphasise that support does not recognise addresses. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” explained director Tracey Good.
Despite ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe retains a strong sense and feeling of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally.
Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford
This pattern is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in England. It is immediately adjacent by spacious houses built in the early 2000s that sit in the top 10% for job prospects and living environment.
“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said Phil Hockley, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people over there don’t even speak to each other.”
The financial gap is evident: an average three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide equivalent properties fetch about £410,000.
Residents describe a palpable sense of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” stated resident Susan. “Over here our amenities have slowly been taken away, and most of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.”
The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a picture of an increasingly divided society, where wealth and need are frequently awkwardly close neighbours.
