A Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Affluence and Deprivation Are Found Side by Side in Across England.
In Nunsthorpe, residents live in homes only a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in nearby Scartho. A 1.8-metre-high barricade physically divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, blocking off roads and walkways that once linked them.
“This is the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.”
An Increasingly Common National Picture
Data from official figures reveals how deep disparity often exists, at times over nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a line of hedges or a barrier. Decades of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now contain a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the nation.
The geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a significant increase in the quantity of places where deprived and well-off people find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. This number increased to 119 in the most recent data.
A Wall That Does More Than Separate Space
At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the most pronounced in the country and painfully obvious. The wall transcends being just a metaphorical division; it creates tangible difficulties for everyday life.
- School runs that should take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long journey.
- Reaching key amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is hindered.
- The area often sees antisocial behaviour, with reports of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other problems.
“You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one resident, motioning at the rusted metal wall.
Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship
At a local community centre, staff emphasise that support transcends postcodes. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” explained director a community leader.
Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and feeling of community among its residents. By contrast, Scartho ranks among the least deprived 10% overall.
A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent
This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in England. It is closely bordered by spacious detached homes built in the early 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and quality of surroundings.
“They might have bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find many people over there don’t even speak to each other.”
The economic gap is clear: an typical three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side equivalent properties fetch about £410,000.
Residents describe a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community is neglected,” stated resident Susan. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.”
The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a portrait of an increasingly segregated England, where wealth and deprivation are often awkwardly close neighbours.
