A Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Affluence and Deprivation Now Sit Side by Side in Across England.
Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in homes just several yards from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high barricade literally divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off roads and walkways that previously linked them.
“This is the divide between rich and poor,” remarked Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.”
An Increasingly Common National Picture
Data from government statistics shows how deep inequality can run, sometimes over nothing more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a barrier. Decades of budget cuts and underinvestment mean almost two-thirds of councils now have a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the country.
This spread of poverty has led to a sharp increase in the number of locations where disadvantaged and affluent residents find themselves living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the poorest areas adjoined 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 biggest in the UK and starkly obvious. The wall transcends being just a symbolic division; it causes tangible difficulties for daily routines.
- The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long detour.
- Access to important services like supermarkets, educational facilities and employment centres is made more difficult.
- The area can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other issues.
“You try to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one local, gesturing towards the rusted barricade.
Community Spirit Amidst Hardship
Within Centre4, staff emphasise that support transcends postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained chief executive Tracey Good.
Despite being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe retains a fierce loyalty and sense of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall.
Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent
This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the early 2000s that are in the top 10% for job prospects and quality of surroundings.
“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people over there don’t even speak to each other.”
The financial divide is evident: an average family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side equivalent properties go for about £410,000.
Locals speak of a palpable feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” stated resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to poverty.”
The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a picture of an ever more segregated England, where wealth and deprivation are often uncomfortably in close proximity.
