A Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Prosperity and Hardship Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in England.
In Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in homes just several yards from their more affluent neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. A six-foot-tall wall physically separates the two areas in the town of Grimsby, blocking off paths and streets that previously connected them.
“This is the divide between rich and poor,” remarked Serenity Colley, 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.”
A Stark National Picture
Data from government figures shows how deep inequality can run, at times across nothing more than a few metres of tarmac, a line of hedges or a barrier. Decades of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where 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 significant increase in the number of places where deprived and well-off people end up living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest areas bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the most recent data.
A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land
At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the biggest in the country and starkly apparent. The barrier is much more than a symbolic divide; it creates very real problems for daily routines.
- The school commute that should take 15-20 minutes turn into an sixty-minute journey.
- Access to important services like supermarkets, schools and care homes is made more difficult.
- The site can attract vandalism and loitering, with instances of litter being dumped over the wall and other issues.
“People strive to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one local, motioning at the corroded barricade.
Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges
At a local community centre, workers stress that need transcends addresses. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” explained chief executive Tracey Good.
Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a fierce loyalty and sense of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area is classified among the least deprived 10% overall.
A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent
This phenomenon is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in England. It is closely bordered by large detached homes built in the early 2000s that sit in the top 10% for employment and living environment.
“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely many people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”
The financial divide is evident: an typical three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side equivalent properties fetch about £410,000.
Locals describe a tangible feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” said resident Susan. “In this area our amenities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are to do with poverty.”
The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a portrait of an increasingly segregated society, where prosperity and need are frequently uncomfortably close neighbours.
