The Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Prosperity and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy homes just several yards from their more affluent neighbours in the adjacent Scartho village. One 1.8-metre-high barricade physically divides the two communities in the town of Grimsby, blocking off roads and walkways that previously connected them.
“This is the posh-poor divide,” said Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.”
A Stark Pattern Across the Country
Analysis of government figures reveals the extent of disparity can run, at times over little more than a short distance of tarmac, a line of hedges or a wall. Decades of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now contain a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the country.
This geographical widening of poverty has led to a sharp rise in the quantity of places where disadvantaged and affluent residents find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods adjoined one of the wealthiest. That figure 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 country and starkly apparent. The wall transcends being just a symbolic division; it causes tangible problems for daily routines.
- School runs that should take 15-20 minutes become an hour-long journey.
- Reaching key services like grocery stores, schools and care homes is hindered.
- The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with instances of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other issues.
“People strive to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one resident, motioning at the rusted barricade.
Local Bonds Amidst Challenges
At a local community centre, workers emphasise that need does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained chief executive a community leader.
Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate retains a strong sense and sense of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% overall.
Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent
This phenomenon is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in England. It is closely bordered by spacious houses built in the early 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings.
“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people in the new builds 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 across the divide equivalent homes fetch about £410,000.
Locals describe a palpable sense of neglect. “This part of the community is neglected,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.”
The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ paints a portrait of an increasingly segregated England, where wealth and deprivation are frequently awkwardly in close proximity.
