🔗 Share this article A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Prosperity and Hardship Are Found Cheek by Jowl in England. In Nunsthorpe, residents live in homes only a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho village. A 1.8-metre-high barricade physically divides the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that previously linked them. “It’s the posh-poor divide,” said Serenity Colley, 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.” An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country Analysis of official statistics shows how deep inequality can run, sometimes across little more than a short distance of asphalt, a line of hedges or a barrier. Years of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where a majority of local authorities now have a locality ranking as one of the most deprived in the country. This spread of poverty has coincided with a sharp rise in the number of locations where deprived and affluent residents find themselves living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest areas bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data. A Wall That Does More Than Separate Land In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the country and painfully obvious. The barrier transcends being just a metaphorical division; it causes tangible difficulties for daily routines. The school commute that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an hour-long journey. Access to important amenities like supermarkets, schools and employment centres is hindered. The site can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and related problems. “You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, motioning at the corroded barricade. Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges Within a local community centre, staff stress that support does not recognise postcodes. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said director Tracey Good. Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate retains a strong sense and sense of community among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% overall. Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent This pattern is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the 2000s that sit in the top 10% for employment and living environment. “They may possess larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented a long-term resident, 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people over there don’t even speak to each other.” The financial divide is clear: an average three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side comparable properties fetch about £410,000. Locals describe a palpable feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the community problems here are related to poverty.” The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an ever more segregated society, where wealth and need are often uncomfortably in close proximity.
In Nunsthorpe, residents live in homes only a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho village. A 1.8-metre-high barricade physically divides the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that previously linked them. “It’s the posh-poor divide,” said Serenity Colley, 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.” An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country Analysis of official statistics shows how deep inequality can run, sometimes across little more than a short distance of asphalt, a line of hedges or a barrier. Years of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where a majority of local authorities now have a locality ranking as one of the most deprived in the country. This spread of poverty has coincided with a sharp rise in the number of locations where deprived and affluent residents find themselves living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest areas bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data. A Wall That Does More Than Separate Land In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the country and painfully obvious. The barrier transcends being just a metaphorical division; it causes tangible difficulties for daily routines. The school commute that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an hour-long journey. Access to important amenities like supermarkets, schools and employment centres is hindered. The site can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and related problems. “You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, motioning at the corroded barricade. Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges Within a local community centre, staff stress that support does not recognise postcodes. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said director Tracey Good. Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate retains a strong sense and sense of community among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% overall. Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent This pattern is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the 2000s that sit in the top 10% for employment and living environment. “They may possess larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented a long-term resident, 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people over there don’t even speak to each other.” The financial divide is clear: an average three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side comparable properties fetch about £410,000. Locals describe a palpable feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the community problems here are related to poverty.” The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an ever more segregated society, where wealth and need are often uncomfortably in close proximity.