🔗 Share this article A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Deprivation Are Found Side by Side in Across England. Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in homes only a few metres from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho village. A 1.8-metre-high barricade literally separates the two areas in the town of Grimsby, blocking off roads and walkways that previously connected them. “This is the posh-poor divide,” said Serenity Colley, 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I doubt 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 statistics shows the extent of disparity often exists, at times over little more than a few metres of tarmac, a line of hedges or a wall. Decades of budget cuts and underinvestment mean a majority of councils now have a locality ranking as one of the poorest in the nation. This geographical widening of deprivation has led to a significant rise in the number of locations where disadvantaged and affluent people find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. This number rose to 119 in the most recent data. A Wall That Divides More Than Space At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the most pronounced in the country and starkly obvious. The wall is much more than a symbolic division; it creates tangible problems for daily routines. School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long detour. Reaching key services like supermarkets, educational facilities and employment centres is hindered. The area often sees antisocial behaviour, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other problems. “You try to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one local, gesturing towards the rusted barricade. Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship Within a local community centre, workers stress that need transcends postcodes. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said director Tracey Good. Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate retains a strong sense and sense of community among its inhabitants. By contrast, Scartho ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally. Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious houses built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment. “They might have larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds never even talk to each other.” The financial divide is clear: an typical family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide comparable properties go for about £410,000. Residents describe a tangible sense of neglect. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” stated holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our amenities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to poverty.” The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a picture of an increasingly segregated society, where prosperity and need are often awkwardly in close proximity.
Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in homes only a few metres from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho village. A 1.8-metre-high barricade literally separates the two areas in the town of Grimsby, blocking off roads and walkways that previously connected them. “This is the posh-poor divide,” said Serenity Colley, 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I doubt 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 statistics shows the extent of disparity often exists, at times over little more than a few metres of tarmac, a line of hedges or a wall. Decades of budget cuts and underinvestment mean a majority of councils now have a locality ranking as one of the poorest in the nation. This geographical widening of deprivation has led to a significant rise in the number of locations where disadvantaged and affluent people find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. This number rose to 119 in the most recent data. A Wall That Divides More Than Space At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the most pronounced in the country and starkly obvious. The wall is much more than a symbolic division; it creates tangible problems for daily routines. School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long detour. Reaching key services like supermarkets, educational facilities and employment centres is hindered. The area often sees antisocial behaviour, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other problems. “You try to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one local, gesturing towards the rusted barricade. Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship Within a local community centre, workers stress that need transcends postcodes. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said director Tracey Good. Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate retains a strong sense and sense of community among its inhabitants. By contrast, Scartho ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally. Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious houses built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment. “They might have larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds never even talk to each other.” The financial divide is clear: an typical family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide comparable properties go for about £410,000. Residents describe a tangible sense of neglect. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” stated holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our amenities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to poverty.” The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a picture of an increasingly segregated society, where prosperity and need are often awkwardly in close proximity.