A Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Prosperity and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in England.
Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in homes just several yards from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high wall literally separates the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off roads and walkways that previously connected them.
“It’s the divide between rich and poor,” remarked a resident, 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.”
A Stark Pattern Across the Country
Analysis of official statistics shows the extent of disparity can run, sometimes across little more than a short distance of tarmac, a line of hedges or a barrier. Decades of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where a majority of councils now have a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the country.
This geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a sharp rise in the number of places where deprived and well-off people end up living side by side. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the most deprived areas adjoined one of the least deprived. This number rose to 119 in the most recent data.
A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land
At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the most pronounced in the UK and starkly apparent. The barrier transcends being just a metaphorical division; it causes very real difficulties for everyday life.
- School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an sixty-minute detour.
- Access to key amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is made more difficult.
- The site often sees vandalism and loitering, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and other problems.
“You try to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one resident, gesturing towards the corroded barricade.
Local Bonds Amidst Challenges
At a local community centre, staff stress that support does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” said director Tracey Good.
Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate boasts a strong sense and feeling of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% overall.
A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford
This pattern is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in England. It is immediately adjacent by spacious detached homes built in the 2000s that sit in the top 10% for job prospects and quality of surroundings.
“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, aged 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 typical three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side equivalent properties fetch about £410,000.
Residents describe a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said resident Susan. “In this area our facilities have gradually disappeared, and most of the community problems here are to do with poverty.”
The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ paints a picture of an increasingly segregated society, where wealth and need are often awkwardly close neighbours.
