A Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Prosperity and Deprivation Now Sit Side by Side in Across England.
Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in properties only a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in nearby Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high barricade physically separates the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off roads and walkways that previously linked them.
“It’s the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.”
A Stark Pattern Across the Country
Analysis of official figures reveals the extent of inequality can run, sometimes across nothing more than a few metres of tarmac, a line of hedges or a barrier. Decades of austerity and underinvestment mean almost two-thirds of local authorities now have a locality classified as one of the poorest in the nation.
This spread of poverty has led to a sharp rise in the number of places where disadvantaged and well-off people end up living side by side. Just a few years ago, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods adjoined one of the least deprived. This number rose to 119 in the most recent data.
A Wall That Divides More Than Land
At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the most pronounced in the country and painfully obvious. The barrier transcends being just a symbolic divide; it causes very real problems for everyday life.
- The school commute that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an sixty-minute journey.
- Access to important amenities like grocery stores, schools and employment centres is made more difficult.
- The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with instances of rubbish being thrown over the wall and related problems.
“You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one local, gesturing towards the rusted barricade.
Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship
At Centre4, workers emphasise that need does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” said chief executive a community leader.
Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe retains a strong sense and sense of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area ranks among the most prosperous 10% nationally.
A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford
This pattern is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in England. It is closely bordered by spacious houses built in the 2000s that sit in the top 10% for job prospects and living environment.
“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” commented Phil Hockley, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”
The economic divide is evident: an average family home costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide comparable properties fetch about £410,000.
Residents speak of a palpable sense of neglect. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” stated holistic health worker Susan. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are to do with financial hardship.”
The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a picture of an ever more segregated society, where prosperity and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.
