The Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Deprivation Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants occupy properties just a few metres from their wealthier counterparts in the adjacent Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high wall literally divides the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that previously connected them.
“This is the posh-poor divide,” remarked a resident, 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 National Picture
Data from government figures reveals the extent of disparity can run, at times across nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a hedge row or a barrier. Years of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now contain a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the nation.
This geographical widening of poverty has led to a sharp increase in the number of locations where deprived and well-off residents end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the least deprived. That figure rose to 119 in the most recent data.
A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land
At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the most pronounced in the UK and starkly obvious. The wall transcends being just a symbolic divide; it creates tangible problems for daily routines.
- School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute journey.
- Access to important amenities like supermarkets, educational facilities and care homes is hindered.
- The area often sees antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and other issues.
“You try to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one resident, motioning at the rusted barricade.
Community Spirit Amidst Challenges
Within Centre4, workers stress that support transcends postcodes. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” said director a community leader.
Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and feeling of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the least deprived 10% nationally.
A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent
This phenomenon is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the 2000s that sit 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. “You’ll probably find a lot of people over there never even talk to each other.”
The financial gap is evident: an average family home costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side comparable homes go for about £410,000.
Residents describe a palpable sense of neglect. “This part of the community is neglected,” said holistic health worker Susan. “Over here our amenities have gradually disappeared, and most of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.”
The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ paints a picture of an ever more segregated England, where prosperity and deprivation are frequently awkwardly close neighbours.
