A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Deprivation Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in homes only several yards from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho village. One 1.8-metre-high wall physically separates the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off roads and walkways that previously linked them.
“This is the posh-poor divide,” remarked Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.”
A Stark Pattern Across the Country
Data from official figures reveals how deep disparity often exists, at times over little more than a few metres of asphalt, a line of hedges or a wall. Years of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where a majority of councils now have a locality ranking as one of the poorest in the country.
The geographical widening of deprivation has coincided with a sharp increase in the number of locations where deprived and well-off people end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the wealthiest. 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 biggest in the UK and painfully obvious. The wall is much more than a symbolic division; it causes tangible problems for everyday life.
- School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an sixty-minute journey.
- Reaching key services like supermarkets, schools and care homes is hindered.
- The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other issues.
“People strive to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, gesturing towards the corroded metal wall.
Local Bonds Amidst Hardship
At a local community centre, workers emphasise that support transcends postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” said director a community leader.
Despite ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the most prosperous 10% nationally.
A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford
This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in England. It is closely bordered by large houses built in the early 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and quality of surroundings.
“They might have larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented Phil Hockley, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”
The financial gap is clear: an typical family home costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side comparable properties fetch about £410,000.
Residents speak of a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said resident Susan. “Over here our amenities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.”
The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a portrait of an ever more divided society, where wealth and need are frequently awkwardly in close proximity.
