A Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Hardship Are Found Side by Side in England.

In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in properties only several yards from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho. A 1.8-metre-high wall literally separates the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that once linked them.

“This is the posh-poor divide,” remarked Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.”

An Increasingly Common National Picture

Data from government figures reveals the extent of inequality can run, at times across nothing more than a short distance of tarmac, a line of hedges or a wall. Years of austerity and underinvestment mean almost two-thirds of local authorities now contain a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the country.

The geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a significant rise in the quantity of places where deprived and well-off residents end up living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived areas adjoined one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data.

A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land

At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the most pronounced in the UK and painfully obvious. The barrier transcends being just a metaphorical division; it creates very real problems for everyday life.

• The school commute that ought to take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long journey.
• Reaching important amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is hindered.
• The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with reports of rubbish being thrown over the wall and related issues.

“People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, motioning at the rusted metal wall.

Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Challenges

Within a local community centre, workers stress that support transcends addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained director Tracey Good.

Despite being placed in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe retains a fierce loyalty and sense of community among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the least deprived 10% overall.

Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent

This pattern is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in England. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and living environment.

“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s more community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”

The economic gap is clear: an typical family home costs about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent properties go for about £410,000.

Residents speak of a palpable feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” stated holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our amenities have slowly been taken away, and most of the community problems here are related to financial hardship.”

The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an ever more segregated England, where prosperity and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.