A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Deprivation Are Found Side by Side in England.
In Nunsthorpe, residents live in homes only a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho. A six-foot-tall wall physically divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that previously linked them.
“It’s the posh-poor divide,” remarked a resident, 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.”
A Stark Pattern Across the Country
Analysis of official figures reveals the extent of disparity can run, at times over little more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Years of budget cuts and lack of funding mean a majority of councils now have a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the nation.
The geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a significant increase in the quantity of locations where deprived and affluent people find themselves living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods adjoined one of the least deprived. This number rose to 119 in the latest data.
A Wall That Divides More Than Land
At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the most pronounced in the UK and starkly obvious. The wall is much more than a metaphorical division; it creates very real problems for daily routines.
- School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long journey.
- Reaching important services like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is hindered.
- The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with instances of litter being thrown over the wall and other issues.
“You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one resident, motioning at the corroded barricade.
Local Bonds Amidst Hardship
At a local community centre, staff emphasise that support transcends addresses. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said chief executive Tracey Good.
Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate boasts a strong sense and feeling of togetherness among its residents. Meanwhile, Scartho is classified among the least deprived 10% overall.
Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent
This phenomenon is repeated nationally. 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 detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and quality of surroundings.
“They might have bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people over there don’t even speak to each other.”
The financial gap is evident: an typical family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide equivalent homes fetch about £410,000.
Locals speak of a palpable feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our amenities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.”
The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a picture of an increasingly divided society, where prosperity and need are often uncomfortably in close proximity.
