🔗 Share this article A Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Hardship Are Found Side by Side in Across England. Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in homes only a few metres from their wealthier counterparts in the adjacent Scartho village. One 1.8-metre-high wall literally separates the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that once connected them. “This is the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.” An Increasingly Common National Picture Analysis of government figures shows the extent of disparity often exists, sometimes over nothing more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of austerity and lack of funding mean almost two-thirds of local authorities now have a locality classified as one of the poorest in the nation. This geographical widening of deprivation has coincided with a sharp rise in the quantity of locations where disadvantaged and affluent residents end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods bordered one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the latest data. A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land In Grimsby, the gap is the most pronounced in the country and painfully apparent. The barrier transcends being just a symbolic division; it causes tangible problems for everyday life. The school commute that ought to take 15-20 minutes 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 reports of rubbish being thrown over the wall and related problems. “People strive to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, motioning at the rusted barricade. Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges Within Centre4, staff emphasise that support does not recognise addresses. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” said chief executive a community leader. Despite being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate retains a fierce loyalty and feeling of community among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% nationally. Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford This pattern is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in the country. It is closely bordered by large detached homes built in the 2000s that sit in the top 10% for job prospects and quality of surroundings. “They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely many people over there never even talk to each other.” The financial gap is clear: an typical three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side comparable properties fetch about £410,000. Residents speak of a tangible sense of neglect. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our facilities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the issues we face here are to do with poverty.” The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an increasingly divided society, where wealth and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.
Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in homes only a few metres from their wealthier counterparts in the adjacent Scartho village. One 1.8-metre-high wall literally separates the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that once connected them. “This is the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.” An Increasingly Common National Picture Analysis of government figures shows the extent of disparity often exists, sometimes over nothing more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of austerity and lack of funding mean almost two-thirds of local authorities now have a locality classified as one of the poorest in the nation. This geographical widening of deprivation has coincided with a sharp rise in the quantity of locations where disadvantaged and affluent residents end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods bordered one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the latest data. A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land In Grimsby, the gap is the most pronounced in the country and painfully apparent. The barrier transcends being just a symbolic division; it causes tangible problems for everyday life. The school commute that ought to take 15-20 minutes 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 reports of rubbish being thrown over the wall and related problems. “People strive to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, motioning at the rusted barricade. Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges Within Centre4, staff emphasise that support does not recognise addresses. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” said chief executive a community leader. Despite being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate retains a fierce loyalty and feeling of community among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% nationally. Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford This pattern is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in the country. It is closely bordered by large detached homes built in the 2000s that sit in the top 10% for job prospects and quality of surroundings. “They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely many people over there never even talk to each other.” The financial gap is clear: an typical three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side comparable properties fetch about £410,000. Residents speak of a tangible sense of neglect. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our facilities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the issues we face here are to do with poverty.” The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an increasingly divided society, where wealth and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.