The Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Affluence and Hardship Now Sit Side by Side in Across England.
Within Nunsthorpe, residents occupy properties just a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho village. A 1.8-metre-high barricade literally divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that once connected them.
“This is the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, aged 37. “It’s been like this 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 mix with us.”
An Increasingly Common National Picture
Data from government figures shows how deep inequality can run, at times across little more than a few metres of asphalt, a hedge row or a wall. Years of budget cuts and underinvestment have led to a situation where a majority of councils now have a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the country.
This spread of poverty has coincided with a sharp rise in the number of locations where deprived and well-off people find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods adjoined one of the wealthiest. This number increased to 119 in the most recent data.
A Wall That Divides More Than Space
In Grimsby, the divide is the most pronounced in the country and painfully obvious. The barrier is much more than a symbolic division; it creates tangible difficulties for daily routines.
- School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an sixty-minute detour.
- Access to important services like supermarkets, schools and care homes is hindered.
- The site often sees vandalism and loitering, with instances of litter being thrown over the wall and other problems.
“You try to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one local, gesturing towards the corroded metal wall.
Local Bonds Amidst Challenges
Within a local community centre, staff stress that need transcends addresses. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” said director Tracey Good.
Despite being placed in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and feeling of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the least deprived 10% nationally.
A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford
This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in England. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the early 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment.
“They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, aged 63. “It’s likely many people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”
The financial divide is clear: an typical family home costs about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide comparable properties fetch about £410,000.
Residents describe a tangible feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are to do with financial hardship.”
The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an increasingly divided society, where prosperity and need are frequently awkwardly in close proximity.
