The Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Hardship Are Found Cheek by Jowl in England.
Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in properties only several yards from their more affluent counterparts in the adjacent Scartho. One six-foot-tall barricade literally divides the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off roads and walkways that once linked them.
“This is the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, 37. “It has been there since 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 statistics reveals the extent of inequality can run, sometimes over nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a line of hedges or a wall. Decades of budget cuts and underinvestment mean a majority of local authorities now contain a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the nation.
This spread of deprivation has coincided with a significant rise in the quantity of locations where deprived and well-off residents find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest areas bordered one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the latest data.
A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land
At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the most pronounced in the country and painfully obvious. The wall is much more than a metaphorical division; it causes very real difficulties for everyday life.
- School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an hour-long journey.
- Access to important services like grocery stores, schools and care homes is hindered.
- The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with instances of litter being thrown over the wall and related problems.
“People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one resident, motioning at the rusted metal wall.
Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship
At a local community centre, staff emphasise that need does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” explained director a community leader.
Despite being placed in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe retains a fierce loyalty and feeling of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the most prosperous 10% nationally.
Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford
This pattern is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and quality of surroundings.
“They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, 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 three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side equivalent properties go for about £410,000.
Residents speak of a tangible sense of being overlooked. “This part of the community is neglected,” stated holistic health worker 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 ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an ever more divided England, where wealth and need are often awkwardly close neighbours.
