The Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Prosperity and Hardship Are Found Side by Side in England.
Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy homes just several yards from their wealthier neighbours in nearby Scartho village. One six-foot-tall barricade physically separates the two communities in the town of Grimsby, blocking off roads and walkways that once connected them.
“It’s the posh-poor divide,” remarked a resident, aged 37. “It’s been like this since 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 Pattern Across the Country
Data from government statistics reveals the extent of disparity often exists, at times over little more than a few metres of tarmac, a hedge row or a barrier. Years of budget cuts and lack of funding mean a majority of councils now contain a locality ranking as one of the poorest in the nation.
This spread of deprivation has led to a significant rise in the quantity of places where disadvantaged and well-off residents end up living side by side. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the least deprived. This number increased to 119 in the latest data.
A Wall That Does More Than Separate Land
At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the biggest in the country and starkly apparent. The wall transcends being just a symbolic divide; it causes very real problems for everyday life.
- School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long journey.
- Reaching key services like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is made more difficult.
- The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and related problems.
“You try to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one resident, motioning at the corroded barricade.
Local Bonds Amidst Challenges
At a local community centre, staff emphasise that support transcends postcodes. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” explained director Tracey Good.
Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate retains a strong sense and feeling of togetherness among its residents. Meanwhile, Scartho is classified among the least deprived 10% nationally.
A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford
This phenomenon is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in England. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and living environment.
“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”
The financial divide is clear: an average three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side comparable homes fetch about £410,000.
Residents describe a tangible sense of neglect. “This part of the community is neglected,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to poverty.”
The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a portrait of an ever more divided England, where prosperity and deprivation are frequently awkwardly close neighbours.