The Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Hardship Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
Within Nunsthorpe, residents occupy homes only a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in nearby Scartho village. One 1.8-metre-high wall physically divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that previously connected them.
“It’s the divide between rich and poor,” remarked 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 official statistics shows the extent of disparity can run, sometimes over nothing more than a short distance of asphalt, a line of hedges or a wall. Years of budget cuts and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now have a locality ranking as one of the most deprived in the country.
The geographical widening of deprivation has led to a sharp increase in the number of places where disadvantaged and affluent residents find themselves living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods bordered one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the latest data.
A Wall That Does More Than Separate Land
At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the biggest in the country and starkly apparent. The barrier transcends being just a symbolic divide; it causes tangible problems for daily routines.
- School runs that should take a quarter of an hour turn into an sixty-minute detour.
- Access to important amenities like supermarkets, schools and care homes is hindered.
- The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with instances of litter being dumped over the wall and other issues.
“People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one local, gesturing towards the corroded metal wall.
Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Challenges
At Centre4, staff stress that need transcends addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” said director a community leader.
Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe boasts a fierce loyalty and sense of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% nationally.
Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford
This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in the country. It is closely bordered by spacious detached homes built in the early 2000s that are in the top 10% for job prospects and living environment.
“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” commented a long-term resident, 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”
The financial gap is evident: an typical family home costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side equivalent properties go for about £410,000.
Residents describe a tangible sense of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” said holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our amenities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the issues we face here are to do with poverty.”
The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an increasingly divided England, where prosperity and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.
