A Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Deprivation Are Found Side by Side in Across England.
In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in properties only several yards from their more affluent counterparts in nearby Scartho. One six-foot-tall wall literally divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that previously connected them.
“This is the posh-poor divide,” said Serenity Colley, 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.”
An Increasingly Common National Picture
Analysis of official figures reveals the extent of disparity can run, sometimes over little more than a few metres of asphalt, a hedge row or a barrier. Decades of austerity and lack of funding mean a majority of councils now contain a neighbourhood ranking as one of the most deprived in the country.
This spread of deprivation has led to a significant increase in the quantity of locations where disadvantaged and well-off people end up as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. This number rose to 119 in the latest data.
A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land
In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the UK and painfully apparent. The wall is much more than a symbolic division; it causes tangible difficulties for everyday life.
- The school commute that ought to take 15-20 minutes turn into an sixty-minute journey.
- Reaching important amenities like supermarkets, educational facilities and care homes is made more difficult.
- The area can attract antisocial behaviour, with instances of rubbish being thrown over the wall and related issues.
“You try to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one resident, gesturing towards the rusted barricade.
Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges
Within Centre4, workers emphasise that support does not recognise addresses. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” said director Tracey Good.
Despite ranking in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe boasts a fierce loyalty and feeling of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, Scartho ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally.
Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford
This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the early 2000s that are in the top 10% for job prospects and quality of surroundings.
“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” said Phil Hockley, 63. “It’s likely many people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”
The economic gap is clear: an average three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide comparable homes go for about £410,000.
Residents describe a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said resident Susan. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the community problems here are to do with poverty.”
The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a portrait of an increasingly segregated England, where wealth and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.
