The Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Prosperity and Deprivation Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in homes just a few metres from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho. A 1.8-metre-high wall literally separates the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off roads and walkways that once linked them.
“This is the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, aged 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.”
A Stark Pattern Across the Country
Analysis of government statistics shows how deep disparity can run, sometimes across nothing more than a short distance of asphalt, a hedge row or a wall. Years of austerity and lack of funding mean almost two-thirds of councils now have a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the nation.
This spread of poverty has led to a sharp increase in the number of locations where deprived and well-off residents end up living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods bordered one of the least deprived. This number rose to 119 in the latest data.
A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land
In Grimsby, the gap is the most pronounced in the UK and painfully obvious. The wall transcends being just a symbolic division; it causes very real problems for everyday life.
- School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes turn into an sixty-minute detour.
- Access to important amenities like supermarkets, educational facilities and care homes is hindered.
- The site often sees vandalism and loitering, with instances of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other issues.
“You try to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one local, motioning at the corroded barricade.
Community Spirit Amidst Challenges
Within Centre4, staff stress that support transcends addresses. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” explained chief executive a community leader.
Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe retains a fierce loyalty and feeling of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally.
A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent
This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the 2000s that sit in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings.
“They might have bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people over there don’t even speak to each other.”
The economic divide is clear: an average family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side equivalent homes fetch about £410,000.
Residents speak of a palpable sense of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” stated holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our amenities have slowly been taken away, and most of the community problems here are related to financial hardship.”
The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ paints a portrait of an ever more segregated society, where wealth and need are frequently awkwardly in close proximity.
