The Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Deprivation Now Sit Side by Side in England.

In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in properties only several yards from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho village. One 1.8-metre-high wall physically separates the two communities in the town of Grimsby, blocking off roads and walkways that once linked them.

“This is the posh-poor divide,” said Serenity Colley, aged 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 Pattern Across the Country

Data from official statistics reveals how deep inequality often exists, at times over nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a line of hedges or a wall. Decades of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where a majority of local authorities now have a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the nation.

The spread of deprivation has led to a sharp rise in the quantity of locations where disadvantaged and affluent people find themselves living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods bordered one of the least deprived. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data.

A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land

In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the UK and starkly apparent. The barrier is much more than a symbolic division; it creates very real difficulties for daily routines.

• The school commute that ought to take 15-20 minutes turn into an hour-long detour.
• Reaching key amenities like grocery stores, schools and employment centres is made more difficult.
• The site can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other issues.

“You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one resident, motioning at the corroded barricade.

Local Bonds Amidst Hardship

Within Centre4, staff stress that need transcends postcodes. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” explained director Tracey Good.

Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and sense of community among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally.

A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford

This pattern is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is closely bordered by large houses built in the 2000s that sit in the top 10% for job prospects and living environment.

“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s more community,” commented a long-term resident, 63. “You’ll probably find many people over there never even talk to each other.”

The financial divide is clear: an typical family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide equivalent properties fetch about £410,000.

Residents describe a palpable sense of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” said resident Susan. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are related to poverty.”

The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a portrait of an ever more segregated England, where wealth and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.