A Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Hardship Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy properties just a few metres from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho. A six-foot-tall wall physically separates the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off roads and walkways that previously connected them.
“This is the divide between rich and poor,” remarked Serenity Colley, 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.”
A Stark National Picture
Data from government figures shows the extent of inequality often exists, at times across little more than a short distance of tarmac, a line of hedges or a barrier. Decades of budget cuts and lack of funding have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now contain a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the country.
The spread of deprivation has led to a significant increase in the number of places where deprived and well-off residents find themselves living side by side. Just a few years ago, just 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the least deprived. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data.
A Wall That Divides More Than Land
In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the country and painfully apparent. The wall is much more than a symbolic divide; it creates tangible problems for daily routines.
- School runs that should take 15-20 minutes turn into an sixty-minute detour.
- Access to important amenities like grocery stores, schools and employment centres is made more difficult.
- The area often sees vandalism and loitering, with reports of rubbish being thrown over the wall and related issues.
“People strive to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one resident, gesturing towards the corroded barricade.
Local Bonds Amidst Hardship
Within Centre4, workers stress that support transcends addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained director Tracey Good.
Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe retains a strong sense and sense of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the least deprived 10% overall.
Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford
This phenomenon is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in England. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the early 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for employment and quality of surroundings.
“They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people over there don’t even speak to each other.”
The financial divide is clear: an average three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide equivalent homes fetch about £410,000.
Locals speak of a palpable sense of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said resident Susan. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.”
The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an increasingly divided society, where wealth and need are frequently uncomfortably close neighbours.