A Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Affluence and Deprivation Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in England.
Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in homes only several yards from their wealthier counterparts in the adjacent Scartho village. One 1.8-metre-high barricade physically divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, blocking off roads and walkways that previously linked them.
“It’s the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll bring 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 the extent of disparity often exists, at times over nothing more than a few metres of tarmac, a line of hedges or a barrier. Years of austerity and underinvestment mean almost two-thirds of councils now contain a neighbourhood ranking as one of the most deprived in the nation.
This geographical widening of poverty has led to a sharp increase in the quantity of places where deprived and affluent people end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the poorest areas adjoined one of the wealthiest. This number rose to 119 in the most recent data.
A Barrier Which Divides More Than Space
At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the biggest in the country and painfully obvious. The wall transcends being just a symbolic division; it creates tangible difficulties for everyday life.
- School runs that should take 15-20 minutes become an sixty-minute journey.
- Access to key amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is hindered.
- The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and related problems.
“People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one resident, gesturing towards the corroded metal wall.
Local Bonds Amidst Challenges
At Centre4, workers stress that support transcends addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” said chief executive Tracey Good.
Despite being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe boasts a fierce loyalty and sense of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% overall.
A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford
This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in England. It is closely bordered by spacious houses built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and living environment.
“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “It’s likely a lot of people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”
The economic divide is clear: an average family home costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side equivalent properties fetch about £410,000.
Locals describe a tangible sense of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to poverty.”
The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a portrait of an ever more segregated society, where wealth and deprivation are frequently awkwardly in close proximity.