🔗 Share this article The Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Deprivation Now Sit Side by Side in Across England. Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy properties only a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high wall physically divides the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that once connected them. “This is the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.” An Increasingly Common National Picture Data from government statistics shows how deep disparity often exists, at times across nothing more than a few metres of tarmac, a hedge row or a barrier. Decades of budget cuts and lack of funding mean a majority of councils now have a neighbourhood ranking as one of the poorest in the country. The spread of poverty has coincided with a significant rise in the quantity of places where deprived and affluent residents end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data. A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the country and painfully apparent. The wall transcends being just a symbolic divide; it creates very real difficulties for daily routines. The school commute that ought to take 15-20 minutes turn into an sixty-minute journey. Access to important services like supermarkets, schools and employment centres is made more difficult. The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with instances of litter being dumped over the wall and related problems. “People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one resident, motioning at the rusted barricade. Community Spirit Amidst Challenges At Centre4, staff stress that support does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained chief executive Tracey Good. Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate retains a strong sense and sense of community among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% overall. A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in England. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and living environment. “They might have bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find many people over there don’t even speak to each other.” The financial gap is evident: an average family home sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide comparable properties fetch about £410,000. Locals describe a palpable feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said resident Susan. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to poverty.” The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a portrait of an ever more segregated society, where prosperity and need are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.
Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy properties only a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high wall physically divides the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that once connected them. “This is the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.” An Increasingly Common National Picture Data from government statistics shows how deep disparity often exists, at times across nothing more than a few metres of tarmac, a hedge row or a barrier. Decades of budget cuts and lack of funding mean a majority of councils now have a neighbourhood ranking as one of the poorest in the country. The spread of poverty has coincided with a significant rise in the quantity of places where deprived and affluent residents end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data. A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the country and painfully apparent. The wall transcends being just a symbolic divide; it creates very real difficulties for daily routines. The school commute that ought to take 15-20 minutes turn into an sixty-minute journey. Access to important services like supermarkets, schools and employment centres is made more difficult. The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with instances of litter being dumped over the wall and related problems. “People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one resident, motioning at the rusted barricade. Community Spirit Amidst Challenges At Centre4, staff stress that support does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained chief executive Tracey Good. Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate retains a strong sense and sense of community among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% overall. A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in England. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and living environment. “They might have bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find many people over there don’t even speak to each other.” The financial gap is evident: an average family home sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide comparable properties fetch about £410,000. Locals describe a palpable feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said resident Susan. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to poverty.” The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a portrait of an ever more segregated society, where prosperity and need are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.