🔗 Share this article The Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Prosperity and Deprivation Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in Across England. In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in properties only several yards from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho. A six-foot-tall barricade literally separates the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off roads and walkways that previously linked them. “This is the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, aged 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.” An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country Analysis of government figures shows the extent of inequality can run, sometimes across nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a hedge row or a barrier. Years of austerity and lack of funding mean a majority of councils now have a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the country. This geographical widening of poverty has led to a sharp rise in the number of locations where deprived and affluent residents end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure increased to 119 in the most recent data. A Wall That Divides More Than Land At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the biggest in the country and painfully obvious. The wall is much more than a symbolic division; it creates very real difficulties for daily routines. School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes turn into an hour-long detour. Reaching key services like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is hindered. The site often sees vandalism and loitering, with reports of litter being thrown over the wall and related issues. “You try to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one local, gesturing towards the corroded barricade. Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship Within a local community centre, workers emphasise that support does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” said chief executive Tracey Good. Despite being placed 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 is classified among the least deprived 10% nationally. Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings. “They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.” The economic divide is clear: an typical three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide equivalent homes go for about £410,000. Locals describe a palpable feeling of neglect. “This part of the community is neglected,” said holistic health worker Susan. “In this area our amenities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.” The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a portrait of an ever more segregated England, where wealth and need are often uncomfortably in close proximity.
In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in properties only several yards from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho. A six-foot-tall barricade literally separates the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off roads and walkways that previously linked them. “This is the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, aged 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.” An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country Analysis of government figures shows the extent of inequality can run, sometimes across nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a hedge row or a barrier. Years of austerity and lack of funding mean a majority of councils now have a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the country. This geographical widening of poverty has led to a sharp rise in the number of locations where deprived and affluent residents end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure increased to 119 in the most recent data. A Wall That Divides More Than Land At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the biggest in the country and painfully obvious. The wall is much more than a symbolic division; it creates very real difficulties for daily routines. School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes turn into an hour-long detour. Reaching key services like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is hindered. The site often sees vandalism and loitering, with reports of litter being thrown over the wall and related issues. “You try to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one local, gesturing towards the corroded barricade. Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship Within a local community centre, workers emphasise that support does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” said chief executive Tracey Good. Despite being placed 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 is classified among the least deprived 10% nationally. Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings. “They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.” The economic divide is clear: an typical three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide equivalent homes go for about £410,000. Locals describe a palpable feeling of neglect. “This part of the community is neglected,” said holistic health worker Susan. “In this area our amenities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.” The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a portrait of an ever more segregated England, where wealth and need are often uncomfortably in close proximity.