🔗 Share this article A Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Hardship Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England. Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy properties only a few metres from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho. One six-foot-tall barricade literally divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that once linked them. “It’s the posh-poor divide,” remarked Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.” An Increasingly Common National Picture Data from government statistics reveals how deep disparity can run, sometimes over little more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a barrier. Years of austerity and underinvestment mean almost two-thirds of local authorities now contain a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the nation. This geographical widening of deprivation has led to a significant increase in the number of places where deprived and well-off people end up as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, just 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure increased to 119 in the most recent data. A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Space In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the UK and starkly obvious. The barrier is much more than a symbolic divide; it creates tangible difficulties for daily routines. The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute detour. Reaching key amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is hindered. The site often sees vandalism and loitering, with instances of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other problems. “People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, gesturing towards the rusted barricade. Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Challenges Within a local community centre, staff stress that support transcends addresses. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained director Tracey Good. Despite ranking in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe retains a strong sense and feeling of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally. A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and quality of surroundings. “They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds never even talk 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 comparable homes go for about £410,000. Locals speak of a tangible feeling of neglect. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our amenities have gradually disappeared, and most of the community problems here are to do with poverty.” The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a portrait of an increasingly divided society, where wealth and need are often uncomfortably in close proximity.
Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy properties only a few metres from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho. One six-foot-tall barricade literally divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that once linked them. “It’s the posh-poor divide,” remarked Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.” An Increasingly Common National Picture Data from government statistics reveals how deep disparity can run, sometimes over little more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a barrier. Years of austerity and underinvestment mean almost two-thirds of local authorities now contain a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the nation. This geographical widening of deprivation has led to a significant increase in the number of places where deprived and well-off people end up as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, just 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure increased to 119 in the most recent data. A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Space In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the UK and starkly obvious. The barrier is much more than a symbolic divide; it creates tangible difficulties for daily routines. The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute detour. Reaching key amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is hindered. The site often sees vandalism and loitering, with instances of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other problems. “People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, gesturing towards the rusted barricade. Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Challenges Within a local community centre, staff stress that support transcends addresses. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained director Tracey Good. Despite ranking in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe retains a strong sense and feeling of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally. A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and quality of surroundings. “They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds never even talk 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 comparable homes go for about £410,000. Locals speak of a tangible feeling of neglect. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our amenities have gradually disappeared, and most of the community problems here are to do with poverty.” The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a portrait of an increasingly divided society, where wealth and need are often uncomfortably in close proximity.