🔗 Share this article A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Affluence and Deprivation Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in England. Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in homes just a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high wall literally separates the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that once connected them. “It’s the posh-poor divide,” remarked a resident, aged 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.” A Stark Pattern Across the Country Analysis of official statistics shows the extent of disparity often exists, sometimes over nothing more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Years of austerity and lack of funding mean almost two-thirds of councils now have a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the country. The geographical widening of deprivation has coincided with a significant increase in the number of places where deprived and well-off residents end up as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods adjoined one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data. A Wall That Divides More Than Land In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the country and starkly obvious. The wall is much more than a symbolic divide; it causes tangible difficulties for daily routines. School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an hour-long detour. Access to important services like supermarkets, educational facilities and care homes is made more difficult. The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with instances of litter being dumped over the wall and related problems. “You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one local, motioning at the corroded metal wall. Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges At Centre4, staff stress that need transcends postcodes. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” said chief executive a community leader. Despite ranking in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate retains a strong sense and feeling of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area is classified among the least deprived 10% overall. A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent This pattern is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings. “They may possess larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find many people in the new builds never even talk to each other.” The economic gap is evident: an typical family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side equivalent properties fetch about £410,000. Residents describe a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” stated holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our amenities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the issues we face here are to do with poverty.” The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a portrait of an ever more divided England, where prosperity and need are often awkwardly close neighbours.
Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in homes just a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high wall literally separates the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that once connected them. “It’s the posh-poor divide,” remarked a resident, aged 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.” A Stark Pattern Across the Country Analysis of official statistics shows the extent of disparity often exists, sometimes over nothing more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Years of austerity and lack of funding mean almost two-thirds of councils now have a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the country. The geographical widening of deprivation has coincided with a significant increase in the number of places where deprived and well-off residents end up as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods adjoined one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data. A Wall That Divides More Than Land In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the country and starkly obvious. The wall is much more than a symbolic divide; it causes tangible difficulties for daily routines. School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an hour-long detour. Access to important services like supermarkets, educational facilities and care homes is made more difficult. The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with instances of litter being dumped over the wall and related problems. “You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one local, motioning at the corroded metal wall. Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges At Centre4, staff stress that need transcends postcodes. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” said chief executive a community leader. Despite ranking in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate retains a strong sense and feeling of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area is classified among the least deprived 10% overall. A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent This pattern is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings. “They may possess larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find many people in the new builds never even talk to each other.” The economic gap is evident: an typical family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side equivalent properties fetch about £410,000. Residents describe a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” stated holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our amenities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the issues we face here are to do with poverty.” The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a portrait of an ever more divided England, where prosperity and need are often awkwardly close neighbours.