The Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Affluence and Deprivation Are Found Side by Side in England.
Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy properties only a few metres from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho. A six-foot-tall wall literally separates the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off paths and streets that previously linked them.
“It’s the divide between rich and poor,” remarked Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It has been there 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 National Picture
Data from official figures reveals the extent of disparity often exists, sometimes across little 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 local authorities now contain a neighbourhood classified as one of the most deprived in the country.
The geographical widening of deprivation has coincided with a sharp rise in the number of places where disadvantaged and affluent people find themselves living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the poorest areas adjoined one of the wealthiest. This number increased to 119 in the latest data.
A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Space
At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the biggest in the country and painfully apparent. The barrier is much more than a symbolic divide; it creates tangible problems for everyday life.
- The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour turn into an sixty-minute detour.
- Reaching important services like supermarkets, schools and care homes is hindered.
- The site can attract vandalism and loitering, with instances of rubbish being thrown over the wall and related issues.
“People strive to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one resident, motioning at the rusted metal wall.
Community Spirit Amidst Hardship
Within a local community centre, workers emphasise that support transcends postcodes. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” said director a community leader.
Despite ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate retains a strong sense and feeling of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area is classified among the least deprived 10% nationally.
A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent
This phenomenon is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious houses built in the 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and quality of surroundings.
“They might have larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented Phil Hockley, 63. “You’ll probably find many people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”
The economic gap is clear: an typical three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side equivalent homes go for about £410,000.
Residents speak of a tangible sense of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” stated holistic health worker Susan. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the community problems here are related to poverty.”
The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a portrait of an ever more divided society, where wealth and need are frequently awkwardly close neighbours.
