The Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Deprivation Are Found Side by Side in Across England.
In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in properties just a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in nearby Scartho village. A 1.8-metre-high wall physically divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off roads and walkways that once linked them.
“It’s the divide between rich and poor,” said 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 associate with us.”
A Stark National Picture
Data from official figures shows how deep inequality can run, sometimes across little more than a few metres of tarmac, a line of hedges or a wall. Years of budget cuts and underinvestment have led to a situation where a majority of councils now contain a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the country.
This spread of deprivation has led to a significant increase in the number of places where deprived and affluent people find themselves living side by side. Just a few years ago, just 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the least deprived. This number increased to 119 in the most recent data.
A Wall That Divides More Than Land
In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the country and starkly obvious. The barrier transcends being just a metaphorical division; it causes very real difficulties for everyday life.
- School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an sixty-minute detour.
- Access to important amenities like grocery stores, schools and care homes is made more difficult.
- The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with instances of rubbish being thrown over the wall and related problems.
“People strive to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one local, gesturing towards the rusted barricade.
Community Spirit Amidst Hardship
At Centre4, workers emphasise that support transcends addresses. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” said chief executive a community leader.
Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate boasts a strong sense and feeling of community among its inhabitants. By contrast, Scartho is classified among the most prosperous 10% overall.
Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford
This pattern is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in England. It is immediately adjacent by spacious houses built in the 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and living environment.
“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people over there don’t even speak to each other.”
The financial divide is clear: an average family home costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide comparable homes fetch about £410,000.
Locals speak of a tangible feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” stated holistic health worker Susan. “In this area our amenities have gradually disappeared, and most of the issues we face here are related to poverty.”
The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an increasingly divided England, where wealth and deprivation are frequently awkwardly close neighbours.
