The Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Prosperity and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in England.
Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in properties just several yards from their more affluent counterparts in nearby Scartho. One six-foot-tall barricade literally divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off roads and walkways that previously connected them.
“This is the posh-poor divide,” said Serenity Colley, 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.”
An Increasingly Common National Picture
Data from official figures reveals how deep inequality can run, sometimes over nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a line of hedges or a wall. Years of budget cuts and underinvestment have led to a situation where a majority of local authorities now contain a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the nation.
This spread of poverty has led to a sharp increase in the quantity of places where disadvantaged and well-off people find themselves as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the most recent data.
A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land
In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the country and starkly obvious. The barrier transcends being just a symbolic division; it causes very real problems for everyday life.
- The school commute that should take 15-20 minutes become an hour-long detour.
- Access to key services like supermarkets, schools and employment centres is hindered.
- The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and other problems.
“People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one resident, gesturing towards the rusted barricade.
Local Bonds Amidst Hardship
Within Centre4, workers stress that need transcends postcodes. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” explained chief executive Tracey Good.
Despite being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe retains a fierce loyalty and feeling of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% nationally.
A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford
This phenomenon is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment.
“They might have larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented a long-term resident, aged 63. “You’ll probably find many people over there never even talk to each other.”
The financial divide is clear: an typical family home sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent properties fetch about £410,000.
Locals speak of a palpable feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are related to poverty.”
The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an ever more divided society, where prosperity and need are frequently awkwardly in close proximity.
