A Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Deprivation Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in England.

In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants occupy properties just several yards from their wealthier counterparts in the adjacent Scartho. One six-foot-tall wall physically separates the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that once linked them.

“This is the posh-poor divide,” said Serenity Colley, 37. “It’s been like this for as long as 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

Analysis of government figures shows the extent of inequality can run, sometimes across nothing more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Years of budget cuts and underinvestment mean almost two-thirds of local authorities now contain a locality ranking as one of the most deprived in the country.

This geographical widening of deprivation has led to a sharp increase in the quantity of places where disadvantaged and well-off people end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods bordered one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the latest data.

A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Space

At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the most pronounced in the UK and starkly obvious. The wall transcends being just a metaphorical divide; it creates tangible difficulties for daily routines.

• The school commute that should take 15-20 minutes turn into an sixty-minute detour.
• Reaching important services like supermarkets, schools and care homes is made more difficult.
• The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other problems.

“You try to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, gesturing towards the rusted barricade.

Local Bonds Amidst Hardship

Within Centre4, staff stress that support does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” said chief executive Tracey Good.

Despite ranking in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate boasts a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the most prosperous 10% nationally.

A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent

This phenomenon is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in England. It is immediately adjacent by spacious detached homes built in the 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment.

“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented a long-term resident, 63. “You’ll probably find many people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”

The economic divide is evident: an typical three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent homes go for about £410,000.

Residents speak of a palpable feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” stated holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.”

The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a portrait of an ever more divided society, where prosperity and deprivation are often awkwardly close neighbours.