🔗 Share this article A Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Prosperity and Hardship Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in Across England. In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in homes just several yards from their more affluent counterparts in nearby Scartho village. A six-foot-tall wall literally divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that once connected them. “This is the posh-poor divide,” remarked a resident, 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.” An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country Analysis of government statistics shows how deep disparity often exists, at times across nothing more than a short distance of tarmac, a line of hedges or a barrier. Decades of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now contain a neighbourhood ranking as one of the poorest in the country. This geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a sharp rise in the number of places where disadvantaged and affluent people end up living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods adjoined one of the least deprived. This number increased to 119 in the latest data. A Wall That Divides More Than Land At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the most pronounced in the country and starkly apparent. The barrier is much more than a symbolic division; it causes very real difficulties for everyday life. The school commute that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long journey. Reaching key amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is hindered. The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being thrown over the wall and other problems. “People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one resident, motioning at the corroded barricade. Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Challenges At Centre4, workers stress that need does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained director Tracey Good. Despite ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate retains a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall. A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent This pattern is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings. “They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented Phil Hockley, 63. “It’s likely many people over there don’t even speak to each other.” The economic divide is clear: an typical family home costs about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide comparable properties go for about £410,000. Locals speak of a palpable feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community is neglected,” stated holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the community problems here are related to financial hardship.” The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a portrait of an increasingly divided England, where prosperity and need are frequently awkwardly in close proximity.
In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in homes just several yards from their more affluent counterparts in nearby Scartho village. A six-foot-tall wall literally divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that once connected them. “This is the posh-poor divide,” remarked a resident, 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.” An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country Analysis of government statistics shows how deep disparity often exists, at times across nothing more than a short distance of tarmac, a line of hedges or a barrier. Decades of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now contain a neighbourhood ranking as one of the poorest in the country. This geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a sharp rise in the number of places where disadvantaged and affluent people end up living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods adjoined one of the least deprived. This number increased to 119 in the latest data. A Wall That Divides More Than Land At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the most pronounced in the country and starkly apparent. The barrier is much more than a symbolic division; it causes very real difficulties for everyday life. The school commute that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long journey. Reaching key amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is hindered. The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being thrown over the wall and other problems. “People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one resident, motioning at the corroded barricade. Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Challenges At Centre4, workers stress that need does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained director Tracey Good. Despite ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate retains a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall. A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent This pattern is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings. “They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented Phil Hockley, 63. “It’s likely many people over there don’t even speak to each other.” The economic divide is clear: an typical family home costs about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide comparable properties go for about £410,000. Locals speak of a palpable feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community is neglected,” stated holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the community problems here are related to financial hardship.” The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a portrait of an increasingly divided England, where prosperity and need are frequently awkwardly in close proximity.