🔗 Share this article A Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Affluence and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in England. Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy homes only several yards from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. One six-foot-tall barricade physically divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off roads and walkways that once connected them. “This is the posh-poor divide,” remarked Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.” An Increasingly Common National Picture Data from government statistics reveals the extent of disparity can run, sometimes across little more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Years of budget cuts and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now contain a neighbourhood classified as one of the most deprived in the country. This geographical widening of deprivation has led to a significant increase in the number of places where deprived and affluent residents end up living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived areas adjoined one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the latest data. A Wall That Does More Than Separate Land At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the most pronounced in the country and painfully apparent. The barrier is much more than a symbolic division; it causes tangible problems for daily routines. School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long detour. Access to key amenities like supermarkets, schools and care homes is hindered. The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being thrown over the wall and other problems. “You try to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one resident, gesturing towards the corroded barricade. Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges Within Centre4, workers emphasise that need does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” explained chief executive a community leader. Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate retains a strong sense and sense of community among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally. Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford This pattern is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in the country. It is closely bordered by large houses built in the early 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and quality of surroundings. “They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “You’ll probably find many people over there never even talk to each other.” The economic gap is clear: an average family home sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent properties fetch about £410,000. Residents describe a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” stated holistic health worker Susan. “In this area our amenities have slowly been taken away, and most of the community problems here are related to financial hardship.” The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a picture of an increasingly divided England, where wealth and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.
Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy homes only several yards from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. One six-foot-tall barricade physically divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off roads and walkways that once connected them. “This is the posh-poor divide,” remarked Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.” An Increasingly Common National Picture Data from government statistics reveals the extent of disparity can run, sometimes across little more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Years of budget cuts and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now contain a neighbourhood classified as one of the most deprived in the country. This geographical widening of deprivation has led to a significant increase in the number of places where deprived and affluent residents end up living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived areas adjoined one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the latest data. A Wall That Does More Than Separate Land At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the most pronounced in the country and painfully apparent. The barrier is much more than a symbolic division; it causes tangible problems for daily routines. School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long detour. Access to key amenities like supermarkets, schools and care homes is hindered. The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being thrown over the wall and other problems. “You try to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one resident, gesturing towards the corroded barricade. Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges Within Centre4, workers emphasise that need does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” explained chief executive a community leader. Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate retains a strong sense and sense of community among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally. Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford This pattern is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in the country. It is closely bordered by large houses built in the early 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and quality of surroundings. “They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “You’ll probably find many people over there never even talk to each other.” The economic gap is clear: an average family home sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent properties fetch about £410,000. Residents describe a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” stated holistic health worker Susan. “In this area our amenities have slowly been taken away, and most of the community problems here are related to financial hardship.” The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a picture of an increasingly divided England, where wealth and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.