The Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Prosperity and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in homes just several yards from their more affluent neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. A 1.8-metre-high barricade physically divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, blocking off paths and streets that once linked them.
“This is the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, aged 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.”
A Stark National Picture
Analysis of government figures shows how deep disparity often exists, sometimes across little more than a few metres of asphalt, a hedge row or a barrier. Decades of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where a majority of local authorities now have a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the nation.
The geographical widening of deprivation has coincided with a significant rise in the number of locations where disadvantaged and well-off residents end up as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods adjoined one of the least deprived. That figure rose to 119 in the most recent data.
A Wall That Does More Than Separate Land
At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the biggest in the UK and starkly apparent. The barrier is much more than a symbolic division; it creates tangible difficulties for everyday life.
- School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes turn into an hour-long detour.
- Access to key services like supermarkets, educational facilities and care homes is made more difficult.
- The area often sees vandalism and loitering, with instances of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other problems.
“People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one local, gesturing towards the rusted metal wall.
Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship
At a local community centre, workers emphasise that need does not recognise addresses. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said director a community leader.
Regardless of ranking in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe boasts a fierce loyalty and feeling of community among its inhabitants. By contrast, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% nationally.
A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent
This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in the country. It is closely bordered by large houses built in the early 2000s that sit in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings.
“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” said Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find many people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”
The financial divide is evident: an average three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side equivalent homes go for about £410,000.
Locals speak of a tangible sense of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” stated holistic health worker Susan. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the issues we face here are to do with poverty.”
The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a portrait of an increasingly segregated England, where wealth and deprivation are often awkwardly close neighbours.