🔗 Share this article The Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Prosperity and Deprivation Now Sit Side by Side in England. In Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy homes just several yards from their more affluent neighbours in the adjacent Scartho village. A six-foot-tall barricade physically divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off roads and walkways that once connected them. “This is the posh-poor divide,” said Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.” A Stark National Picture Analysis of government figures shows how deep inequality often exists, sometimes across little more than a short distance of asphalt, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now contain a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the nation. This geographical widening of deprivation has led to a significant increase in the quantity of places where disadvantaged and well-off people find themselves as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, just 65 of the poorest areas adjoined one of the wealthiest. This number increased to 119 in the latest data. A Barrier Which Divides More Than Space In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the country and starkly obvious. The wall is much more than a symbolic divide; it creates very real difficulties for daily routines. School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute journey. Access to important services like supermarkets, educational facilities and care homes is hindered. The area often sees vandalism and loitering, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and related issues. “People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one local, motioning at the corroded metal wall. Local Bonds Amidst Challenges At a local community centre, staff emphasise that need transcends postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” said director a community leader. Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate retains a fierce loyalty and feeling of togetherness among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall. A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent This pattern is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in England. It is closely bordered by large houses built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and quality of surroundings. “They might have bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” commented Phil Hockley, 63. “You’ll probably find many people in the new builds never even talk to each other.” The financial gap is evident: an average family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide comparable homes go for about £410,000. Residents speak of a tangible feeling of neglect. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and most of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.” The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an ever more segregated England, where wealth and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably close neighbours.
In Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy homes just several yards from their more affluent neighbours in the adjacent Scartho village. A six-foot-tall barricade physically divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off roads and walkways that once connected them. “This is the posh-poor divide,” said Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.” A Stark National Picture Analysis of government figures shows how deep inequality often exists, sometimes across little more than a short distance of asphalt, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now contain a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the nation. This geographical widening of deprivation has led to a significant increase in the quantity of places where disadvantaged and well-off people find themselves as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, just 65 of the poorest areas adjoined one of the wealthiest. This number increased to 119 in the latest data. A Barrier Which Divides More Than Space In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the country and starkly obvious. The wall is much more than a symbolic divide; it creates very real difficulties for daily routines. School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute journey. Access to important services like supermarkets, educational facilities and care homes is hindered. The area often sees vandalism and loitering, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and related issues. “People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one local, motioning at the corroded metal wall. Local Bonds Amidst Challenges At a local community centre, staff emphasise that need transcends postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” said director a community leader. Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate retains a fierce loyalty and feeling of togetherness among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall. A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent This pattern is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in England. It is closely bordered by large houses built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and quality of surroundings. “They might have bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” commented Phil Hockley, 63. “You’ll probably find many people in the new builds never even talk to each other.” The financial gap is evident: an average family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide comparable homes go for about £410,000. Residents speak of a tangible feeling of neglect. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and most of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.” The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an ever more segregated England, where wealth and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably close neighbours.