The Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.

Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy homes just several yards from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho. One six-foot-tall wall literally divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, blocking off paths and streets that previously linked them.

“This is the divide between rich and poor,” remarked a resident, 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.”

An Increasingly Common National Picture

Analysis of official figures shows the extent of inequality often exists, at times over nothing more than a few metres of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Years of budget cuts and lack of funding mean a majority of councils now contain a neighbourhood ranking as one of the poorest in the nation.

The spread of deprivation has coincided with a significant increase in the quantity of locations where disadvantaged and affluent residents find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. This number increased to 119 in the latest data.

A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Space

At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the biggest in the country and painfully obvious. The barrier transcends being just a symbolic division; it causes tangible problems for daily routines.

• School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an hour-long journey.
• Access to key services like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is made more difficult.
• The site can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and related issues.

“People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, motioning at the rusted metal wall.

Community Spirit Amidst Challenges

Within Centre4, staff emphasise that need transcends addresses. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” said director Tracey Good.

Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe retains a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, Scartho is classified among the most prosperous 10% overall.

Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford

This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in England. It is closely bordered by large houses built in the early 2000s that sit in the top 10% for job prospects and quality of surroundings.

“They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, aged 63. “You’ll probably find many people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”

The economic gap is clear: an typical family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side equivalent properties go for about £410,000.

Locals describe a tangible sense of neglect. “This part of the community gets ignored,” stated resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our amenities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.”

The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an increasingly segregated society, where prosperity and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.