A Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Deprivation Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy homes only several yards from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho village. One six-foot-tall barricade literally divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off roads and walkways that once connected them.
“It’s the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, aged 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.”
An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country
Analysis of official figures shows the extent of disparity often exists, sometimes across little more than a few metres of tarmac, a hedge row 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 nation.
This spread of poverty has coincided with a significant increase in the number of places where disadvantaged and affluent people find themselves living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived areas adjoined one of the wealthiest. This number increased to 119 in the latest data.
A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land
At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the biggest in the UK and painfully obvious. The barrier transcends being just a metaphorical division; it causes tangible difficulties for everyday life.
- School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute journey.
- Reaching important amenities like supermarkets, schools and care homes is hindered.
- The site often sees vandalism and loitering, with instances of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other problems.
“People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one local, gesturing towards the rusted metal wall.
Community Spirit Amidst Hardship
At Centre4, workers stress that support transcends addresses. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” explained director Tracey Good.
Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate boasts a fierce loyalty and feeling of togetherness among its residents. Meanwhile, Scartho is classified among the least deprived 10% nationally.
Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford
This pattern is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in England. It is closely bordered by large detached homes built in the 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment.
“They might have larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “It’s likely many people over there never even talk to each other.”
The economic gap is clear: an average three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide comparable homes go for about £410,000.
Residents describe a palpable sense of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our amenities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.”
The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an ever more segregated England, where wealth and deprivation are often awkwardly close neighbours.
