🔗 Share this article A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Deprivation Are Found Side by Side in Across England. Within Nunsthorpe, residents occupy properties just a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho village. One six-foot-tall wall literally divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off paths and streets that previously linked 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 doubt they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.” An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country Analysis of official figures reveals the extent of inequality can run, at times over nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a hedge row or a barrier. Decades of austerity and lack of funding mean almost two-thirds of local authorities now contain a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the nation. The spread of poverty has coincided with a significant increase in the quantity of locations where deprived and well-off people end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived areas adjoined one of the wealthiest. This number increased to 119 in the most recent data. A Barrier Which Divides More Than Space At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the biggest in the UK and starkly apparent. The barrier transcends being just a metaphorical divide; it creates very real difficulties for daily routines. The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute detour. Access to key services like supermarkets, schools and employment centres is made more difficult. The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with instances of litter being thrown over the wall and other problems. “You try to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one resident, gesturing towards the corroded metal wall. Local Bonds Amidst Hardship Within Centre4, workers stress that need transcends postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained director a community leader. Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate retains a fierce loyalty and sense of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall. Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford This pattern is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is closely bordered by large houses built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and living environment. “They may possess larger properties, but here there’s more community,” commented a long-term resident, aged 63. “It’s likely many people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.” The financial divide is evident: an typical three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent properties go for about £410,000. Residents speak of a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said resident Susan. “In this area our amenities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the community problems here are related to financial hardship.” The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ paints a portrait of an increasingly divided society, where wealth and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably close neighbours.
Within Nunsthorpe, residents occupy properties just a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho village. One six-foot-tall wall literally divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off paths and streets that previously linked 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 doubt they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.” An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country Analysis of official figures reveals the extent of inequality can run, at times over nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a hedge row or a barrier. Decades of austerity and lack of funding mean almost two-thirds of local authorities now contain a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the nation. The spread of poverty has coincided with a significant increase in the quantity of locations where deprived and well-off people end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived areas adjoined one of the wealthiest. This number increased to 119 in the most recent data. A Barrier Which Divides More Than Space At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the biggest in the UK and starkly apparent. The barrier transcends being just a metaphorical divide; it creates very real difficulties for daily routines. The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute detour. Access to key services like supermarkets, schools and employment centres is made more difficult. The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with instances of litter being thrown over the wall and other problems. “You try to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one resident, gesturing towards the corroded metal wall. Local Bonds Amidst Hardship Within Centre4, workers stress that need transcends postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained director a community leader. Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate retains a fierce loyalty and sense of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall. Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford This pattern is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is closely bordered by large houses built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and living environment. “They may possess larger properties, but here there’s more community,” commented a long-term resident, aged 63. “It’s likely many people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.” The financial divide is evident: an typical three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent properties go for about £410,000. Residents speak of a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said resident Susan. “In this area our amenities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the community problems here are related to financial hardship.” The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ paints a portrait of an increasingly divided society, where wealth and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably close neighbours.