The Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Deprivation Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in England.
Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants occupy properties only several yards from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho village. A 1.8-metre-high barricade literally divides the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off roads and walkways that previously linked them.
“It’s the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.”
An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country
Analysis of government statistics shows how deep inequality often exists, at times across nothing more than a few metres of tarmac, a line of hedges or a barrier. Years of austerity and underinvestment mean almost two-thirds of local authorities now contain a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the country.
This spread of poverty has coincided with a sharp rise in the number of locations where deprived and well-off people end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the most recent data.
A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land
In Grimsby, the gap is the most pronounced in the UK and starkly obvious. The wall transcends being just a symbolic divide; it causes tangible problems for everyday life.
- The school commute that ought to take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long detour.
- Access to key amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is hindered.
- The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and other problems.
“You try to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, motioning at the rusted metal wall.
Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Challenges
At Centre4, workers stress that support does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” said director Tracey Good.
Despite ranking in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe retains a fierce loyalty and sense of togetherness among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall.
A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent
This pattern is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in England. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the early 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and living environment.
“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely many people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”
The economic divide is evident: an typical three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide comparable homes go for about £410,000.
Residents speak of a palpable feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our facilities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the community problems here are related to financial hardship.”
The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a portrait of an ever more segregated England, where prosperity and deprivation are often awkwardly close neighbours.
