The Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Prosperity and Deprivation Are Found Side by Side in England.
In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in properties only several yards from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. A 1.8-metre-high barricade literally separates the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off roads and walkways that previously connected them.
“This is the posh-poor divide,” remarked Serenity Colley, 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.”
A Stark National Picture
Data from government figures shows how deep inequality often exists, at times across little more than a few metres of asphalt, a line of hedges or a wall. Years of budget cuts and lack of funding mean a majority of local authorities now have a neighbourhood ranking as one of the poorest in the nation.
The geographical widening of poverty has led to a sharp increase in the quantity of locations where deprived and well-off residents end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods adjoined one of the wealthiest. That figure increased to 119 in the most recent data.
A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land
At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the biggest in the UK and painfully obvious. The wall is much more than a metaphorical division; it causes very real difficulties for daily routines.
- The school commute that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an sixty-minute journey.
- 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 dumped over the wall and other issues.
“You try to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one resident, motioning at the corroded metal wall.
Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship
At Centre4, workers stress that support does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” said chief executive Tracey Good.
Despite being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate retains a fierce loyalty and feeling of togetherness among its residents. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally.
Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford
This phenomenon is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious houses built in the early 2000s that are in the top 10% for job prospects and quality of surroundings.
“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said Phil Hockley, aged 63. “It’s likely a lot of people over there never even talk to each other.”
The economic divide is evident: an typical family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide comparable properties fetch about £410,000.
Locals speak of a palpable sense of being overlooked. “This part of the community is neglected,” said resident Susan. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and most of the issues we face here are to do with financial hardship.”
The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ paints a portrait of an increasingly segregated society, where prosperity and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.
