A Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Affluence and Deprivation Are Found Side by Side in Across England.

In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy properties only a few metres from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho village. A six-foot-tall barricade physically separates the two communities in the town of Grimsby, blocking off paths and streets that previously connected them.

“This is the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.”

A Stark National Picture

Data from government statistics shows the extent of inequality can run, sometimes across little more than a short distance of asphalt, a hedge row or a barrier. Years of austerity and underinvestment mean a majority of local authorities now have a locality ranking as one of the poorest in the country.

This spread of poverty has led to a sharp increase in the quantity of places where disadvantaged and well-off people end up living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the most recent data.

A Wall That Divides More Than Space

In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the UK and painfully obvious. The wall is much more than a symbolic divide; it causes tangible difficulties for daily routines.

• School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute journey.
• Access to important amenities like grocery stores, schools and employment centres is hindered.
• The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with instances of litter being thrown over the wall and related problems.

“People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one resident, gesturing towards the rusted metal wall.

Local Bonds Amidst Challenges

Within a local community centre, staff emphasise that support does not recognise postcodes. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” said director Tracey Good.

Despite ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a strong sense and feeling of community among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% nationally.

Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent

This phenomenon is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in England. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the 2000s that sit in the top 10% for employment and living environment.

“They might have larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” said a long-term resident, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people over there don’t even speak to each other.”

The financial divide is clear: an typical family home sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent properties fetch about £410,000.

Residents speak of a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community is neglected,” stated resident Susan. “In this area our amenities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.”

The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an increasingly segregated England, where prosperity and need are often awkwardly in close proximity.