A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Prosperity and Deprivation Now Sit Side by Side in Across England.
Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy properties just several yards from their wealthier neighbours in nearby Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high barricade literally divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off roads and walkways that previously connected them.
“This is the posh-poor divide,” said Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.”
A Stark Pattern Across the Country
Data from government figures shows the extent of inequality can run, sometimes across little more than a short distance of tarmac, a line of hedges or a wall. Years of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now contain a locality ranking as one of the poorest in the nation.
This geographical widening of deprivation has led to a significant rise in the quantity of places where disadvantaged and well-off people find themselves living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest areas adjoined one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the latest data.
A Wall That Divides More Than Space
In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the UK and painfully apparent. The barrier transcends being just a symbolic division; it causes tangible difficulties for everyday life.
- School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an sixty-minute detour.
- Reaching important services like supermarkets, schools and employment centres is made more difficult.
- The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and related issues.
“People strive to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one resident, gesturing towards the rusted barricade.
Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Challenges
At Centre4, staff stress that support transcends addresses. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” explained director Tracey Good.
Despite ranking in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate boasts a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall.
Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford
This pattern is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in England. 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 might have larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” said Phil Hockley, aged 63. “It’s likely a lot of people over there don’t even speak to each other.”
The economic gap is evident: an average family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side comparable homes go for about £410,000.
Residents describe a tangible feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” said holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the community problems here are related to poverty.”
The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a picture of an increasingly divided England, where wealth and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.