A Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Deprivation Now Sit Side by Side in England.

In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in homes just a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho village. One 1.8-metre-high barricade physically divides the two communities in the town of Grimsby, blocking off paths and streets 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 bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.”

An Increasingly Common National Picture

Analysis of official figures shows the extent of inequality often exists, sometimes over nothing more than a short distance of asphalt, a hedge row or a barrier. Years of budget cuts and lack of funding mean almost two-thirds of councils now have a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the nation.

The spread of deprivation has coincided with a sharp increase in the number of places where disadvantaged and affluent people end up living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest areas bordered one of the least deprived. That figure rose to 119 in the most recent data.

A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Space

In Grimsby, the gap is the most pronounced in the country and starkly apparent. The barrier transcends being just a metaphorical division; it creates tangible difficulties for everyday life.

• The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long journey.
• Reaching key services like supermarkets, schools and care homes is hindered.
• The site often sees vandalism and loitering, with instances of litter being dumped over the wall and related problems.

“You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one local, motioning at the corroded metal wall.

Local Bonds Amidst Challenges

At Centre4, staff stress that need does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained chief executive Tracey Good.

Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and feeling of community among its inhabitants. By contrast, Scartho is classified among the least deprived 10% nationally.

A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent

This pattern is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious houses built in the early 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment.

“They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” commented a long-term resident, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”

The financial gap is evident: an typical three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side equivalent homes fetch about £410,000.

Locals speak of a palpable sense of neglect. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our amenities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are related to poverty.”

The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an increasingly divided society, where wealth and deprivation are frequently awkwardly close neighbours.