The Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Affluence and Deprivation Are Found Side by Side in England.

In Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy homes just a few metres from their more affluent counterparts in nearby Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high barricade physically divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off roads and walkways that once linked them.

“It’s the posh-poor divide,” said Serenity Colley, 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.”

An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country

Analysis of official figures shows the extent of disparity can run, at times across nothing more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Years of austerity and underinvestment mean almost two-thirds of councils now contain a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the country.

The geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a sharp increase in the number of places where deprived and well-off residents find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived areas adjoined one of the wealthiest. This number increased to 119 in the most recent data.

A Wall That Divides More Than Space

At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the most pronounced in the country and painfully apparent. The wall transcends being just a metaphorical divide; it causes very real problems for daily routines.

• School runs that should take 15-20 minutes become an hour-long journey.
• Reaching key amenities like supermarkets, schools and care homes is made more difficult.
• The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other problems.

“People strive to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one resident, motioning at the rusted barricade.

Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges

At Centre4, workers stress that support does not recognise addresses. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” said chief executive Tracey Good.

Despite ranking in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate boasts a strong sense and sense of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Scartho is classified among the least deprived 10% overall.

A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford

This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious houses built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings.

“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” said Phil Hockley, 63. “It’s likely many people over there don’t even speak to each other.”

The financial divide is evident: an typical family home costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide equivalent properties go for about £410,000.

Locals describe a palpable sense of neglect. “This part of the community gets ignored,” stated holistic health worker Susan. “In this area our facilities have gradually disappeared, and most of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.”

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