The Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Hardship Are Found Side by Side in England.

In Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in properties just several yards from their wealthier counterparts in the adjacent Scartho village. One six-foot-tall barricade physically separates the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off roads and walkways that once linked them.

“This is the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, aged 37. “It’s been like this for as long as 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 figures shows the extent of inequality often exists, sometimes across nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a hedge row or a barrier. Years of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where a majority of councils now contain a locality classified as one of the poorest in the nation.

This geographical widening of deprivation has coincided with a sharp increase in the number of places where disadvantaged and affluent residents find themselves living side by side. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods bordered one of the least deprived. This number rose to 119 in the latest data.

A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land

At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the biggest in the country and starkly apparent. The wall is much more than a metaphorical division; it causes very real problems for daily routines.

• School runs that should take a quarter of an hour turn into an sixty-minute journey.
• Access to key services like supermarkets, educational facilities and employment centres is made more difficult.
• The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with instances of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other issues.

“People strive to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one local, gesturing towards the corroded barricade.

Local Bonds Amidst Hardship

Within Centre4, workers emphasise that support transcends postcodes. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained director Tracey Good.

Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the least deprived 10% overall.

A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford

This phenomenon is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in England. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment.

“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s more community,” commented a long-term resident, 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”

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

Residents speak of a palpable sense of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are to do with poverty.”

The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an ever more divided England, where wealth and deprivation are often uncomfortably in close proximity.