The Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Prosperity and Deprivation Now Sit Side by Side in Across England.

Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy homes only a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho. A 1.8-metre-high barricade physically divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that once linked them.

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

A Stark Pattern Across the Country

Data from official figures shows the extent of inequality often exists, at times across little more than a short distance of tarmac, 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 geographical widening of poverty has led to a sharp rise in the number of locations where deprived and affluent residents end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. This number rose to 119 in the latest data.

A Barrier Which Divides More Than Space

At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the most pronounced in the country and painfully obvious. The barrier is much more than a metaphorical divide; it causes very real problems for everyday life.

• School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute journey.
• Reaching important amenities like supermarkets, schools and care homes is hindered.
• The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of rubbish being thrown over the wall and related problems.

“People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one local, gesturing towards the corroded barricade.

Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Challenges

At a local community centre, workers emphasise that support does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” said director Tracey Good.

Despite ranking in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its residents. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally.

Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent

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

“They might have bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people over there never even talk to each other.”

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

Residents describe a tangible feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and most of the community problems here are related to financial hardship.”

The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a picture of an ever more segregated society, where prosperity and need are often awkwardly close neighbours.