The Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Prosperity and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
Within Nunsthorpe, residents live in properties only a few metres from their more affluent counterparts in nearby Scartho village. One 1.8-metre-high barricade physically divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, blocking off roads and walkways that once connected them.
“This is the divide between rich and poor,” said Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.”
A Stark Pattern Across the Country
Analysis of official statistics shows the extent of disparity often exists, sometimes over nothing more than a few metres of tarmac, a line of hedges or a barrier. Years of austerity and underinvestment mean a majority of local authorities now contain a locality ranking as one of the most deprived in the nation.
This geographical widening of poverty has led to a significant increase in the quantity of locations where disadvantaged and affluent residents end up as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, just 65 of the poorest areas bordered one of the least deprived. 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 UK and starkly obvious. The wall is much more than a symbolic divide; it creates very real problems for daily routines.
- The school commute that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long detour.
- Access to key amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is made more difficult.
- The area often sees vandalism and loitering, with instances of litter being dumped over the wall and other problems.
“You try to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one local, gesturing towards the corroded metal wall.
Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Hardship
Within a local community centre, staff emphasise that support does not recognise postcodes. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” explained chief executive Tracey Good.
Despite being placed in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and feeling of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, Scartho is classified among the most prosperous 10% overall.
A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford
This phenomenon is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the early 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for employment and quality of surroundings.
“They might have larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” said Phil Hockley, 63. “You’ll probably find many people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”
The economic divide is clear: an average three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide equivalent properties go for about £410,000.
Locals speak of a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan. “In this area our amenities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.”
The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an ever more segregated England, where prosperity and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.
