🔗 Share this article The Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Hardship Now Sit Side by Side in England. Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy properties just a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. A 1.8-metre-high barricade literally divides the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that once linked them. “It’s the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, aged 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.” An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country Data from government figures shows the extent of disparity can run, sometimes across little more than a few metres of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now have a locality classified as one of the poorest in the country. The geographical widening of poverty has led to a significant increase in the quantity of locations where deprived and affluent people find themselves as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, just 65 of the poorest areas bordered one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the most recent data. A Wall That Divides More Than Space At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the most pronounced in the UK and starkly apparent. The barrier is much more than a metaphorical divide; it causes very real problems for everyday life. The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long detour. Access to key amenities like supermarkets, schools and employment centres is made more difficult. The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other issues. “People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one local, motioning at the rusted metal wall. Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Hardship Within a local community centre, staff stress that support transcends postcodes. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said director a community leader. Despite being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate retains a fierce loyalty and sense of togetherness among its residents. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally. Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and quality of surroundings. “They may possess larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” said a long-term resident, aged 63. “It’s likely a lot of people in the new builds never even talk to each other.” The economic divide is clear: an average three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent homes go for about £410,000. Residents speak of a palpable sense of being overlooked. “This part of the community is neglected,” stated resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the community problems here are to do with poverty.” The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a picture of an increasingly segregated England, where prosperity and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.
Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy properties just a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. A 1.8-metre-high barricade literally divides the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that once linked them. “It’s the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, aged 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.” An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country Data from government figures shows the extent of disparity can run, sometimes across little more than a few metres of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now have a locality classified as one of the poorest in the country. The geographical widening of poverty has led to a significant increase in the quantity of locations where deprived and affluent people find themselves as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, just 65 of the poorest areas bordered one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the most recent data. A Wall That Divides More Than Space At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the most pronounced in the UK and starkly apparent. The barrier is much more than a metaphorical divide; it causes very real problems for everyday life. The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long detour. Access to key amenities like supermarkets, schools and employment centres is made more difficult. The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other issues. “People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one local, motioning at the rusted metal wall. Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Hardship Within a local community centre, staff stress that support transcends postcodes. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said director a community leader. Despite being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate retains a fierce loyalty and sense of togetherness among its residents. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally. Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and quality of surroundings. “They may possess larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” said a long-term resident, aged 63. “It’s likely a lot of people in the new builds never even talk to each other.” The economic divide is clear: an average three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent homes go for about £410,000. Residents speak of a palpable sense of being overlooked. “This part of the community is neglected,” stated resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the community problems here are to do with poverty.” The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a picture of an increasingly segregated England, where prosperity and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.