A Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Hardship Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.

Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in properties just a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. A six-foot-tall barricade literally divides the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that once connected them.

“This is the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, aged 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.”

An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country

Analysis of government figures reveals the extent of disparity can run, sometimes across little more than a short distance of asphalt, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of austerity and underinvestment mean a majority of local authorities now contain a locality ranking as one of the poorest in the nation.

This spread of deprivation has led to a significant increase in the number of places where disadvantaged and affluent people end up living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the poorest areas adjoined one of the least deprived. This number rose to 119 in the most recent data.

A Wall That Divides More Than Space

At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the biggest in the UK and painfully obvious. The wall is much more than a symbolic divide; it creates tangible difficulties for everyday life.

• School runs that should take 15-20 minutes become an sixty-minute detour.
• Access to important services like supermarkets, educational facilities and care homes is hindered.
• The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and related problems.

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

Community Spirit Amidst Challenges

Within a local community centre, workers emphasise that need transcends addresses. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” said director Tracey Good.

Despite ranking in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate retains a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% overall.

A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent

This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in England. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the early 2000s that are in the top 10% for job prospects and living environment.

“They might have bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” said Phil Hockley, 63. “You’ll probably find many people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”

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

Locals speak of a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood 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’ paints a picture of an increasingly segregated England, where prosperity and need are often awkwardly in close proximity.