The Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Prosperity and Deprivation Are Found Side by Side in England.

In Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in properties just a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho. A 1.8-metre-high wall literally divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off roads and walkways that once linked them.

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

An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country

Data from official figures shows the extent of disparity can run, at times across nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of austerity and lack of funding mean almost two-thirds of councils now contain a neighbourhood classified as one of the most deprived in the country.

This spread of poverty has coincided with a sharp increase in the quantity of locations where deprived and affluent people end up living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods bordered one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the most recent data.

A Barrier Which Divides More Than Space

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

• The school commute that ought to take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long detour.
• Reaching important amenities like supermarkets, schools and employment centres is hindered.
• The site can attract vandalism and loitering, with instances of litter being thrown over the wall and related issues.

“People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one resident, motioning at the corroded metal wall.

Community Spirit Amidst Challenges

At Centre4, workers stress that need does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” explained chief executive Tracey Good.

Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate retains a fierce loyalty and feeling of community among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% overall.

A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent

This pattern is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in England. It is closely bordered by spacious houses built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and living environment.

“They might have bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people over there don’t even speak to each other.”

The economic gap is clear: an typical three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent homes go for about £410,000.

Locals speak of a palpable sense of neglect. “This part of the community is neglected,” stated resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our amenities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are to do with poverty.”

The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a portrait of an increasingly divided society, where wealth and deprivation are often awkwardly close neighbours.