A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Prosperity and Deprivation Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in England.

In Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy homes only several yards from their more affluent counterparts in the adjacent Scartho village. A 1.8-metre-high barricade physically divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off roads and walkways that once connected them.

“This is the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, 37. “It’s been like this since 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 National Picture

Data from official statistics reveals the extent of inequality often exists, at times across little more than a few metres of asphalt, a line of hedges or a wall. Years of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where a majority of local authorities now have a locality ranking as one of the most deprived in the country.

This geographical widening of deprivation has coincided with a sharp rise in the number of places where disadvantaged and well-off residents find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods adjoined one of the wealthiest. That figure increased to 119 in the most recent data.

A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land

In Grimsby, the divide is the most pronounced in the UK and starkly obvious. The barrier is much more than a metaphorical divide; it creates tangible difficulties for daily routines.

• School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long detour.
• Reaching important amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is made more difficult.
• The site can attract 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,” noted one resident, motioning at the corroded metal wall.

Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship

Within a local community centre, staff emphasise that need does not recognise postcodes. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” explained director Tracey Good.

Despite ranking in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a strong sense and feeling of community among its residents. Meanwhile, Scartho is classified among the most prosperous 10% overall.

A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford

This pattern is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in England. It is immediately adjacent by spacious detached homes built in the early 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for employment and quality of surroundings.

“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented Phil Hockley, 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”

The financial gap is clear: an typical three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side equivalent homes fetch about £410,000.

Locals speak of a tangible feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” stated resident Susan. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.”

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