A Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Deprivation Are Found Side by Side in England.

In Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy properties just several yards from their wealthier neighbours in nearby Scartho village. One 1.8-metre-high wall literally separates the two areas in the town of Grimsby, blocking off paths and streets that once linked them.

“This is 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 associate with us.”

An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country

Data from government figures shows how deep inequality often exists, at times across nothing more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Years of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now contain a neighbourhood ranking as one of the poorest in the country.

This spread of deprivation has led to a sharp increase in the quantity of locations where disadvantaged and affluent people end up living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the poorest areas bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure increased to 119 in the most recent data.

A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land

In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the country and painfully apparent. The barrier transcends being just a symbolic division; it causes very real problems for everyday life.

• School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an sixty-minute detour.
• Access to important amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is made more difficult.
• The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and other issues.

“People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one local, gesturing towards the rusted barricade.

Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Challenges

Within Centre4, staff stress that need does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” explained chief executive Tracey Good.

Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate retains a fierce loyalty and feeling of togetherness among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Scartho is classified among the least deprived 10% overall.

A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford

This phenomenon is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in the country. It is closely bordered by large houses built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and quality of surroundings.

“They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” commented Phil Hockley, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people over there don’t even speak to each other.”

The financial divide is evident: an average three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side comparable homes fetch about £410,000.

Locals describe a tangible feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” stated holistic health worker Susan. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the community problems here are related to financial hardship.”

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