The Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Prosperity and Hardship Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in England.

In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy homes only several yards from their more affluent counterparts in the adjacent Scartho. A 1.8-metre-high barricade physically divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off roads and walkways that previously linked them.

“It’s the posh-poor divide,” said Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.”

A Stark Pattern Across the Country

Analysis of official statistics reveals the extent of inequality can run, sometimes across little more than a short distance of asphalt, a line of hedges or a barrier. Decades of budget cuts and lack of funding mean a majority of local authorities now have a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the country.

This spread of poverty has led to a significant rise in the quantity of locations where disadvantaged and affluent people find themselves living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure increased to 119 in the most recent data.

A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land

In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the UK and painfully obvious. The wall transcends being just a metaphorical division; it causes very real difficulties for daily routines.

• The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long journey.
• Reaching important services like supermarkets, schools and employment centres is made more difficult.
• The site can attract vandalism and loitering, with instances of litter being thrown over the wall and other problems.

“People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, gesturing towards the rusted barricade.

Community Spirit Amidst Hardship

At a local community centre, workers emphasise that need transcends postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained director Tracey Good.

Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate retains a fierce loyalty and feeling of community among its residents. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall.

A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent

This phenomenon is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in England. It is closely bordered by large houses 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 more community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”

The financial divide is clear: an average family home costs about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent homes fetch about £410,000.

Locals speak of a tangible sense of being overlooked. “This part of the community is neglected,” stated resident Susan. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the community problems here are to do with poverty.”

The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an ever more segregated England, where prosperity and need are frequently awkwardly in close proximity.