A Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
In Nunsthorpe, residents live in homes just a few metres from their more affluent counterparts in nearby Scartho. A six-foot-tall barricade literally separates the two areas in the town of Grimsby, blocking off roads and walkways that previously linked them.
“This is the divide between rich and poor,” remarked a resident, 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.”
A Stark Pattern Across the Country
Data from government statistics reveals the extent of disparity can run, sometimes across little more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a barrier. Years of austerity and lack of funding mean almost two-thirds of local authorities now have a locality ranking as one of the most deprived in the nation.
The geographical widening of deprivation has led to a sharp increase in the number of places where deprived and affluent residents end up living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest areas bordered one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the latest data.
A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Space
At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the biggest in the country and starkly obvious. The wall is much more than a metaphorical divide; it creates tangible problems for everyday life.
- The school commute that should take 15-20 minutes become an sixty-minute detour.
- Reaching key amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is made more difficult.
- The site often sees vandalism and loitering, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and other problems.
“People strive to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, motioning at the corroded barricade.
Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Hardship
Within Centre4, staff stress that support does not recognise postcodes. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” explained director Tracey Good.
Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate retains a strong sense and feeling of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall.
Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent
This phenomenon is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in England. It is closely bordered by spacious detached homes built in the early 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment.
“They might have bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” commented Phil Hockley, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”
The financial divide is evident: an average family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide equivalent properties fetch about £410,000.
Residents speak of a palpable sense of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” stated resident Susan. “In this area our facilities have gradually disappeared, and most of the community problems here are to do with poverty.”
The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a portrait of an ever more divided England, where wealth and deprivation are often uncomfortably close neighbours.