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

Within Nunsthorpe, residents occupy homes only several yards from their wealthier counterparts in the adjacent Scartho village. A six-foot-tall wall literally separates the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that previously linked them.

“It’s the posh-poor divide,” remarked a resident, 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.”

A Stark Pattern Across the Country

Analysis of official statistics reveals the extent of inequality can run, at times over little more than a few metres of tarmac, a line of hedges or a barrier. Years of austerity and underinvestment mean a majority of local authorities now contain a locality classified as one of the poorest in the nation.

The geographical widening of deprivation has coincided with a significant increase in the number of locations where deprived and well-off residents find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest areas bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data.

A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land

In Grimsby, the gap is the most pronounced in the UK and painfully apparent. The barrier is much more than a metaphorical divide; it causes tangible problems for daily routines.

• The school commute that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long journey.
• Reaching key amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is hindered.
• The site often sees vandalism and loitering, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and other issues.

“You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one resident, gesturing towards the corroded metal wall.

Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship

At a local community centre, staff emphasise that support transcends addresses. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said director Tracey Good.

Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe boasts a fierce loyalty and sense of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% nationally.

Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford

This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the early 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings.

“They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” commented a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely many people over there don’t even speak to each other.”

The economic divide is evident: an average family home costs about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent properties go for about £410,000.

Residents speak of a tangible sense of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” said resident Susan. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are related to poverty.”

The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an increasingly segregated England, where prosperity and need are often awkwardly close neighbours.