A Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Prosperity and Deprivation Now Sit Side by Side in England.
Within Nunsthorpe, residents occupy properties just several yards from their more affluent counterparts in nearby Scartho. One six-foot-tall barricade literally separates the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets 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 doubt they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.”
An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country
Analysis of official statistics reveals the extent of inequality often exists, sometimes across little more than a few metres of tarmac, a hedge row or a barrier. Years of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils 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 affluent people end up as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, just 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the wealthiest. This number rose to 119 in the most recent data.
A Wall That Does More Than Separate Space
In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the UK and painfully obvious. The wall transcends being just a metaphorical divide; it causes very real difficulties for daily routines.
- School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes turn into an sixty-minute journey.
- Access to key services like supermarkets, educational facilities and care homes is hindered.
- The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being thrown over the wall and related problems.
“People strive to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one resident, motioning at the rusted barricade.
Community Spirit Amidst Challenges
Within Centre4, staff stress that support transcends postcodes. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said chief executive Tracey Good.
Despite ranking in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and sense of community among its inhabitants. By contrast, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% nationally.
Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent
This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in England. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the early 2000s that sit in the top 10% for job prospects and quality of surroundings.
“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find many people over there don’t even speak to each other.”
The economic divide is clear: an average three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side equivalent properties go for about £410,000.
Residents describe a palpable feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” stated holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our amenities have gradually disappeared, and most of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.”
The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a portrait of an ever more divided society, where prosperity and deprivation are often uncomfortably in close proximity.