🔗 Share this article A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Affluence and Hardship Are Found Side by Side in England. Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in properties just several yards from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho. One six-foot-tall barricade physically divides the two communities in the town of Grimsby, blocking off paths and streets that previously linked them. “It’s the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, aged 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.” A Stark Pattern Across the Country Data from official figures reveals the extent of inequality often exists, at times over little more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where a majority of local authorities now contain a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the country. This geographical widening of poverty has led to a sharp increase in the number of locations where disadvantaged and affluent residents find themselves living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods adjoined one of the least deprived. 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 country and starkly obvious. The wall transcends being just a symbolic divide; it creates very real difficulties for everyday life. School runs that should take a quarter of an hour turn into an sixty-minute detour. Access to key amenities like supermarkets, schools and employment centres is hindered. The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with instances of litter being dumped over the wall and related issues. “People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one resident, gesturing towards the rusted barricade. Local Bonds Amidst Challenges Within Centre4, workers stress that need transcends postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” said director a community leader. Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a strong sense and feeling of community among its inhabitants. By contrast, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall. A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in England. It is immediately adjacent by spacious detached homes built in the early 2000s that are in the top 10% for job prospects and living environment. “They might have bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” said Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people over there never even talk to each other.” The economic gap is evident: an typical three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent properties fetch about £410,000. Locals describe a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.” The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ paints a picture of an ever more divided England, where wealth and need are frequently awkwardly in close proximity.
Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in properties just several yards from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho. One six-foot-tall barricade physically divides the two communities in the town of Grimsby, blocking off paths and streets that previously linked them. “It’s the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, aged 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.” A Stark Pattern Across the Country Data from official figures reveals the extent of inequality often exists, at times over little more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where a majority of local authorities now contain a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the country. This geographical widening of poverty has led to a sharp increase in the number of locations where disadvantaged and affluent residents find themselves living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods adjoined one of the least deprived. 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 country and starkly obvious. The wall transcends being just a symbolic divide; it creates very real difficulties for everyday life. School runs that should take a quarter of an hour turn into an sixty-minute detour. Access to key amenities like supermarkets, schools and employment centres is hindered. The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with instances of litter being dumped over the wall and related issues. “People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one resident, gesturing towards the rusted barricade. Local Bonds Amidst Challenges Within Centre4, workers stress that need transcends postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” said director a community leader. Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a strong sense and feeling of community among its inhabitants. By contrast, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall. A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in England. It is immediately adjacent by spacious detached homes built in the early 2000s that are in the top 10% for job prospects and living environment. “They might have bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” said Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people over there never even talk to each other.” The economic gap is evident: an typical three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent properties fetch about £410,000. Locals describe a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.” The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ paints a picture of an ever more divided England, where wealth and need are frequently awkwardly in close proximity.