A Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Prosperity and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
Within Nunsthorpe, residents occupy homes just several yards from their more affluent neighbours in the adjacent Scartho village. A 1.8-metre-high wall literally divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that previously linked them.
“This is the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.”
A Stark National Picture
Data from government statistics reveals how deep disparity often exists, at times across nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a hedge row or a barrier. Years of budget cuts and underinvestment mean almost two-thirds of councils now contain a neighbourhood ranking as one of the poorest in the country.
This geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a sharp increase in the number of places where disadvantaged and well-off residents find themselves living side by side. Just a few years ago, just 65 of the poorest areas adjoined one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the latest data.
A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land
At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the most pronounced in the country and painfully obvious. The barrier transcends being just a symbolic divide; it causes tangible problems for daily routines.
- The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long journey.
- Reaching key amenities like supermarkets, educational facilities and employment centres is made more difficult.
- The site can attract vandalism and loitering, with instances of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other issues.
“People strive to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one resident, motioning at the rusted barricade.
Local Bonds Amidst Challenges
Within a local community centre, workers stress that need does not recognise addresses. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” said chief executive a community leader.
Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate retains a strong sense and feeling of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% overall.
Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent
This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is closely bordered by spacious detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment.
“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” said Phil Hockley, 63. “You’ll probably find many 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 on the other side comparable homes fetch about £410,000.
Locals describe a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan. “In this area our amenities have gradually disappeared, and most of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.”
The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a portrait of an ever more divided England, where prosperity and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.
