A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Affluence and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy homes just a few metres from their more affluent counterparts in the adjacent Scartho village. A 1.8-metre-high barricade physically separates the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that previously linked them.
“This is the divide between rich and poor,” 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.”
An Increasingly Common National Picture
Data from official statistics reveals the extent of inequality can run, at times across nothing more than a short distance of asphalt, a line of hedges or a wall. Decades of budget cuts and underinvestment mean a majority of councils now have a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the country.
This spread of deprivation has led to a significant increase in the quantity of locations where disadvantaged and well-off residents find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the least deprived. This number increased to 119 in the latest data.
A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land
In Grimsby, the divide is the most pronounced in the UK and starkly apparent. The barrier is much more than a metaphorical divide; it causes very real problems for everyday life.
- School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an hour-long journey.
- Reaching important services like grocery stores, schools and care homes is hindered.
- The area often sees antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and related issues.
“You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, motioning at the corroded barricade.
Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship
Within Centre4, workers emphasise that need does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” said chief executive Tracey Good.
Despite being placed in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and sense of community among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the most prosperous 10% nationally.
Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford
This pattern is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and living environment.
“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”
The financial gap is evident: an typical family home sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side comparable homes fetch about £410,000.
Locals speak of a tangible sense of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the community problems here are related to financial hardship.”
The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an increasingly segregated England, where prosperity and deprivation are often uncomfortably close neighbours.
