The Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in England.

Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in properties just several yards from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho village. A 1.8-metre-high wall literally separates the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that once connected them.

“It’s the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, aged 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.”

An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country

Analysis of government statistics shows how deep disparity often exists, at times over nothing more than a few metres of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now contain a locality ranking as one of the poorest in the country.

This geographical widening of poverty has led to a sharp increase in the quantity of places where deprived and affluent people end up as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, just 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the most recent data.

A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land

At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the most pronounced in the country and starkly apparent. The barrier is much more than a symbolic divide; it creates tangible difficulties for daily routines.

• The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute journey.
• Reaching key amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is made more difficult.
• The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with instances of litter being dumped over the wall and other problems.

“You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one resident, motioning at the rusted barricade.

Local Bonds Amidst Hardship

At a local community centre, staff emphasise that need does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” said chief executive a community leader.

Despite ranking in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the least deprived 10% nationally.

A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent

This phenomenon is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the early 2000s that are in the top 10% for job prospects and quality of surroundings.

“They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people over there don’t even speak to each other.”

The financial gap is clear: an typical family home costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side equivalent properties go for about £410,000.

Residents describe a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” stated resident Susan. “In this area our facilities have gradually disappeared, and most of the issues we face here are to do with financial hardship.”

The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a portrait of an ever more divided society, where wealth and need are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.