A Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Hardship Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in homes just a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho village. One six-foot-tall wall literally separates the two areas in the town of Grimsby, blocking off roads and walkways that once linked them.
“This is the divide between rich and poor,” said Serenity Colley, 37. “It’s been like this 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 Pattern Across the Country
Analysis of government figures reveals the extent of inequality often exists, sometimes over nothing more than a short distance of asphalt, a hedge row or a wall. Years 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 nation.
The geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a significant increase in the number of places where deprived and well-off residents end up living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods adjoined one of the least deprived. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data.
A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land
In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the UK and starkly apparent. The barrier transcends being just a metaphorical divide; it creates tangible difficulties for everyday life.
- School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes turn into an sixty-minute journey.
- Access to important services like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is hindered.
- The site often sees vandalism and loitering, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other issues.
“You try to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one resident, motioning at the corroded barricade.
Community Spirit Amidst Challenges
At a local community centre, staff stress that need does not recognise postcodes. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained chief executive a community leader.
Regardless of ranking in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate retains a fierce loyalty and feeling of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% nationally.
Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford
This phenomenon is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in England. It is closely bordered by spacious detached homes built in the early 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for employment and quality of surroundings.
“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, aged 63. “You’ll probably find many people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”
The economic gap is clear: an average family home costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side equivalent properties fetch about £410,000.
Locals speak of a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said resident Susan. “In this area our facilities have gradually disappeared, and most of the issues we face here are to do with poverty.”
The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ paints a portrait of an increasingly segregated society, where prosperity and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably close neighbours.
