A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Prosperity and Hardship Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.

In Nunsthorpe, residents live in properties just several yards from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho. One six-foot-tall wall literally separates the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that previously linked them.

“It’s the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, aged 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.”

An Increasingly Common National Picture

Data from official figures reveals how deep inequality can run, at times over little more than a short distance of tarmac, a line of hedges or a wall. Years of budget cuts and lack of funding have led to a situation where a majority of local authorities now contain a locality ranking as one of the poorest in the nation.

This geographical widening of deprivation has led to a significant increase in the quantity of locations where disadvantaged and affluent residents end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods bordered one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the most recent data.

A Wall That Does More Than Separate Space

In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the country and starkly apparent. The wall is much more than a symbolic division; it creates very real difficulties for everyday life.

• The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long detour.
• Reaching key services like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is hindered.
• The area can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being thrown over the wall and related issues.

“People strive to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one local, motioning at the rusted metal wall.

Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship

At Centre4, staff emphasise that need transcends addresses. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said chief executive Tracey Good.

Despite ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe retains a strong sense and feeling of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% nationally.

A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford

This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious houses built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and living environment.

“They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said Phil Hockley, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”

The economic divide is clear: an typical family home costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide comparable properties go for about £410,000.

Locals describe a tangible feeling of neglect. “This part of the community is neglected,” stated resident Susan. “In this area our facilities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.”

The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a portrait of an ever more divided society, where prosperity and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.