A Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Affluence and Hardship Now Sit Side by Side in England.

In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants occupy homes only several yards from their more affluent counterparts in nearby Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high wall physically separates the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off roads and walkways that once linked them.

“It’s the posh-poor divide,” remarked Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.”

An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country

Analysis of official figures reveals how deep disparity often exists, at times over nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a line of hedges or a barrier. Years of budget cuts and lack of funding mean a majority of local authorities now contain a locality ranking as one of the most deprived in the nation.

The spread of deprivation has coincided with a significant increase in the quantity of locations where disadvantaged and affluent residents find themselves living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived areas adjoined one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data.

A Barrier Which Divides More Than Space

At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the most pronounced in the UK and painfully apparent. The wall is much more than a metaphorical divide; it causes very real difficulties for daily routines.

• The school commute that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an sixty-minute journey.
• Reaching important amenities like grocery stores, schools and employment centres is hindered.
• The area can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being thrown 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 rusted barricade.

Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges

Within Centre4, staff stress that support transcends postcodes. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said director a community leader.

Despite ranking in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe boasts a fierce loyalty and sense of community among its residents. By contrast, Scartho is classified among the least deprived 10% nationally.

A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent

This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in the country. It is closely bordered by spacious detached homes built in the early 2000s that are in the top 10% for job prospects and living environment.

“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “It’s likely many people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”

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

Residents speak of a tangible feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said resident Susan. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the issues we face here are to do with poverty.”

The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an increasingly divided England, where prosperity and deprivation are frequently awkwardly close neighbours.