A Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Affluence and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy homes just a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in nearby Scartho village. One 1.8-metre-high wall literally divides the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that once linked them.
“This is the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, aged 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.”
A Stark National Picture
Data from official figures reveals the extent of disparity can run, at times over little more than a short distance of asphalt, a hedge row or a wall. Years of austerity and lack of funding mean a majority of local authorities now have a locality classified as one of the poorest in the country.
This geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a significant increase in the number of places where deprived and affluent residents end up as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods adjoined one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data.
A Wall That Does More Than Separate Land
In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the country and painfully obvious. The wall transcends being just a symbolic divide; it causes very real problems for everyday life.
- School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long journey.
- Reaching key amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is made more difficult.
- The area often sees vandalism and loitering, with reports of rubbish being thrown over the wall and related problems.
“People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, motioning at the corroded metal wall.
Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Hardship
At Centre4, staff emphasise that support does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained director a community leader.
Despite being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a strong sense and feeling of community among its residents. By contrast, Scartho is classified among the least deprived 10% nationally.
A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford
This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious houses built in the early 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment.
“They might have bigger houses, 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 divide is evident: an average family home costs about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent homes go for about £410,000.
Residents describe a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” said resident Susan. “Over here our amenities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the community problems here are related to poverty.”
The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an ever more segregated England, where wealth and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.