A Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Prosperity and Deprivation Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in properties only several yards from their wealthier counterparts in the adjacent Scartho village. One six-foot-tall wall physically divides the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off paths and streets that once connected them.
“This is the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.”
A Stark Pattern Across the Country
Analysis of official statistics shows the extent of inequality can run, sometimes over little more than a few metres of tarmac, a line of hedges or a wall. Years of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now have a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the nation.
This spread of poverty has coincided with a sharp increase in the number of places where deprived and well-off residents find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods adjoined one of the wealthiest. That figure increased to 119 in the latest data.
A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land
At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the most pronounced in the UK and starkly apparent. The barrier is much more than a symbolic divide; it creates very real difficulties for everyday life.
- The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour turn into an sixty-minute journey.
- Access to key services like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is hindered.
- The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with instances of rubbish being thrown over the wall and related issues.
“People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one resident, motioning at the corroded barricade.
Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Hardship
Within Centre4, staff stress that support transcends addresses. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” explained director a community leader.
Despite being placed in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate boasts a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its residents. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally.
A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford
This pattern is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in England. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the 2000s that sit in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings.
“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” said Phil Hockley, 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”
The economic gap is clear: an typical family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide comparable properties fetch about £410,000.
Locals speak of a tangible feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” stated resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “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’ presents a portrait of an ever more divided society, where wealth and need are frequently awkwardly close neighbours.
