A Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Affluence and Deprivation Now Sit Side by Side in Across England.

Within Nunsthorpe, residents occupy homes only a few metres from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho village. One 1.8-metre-high wall physically separates the two communities in the town of Grimsby, blocking off paths and streets that previously linked them.

“It’s the divide between rich and poor,” remarked a resident, 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.”

A Stark National Picture

Analysis of official statistics shows the extent of inequality often exists, sometimes across nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a hedge row or a barrier. Years of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now have a locality ranking as one of the poorest in the nation.

The spread of poverty has coincided with a significant increase in the quantity of locations where disadvantaged and well-off residents end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods adjoined one of the least deprived. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data.

A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land

At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the most pronounced in the country and starkly obvious. The barrier transcends being just a metaphorical divide; it creates tangible difficulties for daily routines.

• The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long journey.
• Reaching important services like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is hindered.
• The site often sees vandalism and loitering, with reports of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other problems.

“People strive to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one local, gesturing towards the rusted metal wall.

Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges

Within a local community centre, workers emphasise that need does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” said chief executive Tracey Good.

Despite being placed in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its residents. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% nationally.

Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford

This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the early 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings.

“They might have larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely many people over there don’t even speak to each other.”

The economic divide is clear: an average family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide equivalent properties fetch about £410,000.

Residents describe a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our amenities have gradually disappeared, and most of the issues we face here are to do with poverty.”

The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an ever more segregated England, where wealth and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably close neighbours.