The Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in England.

In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in homes just several yards from their more affluent neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high wall literally divides the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets 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 mix with us.”

An Increasingly Common National Picture

Analysis of government statistics reveals the extent of inequality can run, at times across little more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a barrier. Decades of budget cuts and lack of funding have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now have a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the country.

This geographical widening of deprivation has coincided with a sharp rise in the number of locations where disadvantaged and affluent people find themselves as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the most deprived areas adjoined one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data.

A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land

At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the biggest in the country and starkly obvious. The barrier is much more than a symbolic divide; it creates very real problems for daily routines.

• The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long journey.
• Reaching key services like supermarkets, educational facilities and care homes is hindered.
• The area often sees vandalism and loitering, with instances of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other issues.

“People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one resident, motioning at the rusted barricade.

Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Challenges

Within Centre4, workers stress that need transcends addresses. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” said chief executive Tracey Good.

Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate retains a fierce loyalty and feeling of community among its residents. Meanwhile, Scartho is classified among the most prosperous 10% overall.

A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent

This pattern is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for job prospects and living environment.

“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”

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

Residents speak of a palpable sense of neglect. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” stated holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the community problems here are related to financial hardship.”

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