The Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy properties just a few metres from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho. A six-foot-tall wall physically divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that once connected them.
“It’s the posh-poor divide,” remarked Serenity Colley, 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.”
An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country
Analysis of government statistics shows how deep inequality often exists, at times across little more than a short distance of asphalt, a hedge row or a barrier. Years of budget cuts and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now contain a neighbourhood ranking as one of the most deprived in the country.
The spread of deprivation has coincided with a sharp rise in the number of locations where deprived and affluent people end up living side by side. Just a few years ago, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods adjoined one of the wealthiest. This number increased to 119 in the most recent data.
A Wall That Divides More Than Space
At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the biggest in the UK and starkly apparent. The wall transcends being just a metaphorical divide; it creates very real problems for everyday life.
- School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an sixty-minute journey.
- Access to important services like supermarkets, educational facilities and employment centres is hindered.
- The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with instances of litter being dumped over the wall and other issues.
“People strive to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one resident, motioning at the rusted barricade.
Local Bonds Amidst Hardship
Within a local community centre, workers stress that support transcends postcodes. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” said chief executive a community leader.
Regardless of ranking in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe retains a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, Scartho is classified among the most prosperous 10% overall.
A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford
This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in England. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment.
“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented a long-term resident, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”
The financial gap is clear: an average three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side comparable homes go for about £410,000.
Residents speak of a palpable sense of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are to do with poverty.”
The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an ever more segregated England, where wealth and need are often uncomfortably in close proximity.