🔗 Share this article The Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Deprivation Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in England. Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy properties only a few metres from their more affluent counterparts in nearby Scartho village. One six-foot-tall barricade physically divides the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that previously connected them. “This is 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 mix with us.” An Increasingly Common National Picture Analysis of official figures reveals how deep disparity often exists, sometimes across nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a line of hedges or a wall. Decades of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now contain a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the country. This geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a sharp rise in the number of places where deprived and affluent people find themselves living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods adjoined one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the most recent data. A Barrier Which Divides More Than Space In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the country and painfully obvious. The barrier transcends being just a symbolic divide; it causes very real difficulties for daily routines. The school commute that should take 15-20 minutes become an hour-long detour. Access to important services like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is made more difficult. The area can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other issues. “You try to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one local, gesturing towards the corroded metal wall. Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Hardship Within Centre4, workers stress that support transcends addresses. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” explained chief executive a community leader. Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate boasts a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% overall. A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford This pattern is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in England. It is closely bordered by spacious houses built in the 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and living environment. “They may possess larger properties, but here there’s more community,” commented a long-term resident, aged 63. “It’s likely a lot of people over there never even talk to each other.” The financial gap is clear: an typical three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side comparable properties fetch about £410,000. Locals describe a tangible sense of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our amenities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the community problems here are related to financial hardship.” The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a portrait of an increasingly divided society, where prosperity and need are frequently uncomfortably close neighbours.
Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy properties only a few metres from their more affluent counterparts in nearby Scartho village. One six-foot-tall barricade physically divides the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that previously connected them. “This is 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 mix with us.” An Increasingly Common National Picture Analysis of official figures reveals how deep disparity often exists, sometimes across nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a line of hedges or a wall. Decades of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now contain a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the country. This geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a sharp rise in the number of places where deprived and affluent people find themselves living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods adjoined one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the most recent data. A Barrier Which Divides More Than Space In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the country and painfully obvious. The barrier transcends being just a symbolic divide; it causes very real difficulties for daily routines. The school commute that should take 15-20 minutes become an hour-long detour. Access to important services like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is made more difficult. The area can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other issues. “You try to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one local, gesturing towards the corroded metal wall. Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Hardship Within Centre4, workers stress that support transcends addresses. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” explained chief executive a community leader. Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate boasts a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% overall. A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford This pattern is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in England. It is closely bordered by spacious houses built in the 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and living environment. “They may possess larger properties, but here there’s more community,” commented a long-term resident, aged 63. “It’s likely a lot of people over there never even talk to each other.” The financial gap is clear: an typical three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side comparable properties fetch about £410,000. Locals describe a tangible sense of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our amenities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the community problems here are related to financial hardship.” The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a portrait of an increasingly divided society, where prosperity and need are frequently uncomfortably close neighbours.