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

Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy properties just several yards from their more affluent neighbours in the adjacent Scartho village. A 1.8-metre-high wall physically divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off paths and streets that previously connected them.

“This is the posh-poor divide,” remarked Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.”

A Stark Pattern Across the Country

Analysis of official statistics reveals how deep inequality often exists, sometimes over little more than a short distance of asphalt, a line of hedges or a wall. Years of austerity and underinvestment mean almost two-thirds of local authorities now have a locality classified as one of the poorest in the country.

The spread of deprivation has coincided with a significant rise in the quantity of places where deprived and affluent residents end up living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived areas adjoined one of the least deprived. That figure rose to 119 in the most recent data.

A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land

In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the UK and starkly obvious. The barrier is much more than a metaphorical divide; it causes very real difficulties for everyday life.

• School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long detour.
• Reaching important services like supermarkets, schools and employment centres is hindered.
• The area can attract antisocial behaviour, with instances of litter being dumped over the wall and related issues.

“People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, gesturing towards the corroded barricade.

Community Spirit Amidst Challenges

Within Centre4, workers emphasise that need transcends addresses. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” said director Tracey Good.

Despite ranking in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate boasts a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% nationally.

Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent

This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in England. It is closely bordered by spacious houses built in the early 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment.

“They might have larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” said Phil Hockley, 63. “You’ll probably find many people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”

The financial divide is clear: an typical three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side equivalent properties fetch about £410,000.

Residents describe a tangible feeling of neglect. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to poverty.”

The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a portrait of an ever more segregated England, where prosperity and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably close neighbours.