A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Prosperity and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in properties just a few metres from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho village. One six-foot-tall barricade literally divides the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that previously linked them.
“This is the divide between rich and poor,” remarked Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.”
A Stark Pattern Across the Country
Data from official statistics reveals the extent of disparity often exists, at times across little more than a short distance of asphalt, a hedge row or a barrier. Decades of budget cuts and underinvestment mean a majority of councils now have a neighbourhood classified as one of the most deprived in the country.
The spread of poverty has coincided with a significant rise in the number of locations where deprived and affluent people find themselves living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the least deprived. This number increased to 119 in the most recent data.
A Wall That Does More Than Separate Space
In Grimsby, the gap is the most pronounced in the country and starkly obvious. The wall transcends being just a metaphorical divide; it causes tangible problems for everyday life.
- The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long detour.
- Access to important services like supermarkets, educational facilities and employment centres is made more difficult.
- The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with instances of litter being thrown over the wall and related problems.
“You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one resident, motioning at the rusted barricade.
Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship
At a local community centre, workers emphasise that support does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained director a community leader.
Despite ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate retains a fierce loyalty and sense of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% nationally.
Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford
This phenomenon is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment.
“They might have larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find many people over there never even talk to each other.”
The financial divide is clear: an average family home costs about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent homes fetch about £410,000.
Locals speak of a tangible feeling of neglect. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our amenities have gradually disappeared, and most of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.”
The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a picture of an ever more segregated society, where wealth and deprivation are often uncomfortably close neighbours.
