A Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Hardship Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in England.

Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in properties just several yards from their more affluent neighbours in the adjacent Scartho village. A 1.8-metre-high barricade physically divides the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off roads and walkways that previously linked them.

“This is the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, aged 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.”

An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country

Analysis of official statistics shows the extent of inequality can run, sometimes across nothing more than a short distance of tarmac, a line of hedges or a wall. Years of budget cuts and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now have a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the country.

The geographical widening of deprivation has led to a significant increase in the number of places where disadvantaged and well-off residents find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure increased to 119 in the latest data.

A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land

At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the most pronounced in the country and painfully apparent. The wall is much more than a symbolic division; it causes very real problems for everyday life.

• School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes turn into an sixty-minute detour.
• Reaching important services like grocery stores, schools and employment centres is made more difficult.
• The area often sees vandalism and loitering, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and other issues.

“You try to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one local, motioning at the rusted barricade.

Community Spirit Amidst Challenges

Within Centre4, staff stress that need does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained director a community leader.

Despite ranking in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and sense of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally.

Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford

This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in England. It is immediately adjacent by spacious houses built in the 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and living environment.

“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”

The financial divide is evident: an average family home sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent homes go for about £410,000.

Residents speak of a palpable feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” stated resident Susan. “In this area our amenities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the issues we face here are to do with financial hardship.”

The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a portrait of an ever more divided England, where wealth and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.