A Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Prosperity and Deprivation Are Found Side by Side in Across England.
Within Nunsthorpe, residents occupy homes just a few metres from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho village. A 1.8-metre-high wall physically separates the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that previously connected them.
“It’s the posh-poor divide,” remarked a resident, 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.”
An Increasingly Common National Picture
Analysis of official statistics reveals how deep disparity can run, sometimes across nothing more than a short distance of tarmac, a line of hedges or a barrier. Years of austerity and underinvestment mean a majority of local authorities now contain a locality ranking as one of the poorest in the nation.
The spread of poverty has coincided with a sharp rise in the number of locations where deprived and affluent residents find themselves as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the poorest areas adjoined one of the least deprived. This number increased to 119 in the most recent data.
A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Space
In Grimsby, the divide is the most pronounced in the UK and painfully obvious. The barrier transcends being just a metaphorical divide; it causes very real difficulties for everyday life.
- The school commute that ought to take 15-20 minutes turn into an sixty-minute journey.
- Reaching key amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is made more difficult.
- The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with instances of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other problems.
“You try to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one resident, gesturing towards the rusted barricade.
Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Hardship
At Centre4, staff stress that support transcends postcodes. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” explained chief executive Tracey Good.
Despite being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate retains a strong sense and feeling of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally.
A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent
This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in England. It is closely bordered by large detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings.
“They might have bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” said Phil Hockley, 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”
The financial gap is clear: an typical three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side comparable homes go for about £410,000.
Locals speak of a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our amenities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are related to poverty.”
The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an ever more divided England, where wealth and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.
