A Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Deprivation Now Sit Side by Side in England.

Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy properties just several yards from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho. One six-foot-tall barricade physically divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off roads and walkways that once connected them.

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

A Stark Pattern Across the Country

Analysis of government figures shows the extent of disparity can run, sometimes across nothing more than a short distance of asphalt, a hedge row or a barrier. Years of austerity and lack of funding mean almost two-thirds of councils now contain a neighbourhood classified as one of the most deprived in the country.

The spread of deprivation has coincided with a significant increase in the number of places where deprived and affluent residents find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods adjoined one of the wealthiest. This number increased to 119 in the latest data.

A Wall That Divides More Than Land

At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the most pronounced in the UK and starkly apparent. The barrier transcends being just a symbolic divide; it creates tangible problems for daily routines.

• School runs that should take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute journey.
• Reaching key amenities like grocery stores, schools and care homes is made more difficult.
• The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with instances of litter being dumped over the wall and other issues.

“People strive to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one local, motioning at the rusted barricade.

Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges

At Centre4, staff stress that need does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” explained chief executive Tracey Good.

Despite being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe retains a fierce loyalty and feeling of community among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% overall.

A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford

This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in England. It is closely bordered by spacious houses built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for job prospects and living environment.

“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people over there don’t even speak to each other.”

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

Locals speak of a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” stated resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and most of the community problems here are to do with poverty.”

The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an ever more divided society, where prosperity and deprivation are often uncomfortably in close proximity.