A Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Prosperity and Deprivation Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in homes just a few metres from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho village. A 1.8-metre-high wall literally separates the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off paths and streets that previously connected them.
“It’s the posh-poor divide,” said Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.”
A Stark National Picture
Data from government figures reveals how deep disparity can run, sometimes over nothing more than a few metres of tarmac, a line of hedges or a barrier. Decades of budget cuts and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now contain a locality ranking as one of the most deprived in the country.
This spread of poverty has led to a sharp increase in the number of places where disadvantaged and affluent residents end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods bordered one of the least deprived. This number rose to 119 in the latest data.
A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land
At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the biggest in the UK and starkly obvious. The barrier is much more than a symbolic division; it causes very real difficulties for everyday life.
- School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute journey.
- Reaching important amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is hindered.
- The area often sees antisocial behaviour, with instances of litter being thrown over the wall and related issues.
“People strive to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one resident, gesturing towards the corroded metal wall.
Local Bonds Amidst Hardship
At Centre4, staff stress that need transcends addresses. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” explained director a community leader.
Despite ranking in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and feeling of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall.
Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent
This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings.
“They may possess bigger houses, 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 gap is evident: an typical family home costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide equivalent properties go for about £410,000.
Locals describe a palpable feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are to do with poverty.”
The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a portrait of an ever more divided society, where prosperity and need are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.
