🔗 Share this article A Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Prosperity and Deprivation Are Found Side by Side in Across England. In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy properties just several yards from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho village. A six-foot-tall wall literally separates the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off roads and walkways that once connected them. “This is the divide between rich and poor,” said Serenity Colley, 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.” A Stark National Picture Data from official statistics shows how deep disparity often exists, at times across nothing more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now contain a locality ranking as one of the poorest in the nation. This geographical widening of deprivation has coincided with a significant rise in the quantity of places where disadvantaged and well-off people find themselves living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the least deprived. This number rose to 119 in the most recent data. A Wall That Divides More Than Space In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the UK and painfully obvious. The barrier is much more than a metaphorical divide; it causes tangible difficulties for everyday life. School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an sixty-minute detour. Reaching important services like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is made more difficult. The area can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other issues. “People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one resident, motioning at the rusted barricade. Community Spirit Amidst Hardship At Centre4, workers stress that need transcends postcodes. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” said chief executive a community leader. Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate boasts a fierce loyalty and feeling of community among its residents. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% nationally. Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in England. It is closely bordered by spacious detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for job prospects and quality of surroundings. “They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” commented a long-term resident, 63. “You’ll probably find many people in the new builds never even talk to each other.” The financial divide is clear: an average three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide equivalent homes fetch about £410,000. Locals describe a tangible sense of neglect. “This part of the community is neglected,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are related to poverty.” The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an increasingly segregated England, where prosperity and need are often awkwardly close neighbours.
In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy properties just several yards from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho village. A six-foot-tall wall literally separates the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off roads and walkways that once connected them. “This is the divide between rich and poor,” said Serenity Colley, 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.” A Stark National Picture Data from official statistics shows how deep disparity often exists, at times across nothing more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now contain a locality ranking as one of the poorest in the nation. This geographical widening of deprivation has coincided with a significant rise in the quantity of places where disadvantaged and well-off people find themselves living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the least deprived. This number rose to 119 in the most recent data. A Wall That Divides More Than Space In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the UK and painfully obvious. The barrier is much more than a metaphorical divide; it causes tangible difficulties for everyday life. School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an sixty-minute detour. Reaching important services like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is made more difficult. The area can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other issues. “People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one resident, motioning at the rusted barricade. Community Spirit Amidst Hardship At Centre4, workers stress that need transcends postcodes. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” said chief executive a community leader. Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate boasts a fierce loyalty and feeling of community among its residents. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% nationally. Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in England. It is closely bordered by spacious detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for job prospects and quality of surroundings. “They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” commented a long-term resident, 63. “You’ll probably find many people in the new builds never even talk to each other.” The financial divide is clear: an average three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide equivalent homes fetch about £410,000. Locals describe a tangible sense of neglect. “This part of the community is neglected,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are related to poverty.” The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an increasingly segregated England, where prosperity and need are often awkwardly close neighbours.