A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Prosperity and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in England.

In Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in homes just a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high wall literally divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off roads and walkways that once linked them.

“It’s the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, aged 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.”

A Stark National Picture

Data from government statistics reveals how deep inequality often exists, sometimes over nothing more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a barrier. Decades of austerity and underinvestment mean a majority of councils now have a neighbourhood ranking as one of the most deprived in the nation.

The spread of deprivation has coincided with a significant increase in the number of places where deprived and affluent people find themselves living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived areas adjoined one of the least deprived. This number increased to 119 in the latest data.

A Wall That Does More Than Separate Land

At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the biggest in the country and starkly apparent. The wall transcends being just a metaphorical division; it causes tangible problems for everyday life.

• School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long journey.
• Reaching important services like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is made more difficult.
• The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being thrown over the wall and other issues.

“You try to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one local, gesturing towards the corroded metal wall.

Community Spirit Amidst Hardship

Within a local community centre, staff stress that support does not recognise postcodes. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained chief executive Tracey Good.

Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe retains a strong sense and sense of community among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the least deprived 10% overall.

Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford

This phenomenon is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in England. It is immediately adjacent by spacious houses built in the early 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and living environment.

“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people over there never even talk to each other.”

The financial divide is clear: an average family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side equivalent properties go for about £410,000.

Residents speak of a tangible feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our amenities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the issues we face here are to do with financial hardship.”

The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ paints a portrait of an increasingly divided England, where wealth and deprivation are frequently awkwardly close neighbours.