A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Prosperity and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants occupy properties only a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in nearby Scartho. One six-foot-tall wall literally separates the two areas in the town of Grimsby, blocking off paths and streets that once linked them.
“This is the posh-poor divide,” said Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.”
An Increasingly Common National Picture
Analysis of official statistics reveals the extent of inequality often exists, sometimes over nothing more than a short distance of tarmac, a line of hedges or a wall. Years of budget cuts and lack of funding have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now contain a locality classified as one of the poorest in the nation.
This geographical widening of deprivation has led to a sharp rise in the number of locations where disadvantaged and affluent people end up living side by side. Just a few years ago, just 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data.
A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Space
In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the UK and painfully obvious. The wall transcends being just a metaphorical divide; it creates tangible problems for everyday life.
- School runs that should take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long journey.
- Access to key services like supermarkets, educational facilities and employment centres is hindered.
- The area can attract antisocial behaviour, with instances of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other issues.
“People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one resident, motioning at the rusted metal wall.
Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Hardship
At Centre4, workers stress that support does not recognise addresses. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” explained chief executive a community leader.
Regardless of ranking in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate boasts a strong sense and feeling of community among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% nationally.
Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent
This pattern is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in the country. It is closely bordered by large houses built in the early 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and quality of surroundings.
“They might have bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “It’s likely a lot of people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”
The economic divide is evident: an average family home sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent homes fetch about £410,000.
Residents describe a tangible feeling of neglect. “This part of the community is neglected,” said holistic health worker Susan. “In this area our amenities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.”
The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a portrait of an ever more divided England, where wealth and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably close neighbours.
