A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Hardship Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
Within Nunsthorpe, residents occupy properties only a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in nearby Scartho. A six-foot-tall wall literally divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off roads and walkways that previously connected them.
“It’s the divide between rich and poor,” said Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.”
A Stark Pattern Across the Country
Data from official statistics shows the extent of disparity often exists, sometimes across nothing more than a short distance of asphalt, a hedge row or a barrier. Decades of budget cuts and lack of funding mean a majority of councils now contain a neighbourhood ranking as one of the poorest in the nation.
The geographical widening of deprivation has led to a sharp increase in the number of locations where disadvantaged and affluent residents end up living side by side. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods bordered one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the most recent data.
A Barrier Which Divides More Than Space
At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the biggest in the UK and painfully apparent. The wall transcends being just a metaphorical divide; it creates tangible difficulties for everyday life.
- School runs that should take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long detour.
- Reaching important amenities like supermarkets, educational facilities and employment centres is hindered.
- The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and other problems.
“People strive to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one local, motioning at the rusted barricade.
Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Hardship
At Centre4, staff stress that support does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” said director a community leader.
Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate retains a fierce loyalty and feeling of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally.
A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent
This pattern is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in England. It is immediately adjacent by spacious houses built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and living environment.
“They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said Phil Hockley, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people over there don’t even speak to each other.”
The financial gap is clear: an typical three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide comparable homes fetch about £410,000.
Residents speak of a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” stated holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our facilities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.”
The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an ever more divided England, where wealth and need are frequently awkwardly in close proximity.
