A Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Hardship Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in England.

In Nunsthorpe, residents live in properties just several yards from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho village. One six-foot-tall wall literally separates the two areas in the town of Grimsby, blocking off roads and walkways that once linked them.

“This is the posh-poor divide,” remarked Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.”

An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country

Data from official figures shows the extent of inequality can run, at times over little more than a short distance of asphalt, a line of hedges or a wall. Years of austerity and lack of funding mean a majority of councils now have a locality ranking as one of the most deprived in the country.

The geographical widening of deprivation has led to a sharp increase in the number of places where disadvantaged and affluent residents end up living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods adjoined one of the least deprived. This number rose to 119 in the latest data.

A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land

In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the UK and starkly apparent. The wall is much more than a metaphorical divide; it causes very real difficulties for daily routines.

• The school commute that should take 15-20 minutes become an sixty-minute detour.
• Reaching important services like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is made more difficult.
• The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with instances of litter being dumped over the wall and other problems.

“You try to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one local, motioning at the corroded metal wall.

Community Spirit Amidst Challenges

Within a local community centre, staff stress that support does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” said chief executive a community leader.

Despite ranking in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate boasts a strong sense and feeling of community among its residents. By contrast, Scartho is classified among the most prosperous 10% nationally.

A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent

This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and living environment.

“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “You’ll probably find many people over there never even talk to each other.”

The economic gap is evident: an typical family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side equivalent homes go for about £410,000.

Residents speak of a palpable sense of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” stated resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.”

The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a portrait of an increasingly divided England, where prosperity and deprivation are frequently awkwardly in close proximity.