A Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Affluence and Hardship Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
In Nunsthorpe, residents live in homes just a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in the adjacent Scartho village. A six-foot-tall wall physically separates the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off roads and walkways that previously connected them.
“It’s the posh-poor divide,” remarked a resident, 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.”
An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country
Data from government figures shows the extent of inequality often exists, at times over nothing more than a short distance of tarmac, a line of hedges or a wall. Decades of budget cuts and lack of funding mean a majority of councils now have a neighbourhood ranking as one of the most deprived in the nation.
This spread of deprivation has coincided with a significant increase in the number of locations where disadvantaged and affluent residents find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods bordered one of the least deprived. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data.
A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land
In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the UK and painfully obvious. The barrier transcends being just a symbolic divide; it causes very real problems for daily routines.
- School runs that should take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long detour.
- Reaching important amenities like grocery stores, schools and care homes is hindered.
- The site can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and related issues.
“You try to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, gesturing towards the corroded barricade.
Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship
Within a local community centre, staff emphasise that need transcends postcodes. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” said director a community leader.
Despite being placed in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe retains a strong sense and feeling of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% nationally.
Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford
This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for job prospects and living environment.
“They might have bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people over there don’t even speak to each other.”
The economic divide is evident: an typical family home costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side comparable properties fetch about £410,000.
Residents describe a palpable feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our amenities have gradually disappeared, and most of the community problems 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 close neighbours.
