A Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Hardship Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
In Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy properties only several yards from their wealthier counterparts in the adjacent Scartho village. One 1.8-metre-high barricade physically separates the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off paths and streets that once connected them.
“It’s the posh-poor divide,” remarked a resident, aged 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.”
An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country
Data from official figures shows the extent of inequality can run, sometimes over nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a line of hedges or a wall. Decades of austerity and underinvestment mean almost two-thirds of local authorities now contain a locality classified as one of the poorest in the nation.
The geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a sharp increase in the quantity of places where disadvantaged and affluent residents end up living side by side. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods adjoined one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the latest data.
A Wall That Divides More Than Space
At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the biggest in the country and painfully apparent. The wall is much more than a symbolic divide; it causes tangible difficulties for daily routines.
- The school commute that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an hour-long detour.
- Reaching key amenities like supermarkets, educational facilities and employment centres is hindered.
- The area can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being thrown over the wall and other problems.
“You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, motioning at the corroded metal wall.
Community Spirit Amidst Hardship
Within a local community centre, staff stress that need does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained director a community leader.
Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a fierce loyalty and feeling of togetherness among its residents. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally.
Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent
This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the 2000s that sit in the top 10% for employment and living environment.
“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented Phil Hockley, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”
The economic gap is evident: an average three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side comparable homes go for about £410,000.
Locals describe a tangible feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are to do with financial hardship.”
The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a picture of an ever more divided society, where wealth and deprivation are frequently awkwardly close neighbours.
