The Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Affluence and Hardship Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in England.
In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy properties only several yards from their more affluent counterparts in the adjacent Scartho. One six-foot-tall barricade literally separates the two areas in the town of Grimsby, blocking off roads and walkways that previously linked them.
“This is the divide between rich and poor,” remarked a resident, 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 associate with us.”
A Stark National Picture
Analysis of official figures reveals the extent of disparity often exists, at times over little more than a few metres of tarmac, a hedge row or a barrier. Decades of austerity and lack of funding mean a majority of local authorities now contain a locality ranking as one of the most deprived in the country.
The spread of deprivation has coincided with a sharp increase in the number of places where deprived and well-off people end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods adjoined one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the most recent data.
A Wall That Divides More Than Land
At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the biggest in the UK and starkly obvious. The wall transcends being just a symbolic division; it creates very real difficulties for everyday life.
- The school commute that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an sixty-minute journey.
- Access to key services like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is made more difficult.
- The area can attract antisocial behaviour, with instances of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other issues.
“People strive to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one local, gesturing towards the corroded barricade.
Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship
Within a local community centre, workers stress that support does not recognise postcodes. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” said director Tracey Good.
Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe retains a fierce loyalty and sense of community among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally.
A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford
This pattern is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in the country. It is closely bordered by large houses built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for job prospects and living environment.
“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s more community,” commented a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely many people over there never even talk to each other.”
The economic gap is evident: an typical family home costs about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide comparable homes go for about £410,000.
Locals speak of a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community is neglected,” stated holistic health worker Susan. “Over here our amenities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the community problems here are related to poverty.”
The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an ever more divided society, where prosperity and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.