The Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Affluence and Hardship Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in England.

Within Nunsthorpe, residents live in properties just a few metres from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho village. One 1.8-metre-high wall physically separates the two areas in the town of Grimsby, blocking off roads and walkways that once connected them.

“This is the posh-poor divide,” remarked a resident, 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

Analysis of official figures reveals how deep inequality often exists, sometimes over nothing more than a few metres of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Years of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where a majority of local authorities now have a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the country.

The spread of poverty has led to a sharp increase in the number of locations where deprived and affluent people end up living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the least deprived. That figure rose to 119 in the most recent data.

A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land

At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the biggest in the country and starkly obvious. The wall transcends being just a metaphorical division; it creates very real problems for daily routines.

• The school commute that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an sixty-minute detour.
• Access to key amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is hindered.
• The area often sees antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and other problems.

“People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, motioning at the rusted metal wall.

Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges

Within Centre4, workers emphasise that need does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained chief executive Tracey Good.

Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe retains a fierce loyalty and sense of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, Scartho is classified among the least deprived 10% nationally.

A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford

This phenomenon is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in England. It is closely bordered by large detached homes built in the early 2000s that sit in the top 10% for job prospects and quality of surroundings.

“They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” commented Phil Hockley, 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”

The economic divide is evident: an typical family home sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide comparable properties go for about £410,000.

Residents describe a tangible feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” stated resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and most of the community problems here are to do with poverty.”

The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ paints a portrait of an ever more segregated society, where wealth and deprivation are often uncomfortably close neighbours.