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

Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in properties just a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in nearby Scartho. One six-foot-tall wall literally divides the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off roads and walkways that once linked them.

“It’s the divide between rich and poor,” remarked Serenity Colley, aged 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 National Picture

Data from official statistics shows the extent of inequality often exists, at times over little more than a short distance of asphalt, a line of hedges or a wall. Years of budget cuts and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now have a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the nation.

This spread of deprivation has led to a sharp increase in the quantity of locations where deprived and affluent people end up living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data.

A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Space

At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the biggest in the country and starkly apparent. The barrier is much more than a symbolic division; it causes very real problems for everyday life.

• School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes turn into an hour-long journey.
• Access to important amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is made more difficult.
• The site often sees vandalism and loitering, with instances of rubbish being thrown over the wall and related issues.

“You try to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one resident, gesturing towards the rusted barricade.

Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Challenges

Within a local community centre, workers emphasise that support does not recognise postcodes. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” explained director a community leader.

Despite ranking in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe boasts a fierce loyalty and feeling of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% overall.

Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford

This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in England. It is immediately adjacent by spacious houses built in the early 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and living environment.

“They might have bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people over there don’t even speak to each other.”

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

Residents speak of a tangible feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the issues we face here are to do with poverty.”

The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an increasingly divided society, where prosperity and need are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.