The Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Hardship Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in Across England.

In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in homes just several yards from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. A 1.8-metre-high barricade literally divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, blocking off paths and streets that once linked them.

“This is the divide between rich and poor,” remarked Serenity Colley, 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.”

A Stark Pattern Across the Country

Analysis of official statistics shows the extent of inequality often exists, at times across nothing more than a short distance of asphalt, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where a majority of councils now contain a locality ranking as one of the poorest in the nation.

The geographical widening of poverty has led to a significant rise in the quantity of locations where deprived and well-off people find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest areas adjoined one of the least deprived. That figure rose to 119 in the most recent data.

A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land

At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the biggest in the country and painfully obvious. The wall transcends being just a symbolic divide; it creates very real difficulties for everyday life.

• The school commute that ought to take 15-20 minutes turn into an hour-long journey.
• Reaching important amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is made more difficult.
• The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with instances of litter being thrown over the wall and related issues.

“You try to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, motioning at the corroded barricade.

Local Bonds Amidst Hardship

Within a local community centre, workers emphasise that support does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” said chief executive a community leader.

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

Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent

This phenomenon is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious houses built in the early 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment.

“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented Phil Hockley, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people over there never even talk to each other.”

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

Residents describe a palpable sense of neglect. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said resident Susan. “Over here our amenities have gradually disappeared, and most of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.”

The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an increasingly segregated England, where prosperity and need are often awkwardly in close proximity.