A Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Prosperity and Hardship Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in England.

Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in homes just a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in nearby Scartho village. One six-foot-tall wall physically separates the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that once connected them.

“It’s the posh-poor divide,” remarked a resident, 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 associate with us.”

An Increasingly Common National Picture

Data from official figures shows how deep inequality can run, sometimes over nothing more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a barrier. Decades of austerity and underinvestment mean almost two-thirds of local authorities now contain a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the nation.

This geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a sharp increase in the number of locations where deprived and affluent residents end up living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. This number rose to 119 in the most recent data.

A Wall That Divides More Than Space

At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the biggest in the UK and starkly obvious. The wall transcends being just a metaphorical division; it causes very real difficulties for daily routines.

• School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an sixty-minute detour.
• Access to key amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is hindered.
• The area can attract antisocial behaviour, with instances of litter being dumped over the wall and related 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.

Community Spirit Amidst Challenges

Within a local community centre, staff stress that need transcends postcodes. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” explained chief executive Tracey Good.

Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a strong sense and sense of community among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% overall.

Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent

This phenomenon is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in the country. It is closely bordered by spacious detached homes built in the early 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and quality of surroundings.

“They might have bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger 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 economic gap is clear: an typical three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side comparable homes go for about £410,000.

Residents speak of a palpable sense of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” said resident Susan. “In this area our amenities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the community problems here are related to poverty.”

The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an increasingly divided society, where wealth and deprivation are often uncomfortably in close proximity.