The Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Affluence and Deprivation Are Found Side by Side in Across England.
Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy properties just several yards from their wealthier neighbours in nearby Scartho village. A 1.8-metre-high barricade physically divides the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that once linked them.
“This is the posh-poor divide,” 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.”
A Stark Pattern Across the Country
Analysis of government statistics shows the extent of disparity often exists, sometimes across nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a line of hedges or a wall. Decades of budget cuts and underinvestment mean almost two-thirds of councils now have a neighbourhood ranking as one of the poorest in the country.
This geographical widening of poverty has led to a sharp increase in the number of locations where disadvantaged and affluent residents end up living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the poorest areas adjoined one of the wealthiest. This number increased to 119 in the most recent data.
A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land
In Grimsby, the divide is the most pronounced in the country and painfully apparent. The wall transcends being just a metaphorical division; it causes tangible difficulties for everyday life.
- School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long journey.
- Reaching important services like supermarkets, schools and care homes is made more difficult.
- The site can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other problems.
“You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, gesturing towards the rusted barricade.
Community Spirit Amidst Challenges
At Centre4, staff emphasise that support does not recognise postcodes. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” said director a community leader.
Regardless of ranking in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate retains a strong sense and sense of community among its residents. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area is classified among the least deprived 10% overall.
A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent
This pattern is repeated nationally. 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 spacious houses built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment.
“They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” commented a long-term resident, 63. “You’ll probably find many people over there don’t even speak to each other.”
The economic gap is clear: an typical family home costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide equivalent homes go for about £410,000.
Residents describe a tangible feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our amenities have gradually disappeared, and most of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.”
The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a picture of an increasingly segregated society, where prosperity and deprivation are often uncomfortably close neighbours.
