A Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Hardship Now Sit Side by Side in England.
Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants occupy properties only several yards from their wealthier neighbours in nearby Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high wall physically divides the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off paths and streets that once linked them.
“This is the divide between rich and poor,” remarked a resident, 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.”
An Increasingly Common National Picture
Analysis of government statistics reveals the extent of disparity can run, at times over little more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a barrier. Decades of budget cuts and lack of funding have led to a situation where a majority of councils now contain a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the nation.
This spread of poverty has led to a sharp rise in the number of locations where deprived and affluent residents end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. This number rose to 119 in the latest data.
A Wall That Does More Than Separate Space
In Grimsby, the divide is the most pronounced in the UK and starkly apparent. The wall transcends being just a symbolic divide; it causes tangible problems for daily routines.
- The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour turn into an sixty-minute journey.
- Reaching important amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is hindered.
- The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being thrown over the wall and other issues.
“People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one local, motioning at the corroded metal wall.
Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship
At Centre4, staff emphasise that need does not recognise addresses. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” said chief executive a community leader.
Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a fierce loyalty and sense of togetherness among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% nationally.
Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent
This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in England. It is closely bordered by large houses built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and living environment.
“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented Phil Hockley, 63. “It’s likely many people over there don’t even speak to each other.”
The financial divide is evident: an average family home sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide comparable homes fetch about £410,000.
Residents speak of a tangible sense of neglect. “This part of the community is neglected,” stated resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our facilities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the issues we face here are to do with financial hardship.”
The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a portrait of an ever more segregated England, where prosperity and deprivation are frequently awkwardly in close proximity.
