The Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Prosperity and Hardship Are Found Side by Side in Across England.
Within Nunsthorpe, residents occupy homes just a few metres from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high barricade physically separates the two areas in the town of Grimsby, blocking off roads and walkways that once linked them.
“It’s the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.”
A Stark National Picture
Data from government figures shows how deep inequality often exists, sometimes over little more than a few metres of tarmac, a line of hedges or a barrier. Years of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now contain a neighbourhood classified as one of the most deprived in the country.
This geographical widening of deprivation has coincided with a sharp rise in the quantity of places where disadvantaged and affluent people end up living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. This number increased to 119 in the most recent data.
A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Space
In Grimsby, the gap is the most pronounced in the country and painfully apparent. The wall transcends being just a symbolic division; it creates tangible difficulties for everyday life.
- School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long journey.
- Reaching important services like supermarkets, schools and care homes is made more difficult.
- The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with reports of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other problems.
“People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one resident, gesturing towards the rusted metal wall.
Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Hardship
At a local community centre, workers emphasise that need transcends postcodes. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” said chief executive Tracey Good.
Despite ranking in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a strong sense and sense of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Scartho is classified among the least deprived 10% overall.
Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent
This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in England. It is closely bordered by large detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment.
“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” said a long-term resident, aged 63. “It’s likely many people in the new builds don’t even speak 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 fetch about £410,000.
Residents speak of a palpable feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community is neglected,” stated holistic health worker Susan. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the community problems here are to do with poverty.”
The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an ever more segregated England, where prosperity and need are frequently uncomfortably close neighbours.
