A Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Prosperity and Hardship Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in England.
Within Nunsthorpe, residents occupy homes just several yards from their wealthier neighbours in nearby Scartho. A 1.8-metre-high wall physically separates the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off roads and walkways that once connected them.
“It’s the posh-poor divide,” said Serenity Colley, 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.”
An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country
Analysis of government statistics shows how deep disparity often exists, sometimes over nothing more than a short distance of asphalt, a hedge row or a wall. Years of budget cuts and lack of funding mean almost two-thirds of councils now contain a neighbourhood classified as one of the most deprived in the country.
The spread of deprivation has coincided with a sharp increase in the number of places where deprived and affluent residents end up living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data.
A Wall That Divides More Than Space
In Grimsby, the divide is the most pronounced in the UK and painfully apparent. The wall transcends being just a metaphorical division; it causes tangible difficulties for everyday life.
- The school commute that ought to take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long journey.
- Reaching key amenities like supermarkets, schools and care homes is hindered.
- The site can attract vandalism and loitering, with instances of litter 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 local, motioning at the rusted metal wall.
Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship
At a local community centre, staff stress that need does not recognise addresses. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained director Tracey Good.
Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and feeling of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% nationally.
Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford
This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in England. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the early 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and quality of surroundings.
“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people over there never even talk to each other.”
The economic gap is clear: an average family home sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side equivalent homes go for about £410,000.
Residents speak of a tangible sense of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” stated holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our facilities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the issues we face here are to do with poverty.”
The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a portrait of an ever more segregated society, where wealth and need are often awkwardly in close proximity.
