The Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Prosperity and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in England.

In Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy homes just several yards from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. A 1.8-metre-high barricade literally divides the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off roads and walkways that once linked them.

“This is the posh-poor divide,” remarked a resident, 37. “It’s been like this since 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 National Picture

Analysis of government figures shows how deep disparity often exists, at times over nothing more than a short distance of asphalt, a line of hedges or a barrier. Decades of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now contain a locality ranking as one of the most deprived in the country.

This geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a significant increase in the number of locations where disadvantaged and well-off residents find themselves living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods bordered one of the least deprived. This number increased 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 barrier transcends being just a symbolic divide; it creates very real problems for daily routines.

• The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long detour.
• Access to key amenities like supermarkets, schools and care homes is made more difficult.
• The site often sees vandalism and loitering, with instances of litter being thrown over the wall and related problems.

“You try to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one local, gesturing towards the rusted metal wall.

Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship

At a local community centre, workers stress that need does not recognise postcodes. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said director Tracey Good.

Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe retains a fierce loyalty and feeling of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall.

Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford

This pattern is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope area in Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in England. It is closely bordered by spacious houses built in the early 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment.

“They might have 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 never even talk to each other.”

The economic divide is clear: an average three-bedroom house 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 neglect. “This part of the community gets ignored,” stated resident Susan. “Over here our amenities have slowly been taken away, and most of the community problems here are to do with poverty.”

The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a portrait of an increasingly divided England, where prosperity and need are frequently awkwardly in close proximity.