A Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Affluence and Hardship Now Sit Side by Side in England.

In Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy properties just a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. A six-foot-tall barricade physically separates the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off roads and walkways that previously linked them.

“This is the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, aged 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.”

A Stark National Picture

Analysis of government statistics reveals the extent of disparity often exists, sometimes over nothing more than a few metres of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Years of budget cuts and lack of funding mean a majority of local authorities now have a locality classified as one of the poorest in the country.

This geographical widening of deprivation has led to a significant rise in the number of locations where disadvantaged and affluent residents find themselves living side by side. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the poorest areas bordered one of the least deprived. This number rose to 119 in the latest data.

A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land

At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the biggest in the country and painfully obvious. The wall transcends being just a metaphorical 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 key services like grocery stores, schools and employment centres is made more difficult.
• The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with instances of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other problems.

“You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one local, motioning at the corroded metal wall.

Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship

At a local community centre, workers stress that support does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” explained chief executive Tracey Good.

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, Scartho is classified among the most prosperous 10% nationally.

Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent

This phenomenon is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in England. It is closely bordered by spacious houses built in the early 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings.

“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” said Phil Hockley, 63. “You’ll probably find many people over there don’t even speak to each other.”

The economic divide is clear: an average three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side equivalent homes fetch about £410,000.

Locals speak of a tangible feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our amenities have gradually disappeared, and most of the community problems here are related to poverty.”

The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an ever more segregated society, where wealth and deprivation are frequently awkwardly in close proximity.