A Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Prosperity and Deprivation Now Sit Side by Side in Across England.
Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in properties just a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in nearby Scartho village. A 1.8-metre-high wall physically divides the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off roads and walkways that once connected them.
“This is the divide between rich and poor,” remarked a resident, aged 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.”
A Stark National Picture
Analysis of government statistics reveals the extent of disparity often exists, sometimes over little more than a short distance of asphalt, a line of hedges or a wall. Years of budget cuts and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now have a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the country.
The geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a sharp increase in the number of places where deprived and affluent people find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. This number increased to 119 in the most recent data.
A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land
At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the biggest in the country and starkly obvious. The barrier is much more than a metaphorical divide; it creates tangible problems for everyday life.
- School runs that should take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long detour.
- Access to important amenities like supermarkets, schools and employment centres is hindered.
- The area often sees antisocial behaviour, with instances of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other issues.
“You try to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one local, motioning at the rusted metal wall.
Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges
At a local community centre, workers emphasise that support does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” explained chief executive Tracey Good.
Regardless of ranking in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe retains a fierce loyalty and feeling of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Scartho is classified among the most prosperous 10% nationally.
Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford
This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in England. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for job prospects and living environment.
“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented a long-term resident, aged 63. “It’s likely a lot of people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”
The economic gap is evident: an typical three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent homes fetch about £410,000.
Residents speak of a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our amenities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the issues we face here are to do with poverty.”
The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a picture of an ever more divided society, where wealth and need are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.
