A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Affluence and Deprivation Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in Across England.

In Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in properties just a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho village. A 1.8-metre-high barricade physically separates the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that previously connected them.

“It’s the divide between rich and poor,” remarked Serenity Colley, 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 the extent of inequality can run, at times over little more than a few metres of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of austerity and lack of funding mean a majority of local authorities now contain a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the nation.

The geographical widening of deprivation has led to a sharp increase in the quantity of locations where disadvantaged and affluent people find themselves living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived areas adjoined one of the least deprived. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data.

A Wall That Divides More Than Space

In Grimsby, the gap is the most pronounced in the country and painfully apparent. The barrier transcends being just a metaphorical divide; it creates very real difficulties for daily routines.

• School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute detour.
• Access to key amenities like grocery stores, schools and care homes is hindered.
• The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with instances of litter being dumped over the wall and related issues.

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

Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges

At a local community centre, staff stress that support does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said chief executive a community leader.

Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate retains a strong sense and sense of community among its residents. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the least deprived 10% overall.

A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford

This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in England. It is immediately adjacent by spacious houses built in the early 2000s that sit in the top 10% for job prospects and quality of surroundings.

“They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, aged 63. “You’ll probably find many people over there don’t even speak to each other.”

The economic divide is evident: an average family home costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side equivalent homes fetch about £410,000.

Locals describe a palpable feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” said resident Susan. “In this area our facilities have gradually disappeared, and most of the issues we face here are related to poverty.”

The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a portrait of an ever more divided society, where wealth and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.