A Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Prosperity and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants occupy homes only several yards from their more affluent counterparts in the adjacent Scartho village. One six-foot-tall wall literally separates the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that once linked them.
“This is the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, 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.”
An Increasingly Common National Picture
Analysis of official figures shows the extent of disparity can run, sometimes over nothing more than a few metres of tarmac, a hedge row or a barrier. Years of budget cuts and lack of funding mean a majority of local authorities now contain a neighbourhood ranking as one of the most deprived in the country.
The geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a significant rise in the quantity of locations where deprived and well-off people end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the least deprived. This number rose to 119 in the latest data.
A Wall That Divides More Than Land
In Grimsby, the divide is the most pronounced in the country and starkly obvious. The wall is much more than a symbolic division; it causes very real difficulties for everyday life.
- The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute journey.
- Access to important services like supermarkets, schools and care homes is made more difficult.
- The site can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of litter being thrown over the wall and other problems.
“You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one resident, motioning at the rusted metal wall.
Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges
At a local community centre, staff emphasise that support transcends addresses. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” said director a community leader.
Despite ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and sense of community among its inhabitants. By contrast, Scartho is classified among the most prosperous 10% nationally.
A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent
This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in England. It is closely bordered by large houses built in the early 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and living environment.
“They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” commented Phil Hockley, 63. “It’s likely many people over there never even talk to each other.”
The financial divide is clear: an average family home sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side equivalent properties go for about £410,000.
Residents describe a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community is neglected,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.”
The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an increasingly divided England, where prosperity and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.
