The Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Prosperity and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in England.

Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in properties just a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in nearby Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high barricade literally separates the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off roads and walkways that once connected them.

“It’s the posh-poor divide,” remarked a resident, 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.”

A Stark National Picture

Analysis of government statistics shows how deep inequality often exists, at times over little more than a short distance of asphalt, a line of hedges or a barrier. Years of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now contain a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the country.

The spread of deprivation has coincided with a sharp rise in the number of locations where disadvantaged 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 increased to 119 in the most recent data.

A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Space

At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the most pronounced in the country and painfully obvious. The wall is much more than a metaphorical division; it causes tangible problems for everyday life.

• School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes turn into an sixty-minute detour.
• Access to important services like supermarkets, educational facilities and employment centres is made more difficult.
• The area can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being thrown over the wall and other issues.

“People strive to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, gesturing towards the rusted metal wall.

Community Spirit Amidst Challenges

At a local community centre, staff stress that need does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained chief executive a community leader.

Despite being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe retains a fierce loyalty and feeling of community among its residents. By contrast, Scartho is classified among the most prosperous 10% overall.

Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford

This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is closely bordered by spacious detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings.

“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people over there never even talk to each other.”

The financial divide is evident: an average three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide comparable homes go for about £410,000.

Residents describe a palpable sense of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” stated holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and most of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.”

The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ paints a picture of an increasingly segregated society, where wealth and need are often uncomfortably close neighbours.