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

Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in properties only a few metres from their more affluent counterparts in nearby Scartho village. A six-foot-tall wall literally divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off roads and walkways that previously connected them.

“This is the posh-poor divide,” said Serenity Colley, 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.”

An Increasingly Common National Picture

Analysis of government figures reveals how deep inequality often exists, sometimes across nothing more than a short distance of asphalt, a line of hedges or a barrier. Decades of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where a majority of local authorities now contain a neighbourhood ranking as one of the poorest in the country.

The spread of deprivation has coincided with a sharp rise in the quantity of places where disadvantaged and well-off people end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods adjoined one of the wealthiest. This number rose to 119 in the most recent data.

A Wall That Divides More Than Land

At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the most pronounced in the country and painfully obvious. The wall transcends being just a metaphorical division; it causes very real difficulties for daily routines.

• The school commute that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long journey.
• Access to important services like supermarkets, schools and employment centres is hindered.
• The site can attract vandalism and loitering, with instances of rubbish being dumped over the wall and related issues.

“You try to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one resident, motioning at the rusted barricade.

Community Spirit Amidst Hardship

At Centre4, staff stress that need transcends postcodes. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” said chief executive Tracey Good.

Despite being placed in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe retains a strong sense and sense of community among its residents. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall.

A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford

This pattern is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in England. It is immediately adjacent by spacious houses built in the early 2000s that sit in the top 10% for employment and living environment.

“They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”

The financial divide is clear: an average family home sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent properties go for about £410,000.

Residents describe a tangible feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” stated resident Susan. “Over here our amenities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.”

The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an ever more divided society, where prosperity and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.