The Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Deprivation Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in England.

In Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in homes just a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho village. A six-foot-tall wall literally divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that once connected them.

“It’s the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, aged 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.”

A Stark Pattern Across the Country

Analysis of official figures reveals the extent of inequality can run, sometimes across nothing more than a few metres of tarmac, a line of hedges or a barrier. Years of budget cuts and lack of funding mean a majority of councils now have a neighbourhood ranking as one of the most deprived in the nation.

The geographical widening of deprivation has led to a significant increase in the number of locations where deprived and affluent residents 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 latest data.

A Wall That Divides More Than Land

At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the biggest in the country and painfully apparent. The wall is much more than a metaphorical divide; it creates very real difficulties for everyday life.

• School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an sixty-minute detour.
• Reaching important services like grocery stores, schools and employment centres is hindered.
• The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with instances of rubbish being dumped over the wall and related problems.

“You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one resident, gesturing towards the corroded barricade.

Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship

At Centre4, staff stress that support does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” explained chief executive Tracey Good.

Regardless of ranking in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the least deprived 10% nationally.

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 immediately adjacent by large houses built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings.

“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” said a long-term resident, aged 63. “It’s likely many people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”

The financial divide is clear: an typical three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent properties go for about £410,000.

Residents describe a palpable sense of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our amenities have gradually disappeared, and most of the issues we face here are related to poverty.”

The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a portrait of an ever more segregated society, where wealth and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.