A Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Hardship Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in properties only a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in the adjacent Scartho village. A six-foot-tall barricade physically divides the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off roads and walkways that previously connected them.
“This is the posh-poor divide,” remarked Serenity Colley, 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.”
A Stark National Picture
Data from government statistics shows the extent of inequality can run, at times over nothing more than a short distance of asphalt, a line of hedges or a wall. Decades of budget cuts and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now have a neighbourhood ranking as one of the poorest in the country.
This geographical widening of poverty has led to a significant rise in the quantity of places where deprived and affluent people find themselves as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods adjoined one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the latest data.
A Wall That Divides More Than Land
In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the country and painfully apparent. The wall is much more than a symbolic division; it creates very real difficulties for everyday life.
- School runs that should take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long detour.
- Access to important services like supermarkets, educational facilities and care homes is hindered.
- The area can attract antisocial behaviour, with instances of rubbish being dumped over the wall and related issues.
“People strive to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one resident, motioning at the corroded metal wall.
Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Hardship
Within a local community centre, workers stress that support does not recognise addresses. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” said chief executive Tracey Good.
Despite being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area ranks among the most prosperous 10% nationally.
Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford
This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is closely bordered by spacious detached homes 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 a stronger community,” said Phil Hockley, 63. “You’ll probably find many people over there never even talk to each other.”
The economic divide is clear: an average family home costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide equivalent homes go for about £410,000.
Residents describe a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” stated holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and most of the community problems here are related to financial hardship.”
The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a portrait of an ever more divided England, where prosperity and need are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.