🔗 Share this article A Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Prosperity and Hardship Now Sit Side by Side in England. In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy properties just a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. A 1.8-metre-high wall physically separates the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that previously linked them. “It’s the posh-poor divide,” remarked Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.” An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country Data from government figures shows how deep inequality often exists, sometimes over nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a line of hedges or a barrier. Years of budget cuts and lack of funding have led to a situation where a majority of councils now have a locality classified as one of the poorest in the country. The spread of deprivation has coincided with a sharp rise in the quantity of locations where deprived and affluent people find themselves as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the poorest areas adjoined one of the least deprived. This number rose to 119 in the latest data. A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the country and painfully apparent. The barrier is much more than a symbolic division; it causes tangible problems for daily routines. School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an sixty-minute detour. Access to important amenities like grocery stores, schools and care homes is made more difficult. The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with instances of litter being thrown over the wall and related issues. “People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one local, gesturing towards the rusted barricade. Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship Within Centre4, staff stress that support transcends addresses. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” said director a community leader. Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a fierce loyalty and sense of togetherness among its residents. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% nationally. Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent This phenomenon is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in England. It is closely bordered by large detached homes built in the 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment. “They might have bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented a long-term resident, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.” The economic gap is clear: an typical three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide comparable properties go for about £410,000. Residents speak of a tangible sense of being overlooked. “This part of the community is neglected,” said resident Susan. “Over here our amenities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the issues we face here are to do with poverty.” The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a picture of an increasingly segregated society, where wealth and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.
In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy properties just a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. A 1.8-metre-high wall physically separates the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that previously linked them. “It’s the posh-poor divide,” remarked Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.” An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country Data from government figures shows how deep inequality often exists, sometimes over nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a line of hedges or a barrier. Years of budget cuts and lack of funding have led to a situation where a majority of councils now have a locality classified as one of the poorest in the country. The spread of deprivation has coincided with a sharp rise in the quantity of locations where deprived and affluent people find themselves as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the poorest areas adjoined one of the least deprived. This number rose to 119 in the latest data. A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the country and painfully apparent. The barrier is much more than a symbolic division; it causes tangible problems for daily routines. School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an sixty-minute detour. Access to important amenities like grocery stores, schools and care homes is made more difficult. The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with instances of litter being thrown over the wall and related issues. “People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one local, gesturing towards the rusted barricade. Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship Within Centre4, staff stress that support transcends addresses. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” said director a community leader. Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a fierce loyalty and sense of togetherness among its residents. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% nationally. Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent This phenomenon is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in England. It is closely bordered by large detached homes built in the 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment. “They might have bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented a long-term resident, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.” The economic gap is clear: an typical three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide comparable properties go for about £410,000. Residents speak of a tangible sense of being overlooked. “This part of the community is neglected,” said resident Susan. “Over here our amenities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the issues we face here are to do with poverty.” The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a picture of an increasingly segregated society, where wealth and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.