The Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Hardship Now Sit Side by Side in England.
Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in homes only a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho village. One 1.8-metre-high wall physically divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that once connected them.
“It’s the divide between rich and poor,” said Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.”
A Stark Pattern Across the Country
Analysis of official figures reveals how deep inequality often exists, at times over little more than a few metres of asphalt, a line of hedges or a wall. Decades of austerity and underinvestment mean almost two-thirds of local authorities now have a locality ranking as one of the poorest in the country.
This geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a significant rise in the quantity of locations where disadvantaged and affluent residents end up living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest areas bordered one of the least deprived. That figure rose to 119 in the most recent data.
A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land
In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the UK and painfully apparent. The barrier is much more than a symbolic divide; it causes tangible problems for everyday life.
- The school commute that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an hour-long detour.
- Access to key services like grocery stores, schools and care homes is made more difficult.
- The area can attract antisocial behaviour, with instances of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other issues.
“You try to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one local, gesturing towards the rusted barricade.
Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges
Within Centre4, workers stress that need does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained chief executive Tracey Good.
Regardless of ranking in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its residents. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall.
A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford
This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in England. It is immediately adjacent by spacious houses built in the early 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment.
“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely many people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”
The economic gap is clear: an typical family home costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side equivalent properties fetch about £410,000.
Locals describe a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” stated resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our amenities have gradually disappeared, and most of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.”
The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an ever more divided society, where wealth and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.
