The Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Hardship Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.

Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants occupy properties only a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho village. A six-foot-tall barricade literally separates the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off roads and walkways that once linked them.

“This is the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take 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 the extent of inequality can run, at times over nothing more than a few metres of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now have a neighbourhood classified as one of the most deprived in the nation.

The spread of poverty has coincided with a sharp rise in the number of locations where deprived and well-off people end up living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods bordered one of the least deprived. This number increased to 119 in the latest data.

A Wall That Does More Than Separate Space

At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the biggest in the country and painfully obvious. The wall transcends being just a symbolic division; it creates very real problems for daily routines.

• The school commute that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long detour.
• Access to important services like grocery stores, schools and care homes is made more difficult.
• The site often sees vandalism and loitering, with reports of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other problems.

“People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one local, motioning at the corroded metal wall.

Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Hardship

Within Centre4, staff emphasise that support does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” said chief executive Tracey Good.

Despite ranking in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a fierce loyalty and sense of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% nationally.

Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent

This phenomenon is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the 2000s that sit in the top 10% for employment and living environment.

“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s more community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find many people over there don’t even speak to each other.”

The financial divide is evident: an average three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side comparable homes fetch about £410,000.

Residents speak of a tangible feeling of neglect. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said resident Susan. “In this area our amenities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.”

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