The Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Prosperity and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in England.

Within Nunsthorpe, residents occupy homes just a few metres from their wealthier counterparts in the adjacent Scartho village. One 1.8-metre-high barricade physically separates the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off paths and streets that once linked them.

“This is the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.”

An Increasingly Common National Picture

Analysis of government statistics shows the extent of inequality often exists, sometimes across little more than a short distance of tarmac, a line of hedges or a barrier. Years of budget cuts and lack of funding mean almost two-thirds of councils now have a locality ranking as one of the most deprived in the nation.

The geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a significant increase in the number of places where disadvantaged and affluent residents find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the most recent data.

A Barrier Which Divides More Than Space

At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the biggest in the UK and starkly obvious. The wall is much more than a symbolic divide; it causes very real difficulties for everyday life.

• School runs that should take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long journey.
• Reaching key amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is made more difficult.
• The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with instances of litter being thrown over the wall and other problems.

“You try to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one resident, motioning at the corroded metal wall.

Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Challenges

At Centre4, workers stress that support transcends postcodes. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” explained chief executive a community leader.

Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate boasts a strong sense and feeling of community among its residents. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall.

A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford

This pattern is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in England. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings.

“They might have larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely many people over there never even talk to each other.”

The economic gap is clear: an typical family home costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side equivalent homes go for about £410,000.

Residents describe a tangible feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” stated holistic health worker Susan. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and most of the community problems here are to do with poverty.”

The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a portrait of an ever more divided England, where prosperity and need are often uncomfortably in close proximity.