The Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Hardship Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
In Nunsthorpe, residents occupy properties only a few metres from their more affluent counterparts in the adjacent Scartho village. A six-foot-tall barricade literally separates the two communities in the town of Grimsby, blocking off roads and walkways that once linked them.
“This is the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.”
An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country
Analysis of government figures reveals how deep inequality often exists, at times across nothing more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of budget cuts and underinvestment mean a majority of local authorities now contain a locality ranking as one of the poorest in the country.
The geographical widening of poverty has led to a sharp increase in the quantity of places where deprived and affluent residents find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. This number rose to 119 in the latest data.
A Barrier Which Divides More Than Space
In Grimsby, the divide is the most pronounced in the country and painfully apparent. The wall is much more than a metaphorical divide; it causes very real problems for everyday life.
- School runs that should take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long journey.
- Access to important services like supermarkets, schools and employment centres is hindered.
- The site can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of litter being thrown over the wall and related problems.
“People strive to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, motioning at the rusted metal wall.
Community Spirit Amidst Hardship
Within a local community centre, staff stress that need does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said chief executive Tracey Good.
Despite ranking in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe retains a strong sense and feeling of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% overall.
Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent
This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious houses built in the 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment.
“They might have larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” said Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find many people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”
The financial gap is clear: an typical family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side equivalent properties fetch about £410,000.
Locals speak of a tangible sense of neglect. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” said resident Susan. “Over here our amenities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.”
The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ paints a portrait of an ever more segregated society, where prosperity and deprivation are often uncomfortably close neighbours.
