A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Prosperity and Deprivation Now Sit Side by Side in Across England.
Within Nunsthorpe, residents live in properties only several yards from their wealthier neighbours in nearby Scartho village. One six-foot-tall wall literally divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that once connected them.
“It’s the divide between rich and poor,” remarked Serenity Colley, 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.”
A Stark National Picture
Analysis of government statistics reveals the extent of inequality can run, at times over nothing more than a short distance of asphalt, a hedge row or a barrier. Years of budget cuts and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now have a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the country.
This geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a sharp rise in the quantity of locations where deprived and well-off people end up living side by side. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the poorest areas adjoined one of the wealthiest. This number rose to 119 in the latest data.
A Wall That Does More Than Separate Space
At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the most pronounced in the UK and painfully apparent. The barrier transcends being just a symbolic divide; it causes tangible problems for everyday life.
- The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long detour.
- Reaching important services like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is hindered.
- The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with instances of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other problems.
“You try to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one resident, gesturing towards the rusted barricade.
Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Challenges
At Centre4, workers stress that need does not recognise addresses. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” explained director a community leader.
Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate retains a strong sense and feeling of community among its inhabitants. By contrast, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall.
A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent
This pattern is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings.
“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” commented a long-term resident, 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”
The financial divide is evident: an typical three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side comparable properties go for about £410,000.
Residents describe a tangible feeling of neglect. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said resident Susan. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and most of the issues we face here are to do with financial hardship.”
The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a portrait of an ever more divided England, where prosperity and deprivation are frequently awkwardly close neighbours.