A Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Affluence and Hardship Now Sit Side by Side in Across England.
In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants occupy properties just several yards from their more affluent counterparts in the adjacent Scartho village. A six-foot-tall barricade literally divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, blocking off paths and streets that once linked them.
“It’s the posh-poor divide,” remarked Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.”
A Stark Pattern Across the Country
Data from government figures shows the extent of inequality often exists, sometimes over nothing more than a short distance of asphalt, a line of hedges or a wall. Decades of austerity and lack of funding mean almost two-thirds of councils now contain a locality ranking as one of the most deprived in the nation.
The spread of deprivation has coincided with a sharp increase in the number of locations where disadvantaged and well-off people find themselves as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods bordered one of the least deprived. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data.
A Wall That Does More Than Separate Space
In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the UK and starkly apparent. The wall is much more than a symbolic divide; it creates very real difficulties for everyday life.
- The school commute that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an sixty-minute detour.
- Reaching important amenities like grocery stores, schools and care homes is made more difficult.
- The site can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and related problems.
“You try to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one local, gesturing towards the rusted barricade.
Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges
At a local community centre, 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 lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate retains a strong sense and feeling of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, Scartho ranks among the least deprived 10% overall.
Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford
This pattern is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in England. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the early 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and quality of surroundings.
“They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said Phil Hockley, 63. “It’s likely many people over there don’t even speak to each other.”
The financial divide is clear: an typical three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side comparable homes fetch about £410,000.
Residents describe a tangible sense of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said resident Susan. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are to do with poverty.”
The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an increasingly segregated England, where prosperity and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.