A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Affluence and Hardship Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in England.

In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in homes just a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in nearby Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high wall literally separates the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that once connected them.

“This is the divide between rich and poor,” said Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.”

An Increasingly Common National Picture

Analysis of official statistics reveals the extent of disparity can run, at times across little more than a short distance of asphalt, a line of hedges or a wall. Decades of budget cuts and lack of funding have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now have a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the country.

The geographical widening of deprivation has coincided with a sharp increase in the number of places where disadvantaged and affluent residents end up living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest areas adjoined one of the least deprived. That figure rose to 119 in the most recent data.

A Wall That Does More Than Separate Land

In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the UK and painfully obvious. The wall transcends being just a metaphorical division; it creates very real difficulties for everyday life.

• The school commute that ought to take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long journey.
• Reaching key amenities like supermarkets, schools and employment centres is made more difficult.
• The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with instances of rubbish being dumped over the wall and related issues.

“People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, gesturing towards the corroded barricade.

Local Bonds Amidst Challenges

Within Centre4, workers stress that need does not recognise postcodes. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” explained chief executive a community leader.

Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe boasts a fierce loyalty and sense of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area 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 overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in England. It is closely bordered by large houses built in the early 2000s that sit in the top 10% for job prospects and living environment.

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

The economic gap is clear: an typical three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide comparable homes go for about £410,000.

Locals describe a tangible feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” said holistic health worker Susan. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.”

The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a picture of an increasingly divided England, where prosperity and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.