A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Prosperity and Deprivation Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in Across England.

Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy properties just several yards from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho. One six-foot-tall barricade physically separates the two communities in the town of Grimsby, blocking off roads and walkways that previously linked them.

“It’s the posh-poor divide,” 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.”

An Increasingly Common National Picture

Data from government statistics reveals the extent of disparity often exists, at times across little more than a short distance of tarmac, a line of hedges or a barrier. Decades of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now have a neighbourhood ranking as one of the most deprived in the nation.

This spread of deprivation has led to a significant increase in the number of places where disadvantaged and well-off people end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods adjoined one of the least deprived. This number rose to 119 in the most recent data.

A Wall That Divides More Than Space

In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the UK and starkly obvious. The wall is much more than a symbolic divide; it causes very real problems for daily routines.

• The school commute that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an hour-long journey.
• Reaching important amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is made more difficult.
• The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with instances of litter being thrown over the wall and other problems.

“You try to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one local, motioning at the corroded barricade.

Community Spirit Amidst Challenges

Within a local community centre, staff stress that need does not recognise postcodes. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” said director Tracey Good.

Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate retains a strong sense and sense of community among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall.

Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford

This pattern is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in England. It is immediately adjacent by spacious houses built in the early 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and quality of surroundings.

“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” said a long-term resident, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”

The economic divide is evident: an typical three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side comparable properties fetch about £410,000.

Residents describe a palpable sense of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our facilities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the community problems here are related to poverty.”

The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ paints a picture of an ever more segregated society, where prosperity and deprivation are often awkwardly close neighbours.