The Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Prosperity and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in England.

In Nunsthorpe, residents live in properties just a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho village. A six-foot-tall wall physically divides the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off roads and walkways that previously linked them.

“It’s the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, aged 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.”

A Stark National Picture

Analysis of official statistics shows how deep inequality often exists, at times across little more than a few metres of asphalt, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now contain a neighbourhood ranking as one of the most deprived in the country.

The geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a significant increase in the quantity of places where disadvantaged and well-off residents find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived areas adjoined one of the wealthiest. This number increased to 119 in the latest data.

A Wall That Divides More Than Land

At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the most pronounced in the UK and painfully apparent. The wall is much more than a metaphorical divide; it causes very real difficulties for everyday life.

• School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long journey.
• Access to important services like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is hindered.
• The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with instances of rubbish being thrown over the wall and related problems.

“You try to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one local, gesturing towards the rusted metal wall.

Community Spirit Amidst Hardship

At a local community centre, workers stress that need does not recognise addresses. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” explained chief executive Tracey Good.

Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate boasts a fierce loyalty and feeling of togetherness among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the least deprived 10% overall.

A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford

This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious detached homes built in the early 2000s that sit in the top 10% for employment and living environment.

“They might have larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” said 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 gap is clear: an average family home costs about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent properties go for about £410,000.

Residents describe a palpable sense of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said resident Susan. “Over here our amenities have gradually disappeared, and most of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.”

The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a portrait of an ever more segregated England, where wealth and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.