A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Prosperity and Hardship Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in homes only several yards from their more affluent counterparts in the adjacent Scartho village. A six-foot-tall wall physically separates the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that once connected them.
“It’s the divide between rich and poor,” remarked Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.”
A Stark National Picture
Data from government statistics shows how deep inequality often exists, sometimes across nothing more than a few metres of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of budget cuts and underinvestment have led to a situation where a majority of local authorities now have a locality classified as one of the poorest in the country.
The spread of deprivation has coincided with a significant rise in the number of locations where deprived and affluent people end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived areas adjoined one of the wealthiest. This number rose to 119 in the most recent data.
A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land
In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the UK and painfully apparent. The wall is much more than a symbolic division; it causes tangible problems for everyday life.
- The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long detour.
- Reaching important amenities like supermarkets, schools and employment centres is hindered.
- The area often sees antisocial behaviour, with reports of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other problems.
“You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one resident, motioning at the corroded metal wall.
Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Challenges
Within Centre4, staff emphasise that support does not recognise addresses. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” explained director Tracey Good.
Despite being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe retains a fierce loyalty and sense of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% nationally.
A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford
This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area 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 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and quality of surroundings.
“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented a long-term resident, aged 63. “It’s likely a lot of people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”
The economic divide is evident: an average three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side comparable properties fetch about £410,000.
Residents describe a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” said resident Susan. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to poverty.”
The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a portrait of an increasingly segregated society, where prosperity and need are often uncomfortably close neighbours.
