A Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Prosperity and Hardship Are Found Cheek by Jowl in England.

In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in homes only a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho. A 1.8-metre-high barricade literally separates the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off roads and walkways that once connected them.

“This is the posh-poor divide,” said 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 associate with us.”

An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country

Analysis of government figures reveals the extent of inequality can run, at times over nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a hedge row or a wall. Years of austerity and lack of funding mean almost two-thirds of councils now have a locality classified as one of the poorest in the country.

This spread of deprivation has led to a sharp rise in the number of places where deprived and affluent residents end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the most recent data.

A Wall That Divides More Than Space

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

• School runs that should take 15-20 minutes turn into an hour-long journey.
• Reaching important amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is made more difficult.
• The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and related problems.

“You try to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one resident, motioning at the corroded metal wall.

Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship

At a local community centre, staff stress that support transcends addresses. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” said chief executive a community leader.

Regardless of ranking in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a fierce loyalty and sense of community among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% overall.

Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford

This pattern is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for employment and quality of surroundings.

“They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find many people over there don’t even speak to each other.”

The economic gap is evident: an typical three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent properties go for about £410,000.

Residents speak of a palpable feeling of neglect. “This part of the community gets ignored,” stated resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the community problems here are related to financial hardship.”

The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ paints a portrait of an increasingly segregated society, where wealth and need are frequently awkwardly in close proximity.