The Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Affluence and Deprivation Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in England.

In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in properties only several yards from their more affluent counterparts in nearby Scartho village. A six-foot-tall barricade physically divides the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that previously connected them.

“This is the divide between rich and poor,” said Serenity Colley, 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.”

An Increasingly Common National Picture

Data from government statistics shows the extent of inequality can run, at times over nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a hedge row or a barrier. Years of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where a majority of local authorities now have a locality ranking as one of the most deprived in the nation.

This geographical widening of poverty has led to a sharp increase in the number of locations where disadvantaged and affluent people find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods adjoined one of the least deprived. This number rose to 119 in the latest data.

A Barrier Which Divides More Than Space

In Grimsby, the divide is the most pronounced in the UK and starkly apparent. The wall transcends being just a symbolic divide; it causes tangible difficulties for everyday life.

• School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute journey.
• Access to key services like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is hindered.
• The area often sees antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being thrown over the wall and related issues.

“People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one resident, gesturing towards the rusted barricade.

Local Bonds Amidst Hardship

Within a local community centre, staff emphasise that support transcends postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” said director a community leader.

Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate retains a strong sense and feeling of community among its residents. By contrast, Scartho is classified among the most prosperous 10% nationally.

A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent

This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in the country. It is closely bordered by large houses built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and living environment.

“They might have larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented a long-term resident, 63. “You’ll probably find many people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”

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

Residents speak of a palpable sense of neglect. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” stated holistic health worker Susan. “In this area our amenities have slowly been taken away, and most of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.”

The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a picture of an increasingly segregated society, where wealth and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.