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

In Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in properties only a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho. One six-foot-tall wall physically separates the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off roads and walkways that previously connected them.

“This is the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.”

An Increasingly Common National Picture

Data from government statistics shows the extent of disparity often exists, sometimes over little more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Years of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now contain a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the country.

This geographical widening of poverty has led to a significant increase in the number of locations where deprived and affluent residents find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the least deprived. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data.

A Wall That Divides More Than Land

In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the country and painfully apparent. The barrier transcends being just a symbolic divide; it causes tangible problems for daily routines.

• The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute journey.
• Access to key amenities like grocery stores, schools and care homes is made more difficult.
• The site often sees vandalism and loitering, 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 local, motioning at the rusted barricade.

Community Spirit Amidst Hardship

At a local community centre, workers stress that support transcends addresses. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said chief executive Tracey Good.

Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a strong sense and feeling of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall.

Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford

This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in England. It is closely bordered by large detached homes built in the early 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 Phil Hockley, aged 63. “It’s likely many people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”

The economic gap is clear: an typical three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side comparable homes go for about £410,000.

Locals describe a palpable feeling of neglect. “This part of the community gets ignored,” stated holistic health worker Susan. “In this area our facilities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the issues we face here are to do with poverty.”

The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a portrait of an ever more divided society, where prosperity and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.