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

Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in properties just a few metres from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho. One six-foot-tall barricade physically separates the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off roads and walkways that previously linked them.

“This is the posh-poor divide,” remarked a resident, 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.”

An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country

Data from official figures shows the extent of inequality can run, sometimes over nothing more than a few metres of tarmac, a line of hedges or a wall. Decades of budget cuts and lack of funding have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now have a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the country.

This spread of poverty has led to a sharp increase in the quantity of locations where deprived and well-off residents end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest areas bordered one of the least deprived. That figure rose to 119 in the most recent data.

A Barrier Which Divides More Than Space

In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the country and painfully obvious. The barrier is much more than a metaphorical divide; it causes tangible problems for daily routines.

• School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long detour.
• Reaching key services like supermarkets, schools and care homes is made more difficult.
• The area often sees antisocial behaviour, with instances of litter being dumped over the wall and related problems.

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

Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Hardship

Within Centre4, staff stress that support does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained director a community leader.

Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe retains a strong sense and sense of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area is classified among the least deprived 10% nationally.

A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent

This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in England. It is immediately adjacent by spacious houses built in the 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and quality of surroundings.

“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people over there never even talk to each other.”

The financial divide is clear: an average three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side equivalent homes go for about £410,000.

Residents speak of a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.”

The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ paints a picture of an ever more segregated society, where wealth and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably close neighbours.