🔗 Share this article A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Affluence and Deprivation Now Sit Side by Side in England. In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in homes just a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in nearby Scartho village. One 1.8-metre-high barricade physically divides the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off roads and walkways that once linked them. “This is the divide between rich and poor,” remarked Serenity Colley, 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.” An Increasingly Common National Picture Analysis of government figures shows how deep inequality often exists, sometimes across nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a line of hedges or a barrier. Years of budget cuts and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now contain a neighbourhood ranking as one of the most deprived in the nation. The spread of deprivation has led to a significant rise in the quantity of places where disadvantaged and well-off people find themselves as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods adjoined one of the least deprived. This number increased to 119 in the most recent data. A Wall That Does More Than Separate Land At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the most pronounced in the UK and starkly apparent. The wall transcends being just a metaphorical division; it creates very real difficulties for everyday life. The school commute that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long journey. Access to important services like grocery stores, schools and employment centres is hindered. The area can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and related issues. “People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, gesturing towards the corroded barricade. Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Hardship Within a local community centre, workers emphasise that need does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said director a community leader. Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a fierce loyalty and sense of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the least deprived 10% overall. A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the early 2000s that sit in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings. “They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people over there don’t even speak to each other.” The financial gap is clear: an average family home costs 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 gets ignored,” stated holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our amenities have gradually disappeared, and most of the issues we face here are to do with financial hardship.” The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a portrait of an ever more divided England, where prosperity and deprivation are often uncomfortably close neighbours.
In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in homes just a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in nearby Scartho village. One 1.8-metre-high barricade physically divides the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off roads and walkways that once linked them. “This is the divide between rich and poor,” remarked Serenity Colley, 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.” An Increasingly Common National Picture Analysis of government figures shows how deep inequality often exists, sometimes across nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a line of hedges or a barrier. Years of budget cuts and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now contain a neighbourhood ranking as one of the most deprived in the nation. The spread of deprivation has led to a significant rise in the quantity of places where disadvantaged and well-off people find themselves as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods adjoined one of the least deprived. This number increased to 119 in the most recent data. A Wall That Does More Than Separate Land At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the most pronounced in the UK and starkly apparent. The wall transcends being just a metaphorical division; it creates very real difficulties for everyday life. The school commute that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long journey. Access to important services like grocery stores, schools and employment centres is hindered. The area can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and related issues. “People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, gesturing towards the corroded barricade. Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Hardship Within a local community centre, workers emphasise that need does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said director a community leader. Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a fierce loyalty and sense of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the least deprived 10% overall. A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the early 2000s that sit in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings. “They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people over there don’t even speak to each other.” The financial gap is clear: an average family home costs 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 gets ignored,” stated holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our amenities have gradually disappeared, and most of the issues we face here are to do with financial hardship.” The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a portrait of an ever more divided England, where prosperity and deprivation are often uncomfortably close neighbours.