🔗 Share this article A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Prosperity and Hardship Now Sit Side by Side in Across England. Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in homes only a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. A six-foot-tall wall literally separates the two communities in the town of Grimsby, blocking off paths and streets that previously connected them. “This is the divide between rich and poor,” remarked a resident, 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 mix with us.” An Increasingly Common National Picture Analysis of government statistics reveals how deep inequality can run, sometimes across little more than a few metres of asphalt, a hedge row or a wall. Years of budget cuts and lack of funding have led to a situation where a majority of local authorities now contain a locality ranking as one of the poorest in the country. This spread of poverty has coincided with a significant rise in the number of places where disadvantaged and well-off people find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived areas adjoined one of the wealthiest. That figure increased to 119 in the latest data. A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Space In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the country and starkly apparent. The barrier transcends being just a symbolic divide; it creates very real problems for daily routines. The school commute that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long journey. Access to key services like grocery stores, schools and care homes is made more difficult. The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with reports of rubbish being thrown over the wall and related issues. “People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one resident, motioning at the corroded barricade. Community Spirit Amidst Hardship Within Centre4, staff stress that need does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” said chief executive Tracey Good. Despite being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate boasts a fierce loyalty and sense of community among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the least deprived 10% overall. Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford This phenomenon is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment. “They might have larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” said Phil Hockley, aged 63. “It’s likely many people over there don’t even speak to each other.” The financial divide is clear: an typical three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side equivalent homes fetch about £410,000. Residents speak of a tangible sense of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our facilities have gradually disappeared, and most of the issues we face here are related to poverty.” The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an ever more divided England, where wealth and deprivation are frequently awkwardly in close proximity.
Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in homes only a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. A six-foot-tall wall literally separates the two communities in the town of Grimsby, blocking off paths and streets that previously connected them. “This is the divide between rich and poor,” remarked a resident, 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 mix with us.” An Increasingly Common National Picture Analysis of government statistics reveals how deep inequality can run, sometimes across little more than a few metres of asphalt, a hedge row or a wall. Years of budget cuts and lack of funding have led to a situation where a majority of local authorities now contain a locality ranking as one of the poorest in the country. This spread of poverty has coincided with a significant rise in the number of places where disadvantaged and well-off people find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived areas adjoined one of the wealthiest. That figure increased to 119 in the latest data. A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Space In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the country and starkly apparent. The barrier transcends being just a symbolic divide; it creates very real problems for daily routines. The school commute that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long journey. Access to key services like grocery stores, schools and care homes is made more difficult. The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with reports of rubbish being thrown over the wall and related issues. “People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one resident, motioning at the corroded barricade. Community Spirit Amidst Hardship Within Centre4, staff stress that need does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” said chief executive Tracey Good. Despite being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate boasts a fierce loyalty and sense of community among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the least deprived 10% overall. Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford This phenomenon is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment. “They might have larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” said Phil Hockley, aged 63. “It’s likely many people over there don’t even speak to each other.” The financial divide is clear: an typical three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side equivalent homes fetch about £410,000. Residents speak of a tangible sense of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our facilities have gradually disappeared, and most of the issues we face here are related to poverty.” The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an ever more divided England, where wealth and deprivation are frequently awkwardly in close proximity.