The Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Hardship Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in homes just several yards from their more affluent counterparts in the adjacent Scartho. A 1.8-metre-high wall physically divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off roads and walkways that once linked them.
“This is the divide between rich and poor,” said Serenity Colley, 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.”
A Stark National Picture
Data from official statistics reveals how deep inequality can run, sometimes across little more than a few metres of asphalt, a hedge row or a barrier. Decades of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now have a neighbourhood ranking as one of the most deprived in the nation.
This geographical widening of deprivation has coincided with a significant rise in the number of locations where disadvantaged and well-off people end up as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the wealthiest. This number rose to 119 in the most recent data.
A Barrier Which Divides More Than Space
At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the most pronounced in the country and starkly obvious. The wall is much more than a symbolic divide; it causes very real problems for everyday life.
- The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long journey.
- Reaching key services like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is hindered.
- The site can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and other issues.
“You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one local, motioning at the corroded barricade.
Community Spirit Amidst Challenges
Within Centre4, staff emphasise that need transcends postcodes. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” explained director Tracey Good.
Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate retains a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% overall.
A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent
This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in England. It is closely bordered by large detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and living environment.
“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”
The economic gap is evident: an average family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide comparable properties fetch about £410,000.
Residents speak of a tangible feeling of neglect. “This part of the community is neglected,” said resident Susan. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and most of the community problems here are related to financial hardship.”
The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a portrait of an increasingly divided England, where prosperity and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably close neighbours.