A Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Affluence and Deprivation Are Found Side by Side in England.
In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy homes only several yards from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high wall literally separates the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that previously linked them.
“It’s the posh-poor divide,” remarked a resident, 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.”
A Stark Pattern Across the Country
Analysis of official figures reveals the extent of disparity often exists, sometimes across little more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a barrier. Decades of budget cuts and underinvestment have led to a situation where a majority of local authorities now have a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the country.
The geographical widening of poverty has led to a significant increase in the quantity of places where deprived and well-off residents end up living side by side. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods bordered one of the least deprived. This number increased to 119 in the most recent data.
A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Space
In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the UK and painfully apparent. The barrier transcends being just a metaphorical division; it causes tangible problems for daily routines.
- The school commute that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an sixty-minute journey.
- Reaching key services like grocery stores, schools and employment centres is made more difficult.
- The site can attract vandalism and loitering, with instances of litter being dumped over the wall and related issues.
“People strive to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one resident, gesturing towards the rusted barricade.
Local Bonds Amidst Hardship
At a local community centre, workers emphasise that support does not recognise addresses. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said director a community leader.
Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate retains a fierce loyalty and sense of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the least deprived 10% overall.
Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford
This phenomenon is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in England. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment.
“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “You’ll probably find many people over there don’t even speak to each other.”
The financial divide is evident: an typical three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side equivalent properties go for about £410,000.
Locals describe a palpable feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community is neglected,” said resident Susan. “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 ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an increasingly segregated society, where wealth and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably close neighbours.