A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Deprivation Are Found Side by Side in Across England.

In Nunsthorpe, residents live in properties only several yards from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho. A six-foot-tall barricade physically divides the two communities in the town of Grimsby, blocking off paths and streets that previously connected them.

“It’s the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.”

An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country

Analysis of government figures reveals the extent of disparity often exists, sometimes over nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a line of hedges or a barrier. Years of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where a majority of local authorities now have a locality classified as one of the poorest in the country.

The spread of poverty has led to a sharp rise in the number of places where disadvantaged and affluent residents find themselves as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the poorest areas adjoined one of the least deprived. That figure rose to 119 in the most recent data.

A Wall That Divides More Than Space

At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the biggest in the country and starkly apparent. The wall transcends being just a metaphorical division; it creates very real difficulties for daily routines.

• The school commute that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long detour.
• Reaching important services like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is made more difficult.
• The area can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of rubbish being thrown over the wall and related problems.

“People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one resident, motioning at the corroded barricade.

Community Spirit Amidst Hardship

Within Centre4, workers stress that need transcends postcodes. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” explained chief executive Tracey Good.

Regardless of ranking in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a strong sense and sense of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Scartho is classified among the most prosperous 10% nationally.

Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford

This phenomenon is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and living environment.

“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” said Phil Hockley, 63. “It’s likely many people over there never even talk to each other.”

The economic 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 speak of a tangible sense of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.”

The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a portrait of an ever more segregated society, where wealth and need are frequently awkwardly close neighbours.