A Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Affluence and Deprivation Now Sit Side by Side in Across England.

Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in homes just a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high barricade literally separates the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off paths and streets that previously linked them.

“This is the posh-poor divide,” said Serenity Colley, 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.”

An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country

Data from official figures shows the extent of inequality often exists, sometimes across little more than a short distance of asphalt, a hedge row or a wall. Years of austerity and lack of funding mean almost two-thirds of local authorities now have a neighbourhood ranking as one of the most deprived in the nation.

This geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a sharp increase in the number of places where disadvantaged and affluent residents end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods bordered one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the most recent data.

A Wall That Divides More Than Space

In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the UK and painfully obvious. The wall transcends being just a symbolic division; it creates tangible difficulties for everyday life.

• School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute journey.
• Reaching important amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is made more difficult.
• The area often sees antisocial behaviour, with instances of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other issues.

“You try to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, motioning at the corroded metal wall.

Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship

At Centre4, workers emphasise that need transcends addresses. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained director Tracey Good.

Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% nationally.

A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford

This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious houses built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment.

“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said Phil Hockley, 63. “You’ll probably find many people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”

The economic gap is evident: an average three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side comparable properties go for about £410,000.

Residents describe a tangible feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” said resident Susan. “In this area our amenities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the issues we face here are to do with financial hardship.”

The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a portrait of an increasingly segregated England, where wealth and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.