🔗 Share this article A Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Prosperity and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in England. Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in homes just several yards from their more affluent counterparts in the adjacent Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high wall physically divides the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that once connected them. “It’s the divide between rich and poor,” remarked a resident, aged 37. “It has been there 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 Data from government figures reveals how deep disparity can run, at times over nothing more than a few metres of tarmac, a line of hedges or a wall. Decades of budget cuts and lack of funding mean almost two-thirds of councils now have a locality ranking as one of the poorest in the country. The geographical widening of deprivation has coincided with a significant increase in the number of places where disadvantaged and well-off residents end up living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest 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 At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the most pronounced in the UK and painfully obvious. The wall transcends being just a symbolic division; it causes very real difficulties for everyday life. School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long journey. Access to key amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is hindered. The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with instances of litter being dumped over the wall and other issues. “People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one local, gesturing towards the rusted barricade. Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship At a local community centre, workers emphasise that need transcends addresses. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” said director Tracey Good. Despite ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe retains a strong sense and feeling of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally. Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent This phenomenon is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in the country. It is closely bordered by spacious detached homes built in the early 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and living environment. “They might have bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.” The financial divide is evident: an average three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide equivalent properties go for about £410,000. Locals describe a palpable sense of neglect. “This part of the community is neglected,” stated holistic health worker Susan. “In this area our facilities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.” The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ paints a picture of an ever more segregated England, where wealth and need are often uncomfortably close neighbours.
Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in homes just several yards from their more affluent counterparts in the adjacent Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high wall physically divides the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that once connected them. “It’s the divide between rich and poor,” remarked a resident, aged 37. “It has been there 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 Data from government figures reveals how deep disparity can run, at times over nothing more than a few metres of tarmac, a line of hedges or a wall. Decades of budget cuts and lack of funding mean almost two-thirds of councils now have a locality ranking as one of the poorest in the country. The geographical widening of deprivation has coincided with a significant increase in the number of places where disadvantaged and well-off residents end up living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest 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 At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the most pronounced in the UK and painfully obvious. The wall transcends being just a symbolic division; it causes very real difficulties for everyday life. School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long journey. Access to key amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is hindered. The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with instances of litter being dumped over the wall and other issues. “People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one local, gesturing towards the rusted barricade. Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship At a local community centre, workers emphasise that need transcends addresses. “Where you live is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” said director Tracey Good. Despite ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe retains a strong sense and feeling of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally. Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent This phenomenon is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in the country. It is closely bordered by spacious detached homes built in the early 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and living environment. “They might have bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.” The financial divide is evident: an average three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide equivalent properties go for about £410,000. Locals describe a palpable sense of neglect. “This part of the community is neglected,” stated holistic health worker Susan. “In this area our facilities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.” The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ paints a picture of an ever more segregated England, where wealth and need are often uncomfortably close neighbours.