🔗 Share this article The Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Prosperity and Hardship Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in Across England. In Nunsthorpe, residents live in properties just a few metres from their wealthier counterparts in the adjacent Scartho village. One six-foot-tall wall physically divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off roads and walkways that once connected them. “It’s the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.” An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country Data from government statistics reveals the extent of inequality can run, at times across little more than a short distance of tarmac, a line of hedges or a wall. Decades of austerity and underinvestment mean almost two-thirds of councils now have a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the nation. This geographical widening of deprivation has led to a significant rise in the number of places where deprived and well-off people end up living side by side. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the poorest areas adjoined one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the most recent data. A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land In Grimsby, the gap is the most pronounced in the UK and painfully obvious. The wall transcends being just a symbolic divide; it causes very real problems for everyday life. School runs that should take 15-20 minutes turn into an sixty-minute detour. Access to key amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is hindered. The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and other issues. “People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one resident, motioning at the rusted metal wall. Local Bonds Amidst Hardship Within Centre4, workers stress that support transcends postcodes. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” explained chief executive Tracey Good. Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a fierce loyalty and sense of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% overall. Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings. “They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people over there don’t even speak to each other.” The financial gap is clear: an average family home costs about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent properties fetch about £410,000. Residents speak of a tangible feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” stated holistic health worker Susan. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.” The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a portrait of an increasingly divided England, where wealth and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.
In Nunsthorpe, residents live in properties just a few metres from their wealthier counterparts in the adjacent Scartho village. One six-foot-tall wall physically divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off roads and walkways that once connected them. “It’s the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.” An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country Data from government statistics reveals the extent of inequality can run, at times across little more than a short distance of tarmac, a line of hedges or a wall. Decades of austerity and underinvestment mean almost two-thirds of councils now have a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the nation. This geographical widening of deprivation has led to a significant rise in the number of places where deprived and well-off people end up living side by side. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the poorest areas adjoined one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the most recent data. A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land In Grimsby, the gap is the most pronounced in the UK and painfully obvious. The wall transcends being just a symbolic divide; it causes very real problems for everyday life. School runs that should take 15-20 minutes turn into an sixty-minute detour. Access to key amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is hindered. The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and other issues. “People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one resident, motioning at the rusted metal wall. Local Bonds Amidst Hardship Within Centre4, workers stress that support transcends postcodes. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” explained chief executive Tracey Good. Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a fierce loyalty and sense of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% overall. Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings. “They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people over there don’t even speak to each other.” The financial gap is clear: an average family home costs about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent properties fetch about £410,000. Residents speak of a tangible feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” stated holistic health worker Susan. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.” The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a portrait of an increasingly divided England, where wealth and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.