The Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Deprivation Now Sit Side by Side in England.
In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy properties only a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho village. One six-foot-tall barricade literally separates the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off roads and walkways that previously connected them.
“It’s the posh-poor divide,” remarked Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.”
An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country
Analysis of government statistics shows the extent of disparity often exists, sometimes across little more than a few metres of asphalt, a line of hedges or a barrier. Decades of budget cuts and lack of funding mean a majority of local authorities now have a neighbourhood classified as one of the poorest in the country.
This geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a significant increase in the number of places where deprived and affluent people find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived areas adjoined one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the most recent data.
A Barrier Which Divides More Than Space
At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the biggest in the UK and starkly apparent. The wall transcends being just a symbolic divide; it creates tangible problems for everyday life.
- School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an sixty-minute detour.
- Reaching key amenities like supermarkets, educational facilities and employment centres is made more difficult.
- The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with instances of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other problems.
“People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one resident, motioning at the corroded metal wall.
Community Spirit Amidst Challenges
At a local community centre, workers emphasise that support does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” said chief executive a community leader.
Despite being placed in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate boasts a fierce loyalty and feeling of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Scartho is classified among the most prosperous 10% nationally.
A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent
This phenomenon is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is closely bordered by spacious detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and quality of surroundings.
“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find many people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”
The economic divide is evident: an average family home costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side equivalent homes fetch about £410,000.
Residents describe a tangible feeling of neglect. “This part of the community gets ignored,” stated resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our amenities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the community problems here are related to poverty.”
The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ paints a picture of an ever more segregated England, where prosperity and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.