The Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Hardship Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
In Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in homes just several yards from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho village. A 1.8-metre-high wall literally divides the two communities in the town of Grimsby, blocking off roads and walkways that once connected them.
“It’s the divide between rich and poor,” remarked a resident, aged 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.”
A Stark National Picture
Analysis of official figures shows the extent of inequality can run, sometimes across nothing more than a short distance of tarmac, a line of hedges or a barrier. Years of budget cuts and lack of funding mean almost two-thirds of councils now contain a locality ranking as one of the most deprived in the nation.
This spread of poverty has led to a sharp increase in the quantity of places where disadvantaged and affluent people find themselves as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods adjoined one of the wealthiest. That figure increased to 119 in the latest data.
A Barrier Which Divides More Than Space
At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the most pronounced in the UK and painfully apparent. The barrier transcends being just a symbolic divide; it creates tangible problems for everyday life.
- The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long journey.
- Access to important services like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is made more difficult.
- The site can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other issues.
“People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one local, gesturing towards the rusted metal wall.
Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Hardship
Within Centre4, workers emphasise that need does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” explained chief executive Tracey Good.
Despite ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a fierce loyalty and feeling of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% nationally.
Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford
This pattern is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious detached homes built in the early 2000s that are in the top 10% for job prospects and quality of surroundings.
“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented a long-term resident, aged 63. “You’ll probably find many people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”
The financial divide is evident: an typical three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide equivalent homes fetch about £410,000.
Locals speak of a palpable feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” stated resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the community problems here are related to poverty.”
The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an increasingly segregated England, where prosperity and need are often awkwardly close neighbours.
