The Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Affluence and Hardship Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in England.

Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants occupy properties just a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in the adjacent Scartho village. A 1.8-metre-high wall literally separates the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that previously linked them.

“This is the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, aged 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I doubt 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 shows how deep disparity can run, sometimes over nothing more than a short distance of tarmac, a line of hedges or a wall. Years of budget cuts and underinvestment mean a majority of councils now have a neighbourhood ranking as one of the most deprived in the country.

This spread of deprivation has coincided with a sharp increase in the quantity of places where deprived and well-off people find themselves living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the most recent data.

A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land

At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the most pronounced in the country and painfully apparent. The barrier is much more than a symbolic divide; it causes tangible problems for everyday life.

• School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an sixty-minute journey.
• Access to important services like supermarkets, schools and care homes is hindered.
• The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other issues.

“You try to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one resident, motioning at the corroded barricade.

Local Bonds Amidst Hardship

Within Centre4, workers stress that support does not recognise addresses. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” explained chief executive a community leader.

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

A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent

This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings.

“They might have bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “It’s likely many people over there don’t even speak to each other.”

The financial divide is clear: an average three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side comparable properties fetch about £410,000.

Locals speak of a palpable feeling of neglect. “This part of the community is neglected,” said holistic health worker Susan. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and most of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.”

The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ paints a picture of an increasingly segregated society, where prosperity and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.