The Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Hardship Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
In Nunsthorpe, residents live in properties only several yards from their wealthier neighbours in nearby Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high barricade literally separates the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off paths and streets that previously linked them.
“It’s the posh-poor divide,” remarked 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 associate with us.”
An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country
Data from government figures shows the extent of disparity can run, at times across little more than a few metres of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where a majority of local authorities now have a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the country.
This geographical widening of poverty has led to a significant rise in the quantity of places where deprived and affluent residents end up living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure increased to 119 in the most recent data.
A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land
In Grimsby, the divide is the most pronounced in the UK and starkly apparent. The wall transcends being just a symbolic divide; it causes tangible problems for daily routines.
- The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long journey.
- Reaching important services like supermarkets, educational facilities and employment centres is hindered.
- The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with instances of rubbish being dumped over the wall and related issues.
“People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one resident, gesturing towards the corroded metal wall.
Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges
At Centre4, staff stress that support transcends addresses. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said director a community leader.
Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and sense of community among its residents. Meanwhile, Scartho is classified among the least deprived 10% overall.
Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford
This pattern is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in England. It is immediately adjacent by spacious detached homes built in the early 2000s that sit in the top 10% for job prospects and living environment.
“They might have bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” said Phil Hockley, aged 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 typical family home costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side comparable properties go for about £410,000.
Residents describe a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” stated resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the community problems here are related to financial hardship.”
The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a portrait of an ever more segregated society, where wealth and need are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.
