The Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Prosperity and Hardship Are Found Cheek by Jowl in England.
Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy homes only a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. One six-foot-tall wall physically divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off roads and walkways that once linked them.
“This is the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.”
A Stark National Picture
Analysis of government figures shows the extent of disparity often exists, at times over nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a line of hedges or a wall. Years of austerity and lack of funding mean a majority of councils now contain a locality ranking as one of the most deprived in the nation.
The spread of poverty has led to a sharp rise in the quantity of locations where disadvantaged and well-off residents end up as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. This number increased to 119 in the latest data.
A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Space
In Grimsby, the gap is the most pronounced in the country and painfully apparent. The wall transcends being just a symbolic divide; it creates very real problems for daily routines.
- The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long detour.
- Reaching important amenities like grocery stores, schools and employment centres is made more difficult.
- The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and related issues.
“People strive to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one local, gesturing towards the corroded barricade.
Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Hardship
Within a local community centre, staff emphasise that need does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained chief executive Tracey Good.
Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe retains a strong sense and feeling of community among its residents. By contrast, Scartho is classified among the most prosperous 10% overall.
A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford
This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious houses built in the early 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment.
“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 family home sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side equivalent properties fetch about £410,000.
Locals speak of a tangible sense of neglect. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” stated holistic health worker Susan. “In this area our facilities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the issues we face here are to do with financial hardship.”
The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ paints a picture of an increasingly segregated England, where wealth and need are often uncomfortably in close proximity.
