The Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Deprivation Now Sit Side by Side in Across England.

Within Nunsthorpe, residents live in homes only several yards from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho. A six-foot-tall wall physically divides the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off paths and streets that previously connected them.

“This is the divide between rich and poor,” said Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.”

An Increasingly Common National Picture

Analysis of official statistics reveals the extent of inequality can run, at times over nothing more than a few metres of tarmac, a line of hedges or a wall. Years of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now have a locality ranking as one of the most deprived in the country.

This geographical widening of deprivation has led to a significant increase in the quantity of locations where deprived and affluent residents end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest areas bordered one of the wealthiest. This number increased to 119 in the latest data.

A Barrier Which Divides More Than Space

In Grimsby, the divide is the most pronounced in the country and starkly obvious. The barrier is much more than a metaphorical divide; it causes tangible problems for everyday life.

• The school commute that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an hour-long detour.
• Reaching important services like supermarkets, educational facilities and care homes is hindered.
• The area can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of litter being thrown over the wall and other problems.

“You try to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one resident, motioning at the rusted barricade.

Local Bonds Amidst Challenges

At Centre4, workers stress that need transcends postcodes. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” said director a community leader.

Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and sense of community among its residents. By contrast, Scartho ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally.

Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent

This phenomenon is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in England. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the 2000s that sit in the top 10% for job prospects and quality of surroundings.

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

The economic divide is clear: an average family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide comparable homes fetch about £410,000.

Locals describe a tangible feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our amenities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.”

The increase in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a portrait of an increasingly segregated society, where prosperity and deprivation are often uncomfortably in close proximity.