🔗 Share this article A Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Hardship Now Sit Side by Side in England. In Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy properties only several yards from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho. A 1.8-metre-high barricade physically divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, blocking off roads and walkways that once linked them. “It’s the divide between rich and poor,” said Serenity Colley, 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.” An Increasingly Common National Picture Data from official figures shows how deep inequality often exists, sometimes across little more than a few metres of asphalt, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of budget cuts and lack of funding mean a majority of councils now have a locality classified as one of the poorest in the nation. The geographical widening of deprivation has led to a significant increase in the number of locations where deprived and well-off people find themselves as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods adjoined one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data. A Barrier Which Divides More Than Space At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the biggest in the UK and starkly apparent. The wall transcends being just a symbolic divide; it causes tangible problems for everyday life. The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute journey. Reaching important services like supermarkets, schools and care homes is made more difficult. The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with instances of litter being thrown over the wall and other problems. “You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one resident, gesturing towards the corroded metal wall. Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges At Centre4, workers stress that support transcends postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” explained chief executive a community leader. Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, Scartho is classified among the most prosperous 10% overall. A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in England. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the early 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment. “They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented a long-term resident, aged 63. “You’ll probably find many people over there never even talk to each other.” The economic gap is clear: an typical family home costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side comparable homes fetch about £410,000. Locals describe a palpable feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” stated resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our amenities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are related to poverty.” The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a portrait of an increasingly segregated society, where wealth and need are frequently awkwardly in close proximity.
In Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy properties only several yards from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho. A 1.8-metre-high barricade physically divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, blocking off roads and walkways that once linked them. “It’s the divide between rich and poor,” said Serenity Colley, 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.” An Increasingly Common National Picture Data from official figures shows how deep inequality often exists, sometimes across little more than a few metres of asphalt, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of budget cuts and lack of funding mean a majority of councils now have a locality classified as one of the poorest in the nation. The geographical widening of deprivation has led to a significant increase in the number of locations where deprived and well-off people find themselves as immediate neighbours. Just a few years ago, only 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods adjoined one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data. A Barrier Which Divides More Than Space At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the biggest in the UK and starkly apparent. The wall transcends being just a symbolic divide; it causes tangible problems for everyday life. The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute journey. Reaching important services like supermarkets, schools and care homes is made more difficult. The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with instances of litter being thrown over the wall and other problems. “You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one resident, gesturing towards the corroded metal wall. Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges At Centre4, workers stress that support transcends postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” explained chief executive a community leader. Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, Scartho is classified among the most prosperous 10% overall. A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in England. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the early 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment. “They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented a long-term resident, aged 63. “You’ll probably find many people over there never even talk to each other.” The economic gap is clear: an typical family home costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side comparable homes fetch about £410,000. Locals describe a palpable feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” stated resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our amenities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are related to poverty.” The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a portrait of an increasingly segregated society, where wealth and need are frequently awkwardly in close proximity.