The Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Prosperity and Hardship Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in Across England.

In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in homes just a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho. A 1.8-metre-high wall literally divides the two communities in the town of Grimsby, blocking off roads and walkways that once linked them.

“It’s the posh-poor divide,” said Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.”

A Stark Pattern Across the Country

Data from official figures reveals the extent of disparity often exists, at times across nothing more than a short distance of asphalt, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where a majority of local authorities now have a locality classified as one of the most deprived in the nation.

This spread of deprivation has led to a sharp rise in the quantity of locations where deprived and affluent people end up living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the most deprived areas 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 gap is the most pronounced in the country and painfully apparent. The barrier transcends being just a symbolic divide; it creates very real difficulties for everyday life.

• School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an sixty-minute detour.
• Access to important services like supermarkets, schools and care homes is hindered.
• The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with instances of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other problems.

“You try to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one resident, motioning at the corroded barricade.

Local Bonds Amidst Hardship

Within Centre4, staff stress that need does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” explained director a community leader.

Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe boasts a fierce loyalty and feeling of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, Scartho is classified among the most prosperous 10% nationally.

Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford

This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the early 2000s that are in the top 10% for job prospects and living environment.

“They might have bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” commented a long-term resident, aged 63. “You’ll probably find many people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”

The economic gap is evident: an typical three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide comparable properties fetch about £410,000.

Locals describe a tangible sense of neglect. “This part of the community is neglected,” stated resident Susan. “Over here our amenities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.”

The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a portrait of an ever more divided England, where wealth and need are often awkwardly in close proximity.