🔗 Share this article The Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Prosperity and Deprivation Are Found Side by Side in England. Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in properties only a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in the adjacent Scartho village. One six-foot-tall wall physically separates the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off roads and walkways that once connected them. “It’s the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, 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 mix with us.” A Stark Pattern Across the Country Analysis of government figures reveals how deep disparity often exists, sometimes over nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a line of hedges or a barrier. Years of budget cuts and lack of funding have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now have a neighbourhood ranking as one of the poorest in the country. The spread of deprivation has led to a significant increase in the number of locations where disadvantaged and affluent residents end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the poorest areas bordered one of the least deprived. This number increased to 119 in the most recent data. A Wall That Divides More Than Space In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the UK and starkly apparent. The barrier transcends being just a metaphorical division; it creates very real difficulties for everyday life. School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an sixty-minute journey. Reaching important services like grocery stores, schools and care homes is made more difficult. The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being thrown over the wall and other issues. “You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one resident, gesturing towards the rusted barricade. Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges At Centre4, staff stress that need does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained chief executive Tracey Good. Despite ranking in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe boasts a fierce loyalty and feeling of community among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally. Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in the country. It is closely bordered by spacious houses built in the 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for employment and quality of surroundings. “They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” commented Phil Hockley, 63. “You’ll probably find many people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.” The economic divide is evident: an average three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side comparable properties go for about £410,000. Locals describe a palpable feeling of neglect. “This part of the community gets ignored,” stated holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.” The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an increasingly divided England, where wealth and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably close neighbours.
Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in properties only a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in the adjacent Scartho village. One six-foot-tall wall physically separates the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off roads and walkways that once connected them. “It’s the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, 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 mix with us.” A Stark Pattern Across the Country Analysis of government figures reveals how deep disparity often exists, sometimes over nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a line of hedges or a barrier. Years of budget cuts and lack of funding have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now have a neighbourhood ranking as one of the poorest in the country. The spread of deprivation has led to a significant increase in the number of locations where disadvantaged and affluent residents end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the poorest areas bordered one of the least deprived. This number increased to 119 in the most recent data. A Wall That Divides More Than Space In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the UK and starkly apparent. The barrier transcends being just a metaphorical division; it creates very real difficulties for everyday life. School runs that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an sixty-minute journey. Reaching important services like grocery stores, schools and care homes is made more difficult. The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being thrown over the wall and other issues. “You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one resident, gesturing towards the rusted barricade. Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges At Centre4, staff stress that need does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained chief executive Tracey Good. Despite ranking in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe boasts a fierce loyalty and feeling of community among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally. Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in the country. It is closely bordered by spacious houses built in the 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for employment and quality of surroundings. “They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” commented Phil Hockley, 63. “You’ll probably find many people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.” The economic divide is evident: an average three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side comparable properties go for about £410,000. Locals describe a palpable feeling of neglect. “This part of the community gets ignored,” stated holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.” The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an increasingly divided England, where wealth and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably close neighbours.