The Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.

Within Nunsthorpe, residents occupy properties only a few metres from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho village. A 1.8-metre-high barricade physically separates the two communities in the town of Grimsby, blocking off roads and walkways that once linked them.

“It’s the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, aged 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to associate with us.”

An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country

Analysis of official figures reveals the extent of disparity can run, at times across little more than a few metres of tarmac, a line of hedges or a barrier. Decades of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where a majority of local authorities now have a neighbourhood ranking as one of the most deprived in the nation.

The spread of poverty has coincided with a significant rise in the number of places where disadvantaged and well-off people end up living side by side. In 2019, 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 metaphorical division; it causes tangible problems for everyday life.

• School runs that should take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute detour.
• Reaching key amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and employment centres is hindered.
• The area can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and related issues.

“You try to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you live opposite that,” said one local, motioning at the corroded barricade.

Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges

At Centre4, staff stress that need transcends postcodes. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” said chief executive a community leader.

Despite being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe retains a fierce loyalty and feeling of togetherness among its residents. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area ranks among the most prosperous 10% nationally.

A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford

This pattern is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in England. It is closely bordered by large houses built in the early 2000s that sit in the top 10% for job prospects and living environment.

“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”

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

Residents describe a tangible feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said resident Susan. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.”

The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an increasingly divided society, where wealth and deprivation are frequently awkwardly in close proximity.