The Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Prosperity and Hardship Now Sit Side by Side in Across England.

In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in homes just several yards from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho village. One 1.8-metre-high barricade literally divides the two areas in the town of Grimsby, sealing off roads and walkways that previously connected them.

“This is the posh-poor divide,” remarked 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.”

A Stark National Picture

Analysis of official figures reveals the extent of disparity can run, sometimes over nothing more than a short distance of asphalt, a line of hedges or a barrier. Decades of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where a majority of councils now have a locality ranking as one of the poorest in the nation.

This geographical widening of deprivation has coincided with a sharp rise in the number of locations where deprived and affluent residents find themselves living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. This number rose to 119 in the most recent data.

A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Space

At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the most pronounced in the UK and painfully apparent. The wall transcends being just a metaphorical division; it causes very real problems for daily routines.

• The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute detour.
• Access to key services like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is hindered.
• The site often sees vandalism and loitering, with instances of litter being thrown over the wall and related issues.

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

Local Bonds Amidst Challenges

At a local community centre, workers stress that support does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” said chief executive Tracey Good.

Despite being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate retains a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area ranks among the most prosperous 10% nationally.

Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford

This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in England. It is closely bordered by spacious houses built in the early 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and living environment.

“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely a lot of people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”

The economic divide is evident: an average family home costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide comparable properties go for about £410,000.

Residents describe a palpable sense of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.”

The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an increasingly divided England, where prosperity and deprivation are often uncomfortably in close proximity.