The Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Deprivation Are Found Cheek by Jowl in Across England.
In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in properties only a few metres from their more affluent counterparts in the adjacent Scartho village. One 1.8-metre-high wall physically divides the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that once connected them.
“This is the posh-poor divide,” remarked Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.”
An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country
Analysis of government statistics shows how deep disparity can run, at times over little more than a short distance of asphalt, a hedge row or a barrier. Years of austerity and lack of funding mean a majority of councils now have a locality classified as one of the poorest in the country.
The geographical widening of deprivation has led to a significant increase in the quantity of locations where disadvantaged and affluent people find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods bordered one of the least deprived. This number rose to 119 in the latest data.
A Wall That Divides More Than Space
In Grimsby, the gap is the biggest in the UK and starkly apparent. The barrier is much more than a symbolic division; it causes tangible problems for everyday life.
- School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute detour.
- Reaching key services like supermarkets, schools and care homes is made more difficult.
- The site can attract vandalism and loitering, with instances of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other issues.
“You try to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one local, motioning at the corroded metal wall.
Community Spirit Amidst Hardship
At Centre4, workers stress that need does not recognise postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your personal struggles,” said director a community leader.
Despite being placed in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe boasts a fierce loyalty and feeling of togetherness among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall.
Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford
This phenomenon is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for employment and living environment.
“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” said Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”
The financial divide is clear: an average three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide comparable properties fetch about £410,000.
Locals describe a palpable sense of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” stated resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the issues we face here are to do with financial hardship.”
The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an increasingly divided society, where prosperity and deprivation are often awkwardly in close proximity.
