A Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Prosperity and Deprivation Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in England.
In Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy homes just a few metres from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho village. One six-foot-tall wall physically separates the two communities in the town of Grimsby, sealing off paths and streets that once linked them.
“This is the divide between rich and poor,” remarked Serenity Colley, 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.”
A Stark National Picture
Data from official figures reveals how deep inequality can run, sometimes across nothing more than a short distance of tarmac, 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 contain a locality ranking as one of the most deprived in the country.
This spread of poverty has coincided with a significant increase in the number of places where deprived and affluent people end up living side by side. Just a few years ago, just 65 of the most deprived areas adjoined one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the latest data.
A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Space
In Grimsby, the divide is the most pronounced in the UK and painfully apparent. The barrier is much more than a symbolic division; it creates very real problems for daily routines.
- The school commute that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an sixty-minute detour.
- Access to key amenities like supermarkets, schools and employment centres is made more difficult.
- The site can attract vandalism and loitering, with instances of rubbish being dumped over the wall and related issues.
“You try to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one resident, gesturing towards the rusted metal wall.
Community Spirit Amidst Challenges
Within a local community centre, staff stress that support does not recognise addresses. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” explained director a community leader.
Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate boasts a strong sense and sense of togetherness among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Scartho is classified among the most prosperous 10% overall.
Echoes Elsewhere: An Estate in Kent
This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the early 2000s that sit in the top 10% for employment and quality of surroundings.
“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, 63. “It’s likely many people over there don’t even speak to each other.”
The financial gap is clear: an typical family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side equivalent homes fetch about £410,000.
Locals describe a palpable feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” stated holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our amenities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.”
The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an ever more divided society, where prosperity and deprivation are often uncomfortably in close proximity.
