A Growing ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: How Affluence and Hardship Are Found Cheek by Jowl in England.

In Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in properties just a few metres from their more affluent counterparts in the adjacent Scartho. A six-foot-tall barricade physically separates the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off paths and streets that once connected them.

“This is the divide between rich and poor,” said a resident, 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.”

An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country

Data from government statistics shows how deep inequality often exists, sometimes over nothing more than a few metres of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of budget cuts and lack of funding have led to a situation where a majority of local authorities now contain a locality ranking as one of the poorest in the nation.

This spread of deprivation has led to a sharp increase in the number of places where disadvantaged and affluent residents end up living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. That figure rose to 119 in the latest data.

A Wall That Divides More Than Space

At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the biggest in the UK and painfully obvious. The wall is much more than a metaphorical division; it creates tangible difficulties for everyday life.

• The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour become an hour-long journey.
• Reaching important amenities like grocery stores, schools and employment centres is made more difficult.
• The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with instances of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other problems.

“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.

Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship

Within a local community centre, workers emphasise that need does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” explained chief executive Tracey Good.

Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe retains a fierce loyalty and feeling of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area ranks among the most prosperous 10% nationally.

Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford

This pattern is repeated nationally. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in the country. It is closely bordered by spacious detached homes built in the early 2000s that are in the top 10% for job prospects and living environment.

“They may possess bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” said Phil Hockley, aged 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 typical three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side comparable homes go for about £410,000.

Locals speak of a palpable feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our amenities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the community problems here are to do with financial hardship.”

The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a picture of an increasingly segregated England, where prosperity and deprivation are often uncomfortably in close proximity.