The Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Hardship Are Found Side by Side in Across England.
In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in properties just several yards from their wealthier neighbours in the adjacent Scartho. One 1.8-metre-high barricade physically divides the two communities in the town of Grimsby, blocking off roads and walkways that previously connected them.
“This is the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll bring it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.”
An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country
Data from government figures reveals the extent of disparity can run, at times across little more than a short distance of tarmac, a hedge row or a wall. Decades of budget cuts and underinvestment mean a majority of local authorities now contain a locality classified as one of the poorest in the nation.
This spread of poverty has coincided with a sharp rise in the quantity of places where disadvantaged and well-off people end up living side by side. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods bordered one of the least deprived. This number rose to 119 in the latest data.
A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land
In Grimsby, the gap is the most pronounced in the country and starkly obvious. The barrier is much more than a symbolic divide; it creates very real problems for everyday life.
- The school commute that ought to take 15-20 minutes become an hour-long journey.
- Reaching important amenities 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 related issues.
“People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one local, motioning at the rusted metal wall.
Local Bonds Amidst Challenges
Within a local community centre, workers stress that need does not recognise addresses. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said chief executive Tracey Good.
Despite ranking in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and feeling of community among its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Scartho ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally.
A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent
This phenomenon is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope area in Kent, a 1960s housing development, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in England. It is immediately adjacent by spacious detached homes built in the early 2000s that sit in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and living environment.
“They might have bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” said Phil Hockley, aged 63. “It’s likely a lot of people over there don’t even speak to each other.”
The economic gap is evident: an average family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side equivalent homes fetch about £410,000.
Residents speak of a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community gets ignored,” stated holistic health worker Susan. “In this area our amenities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the issues we face here are to do with financial hardship.”
The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an increasingly segregated England, where prosperity and need are frequently awkwardly in close proximity.
