The Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Prosperity and Deprivation Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in England.

In Nunsthorpe, residents occupy homes just several yards from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho. A six-foot-tall wall physically divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off roads and walkways that previously connected them.

“It’s the posh-poor divide,” remarked a resident, 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I suspect they’ll want to mix with us.”

An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country

Analysis of official figures reveals the extent of disparity can run, sometimes across little more than a few metres of tarmac, a hedge row or a barrier. Decades of budget cuts and underinvestment mean a majority of local authorities now contain a locality classified as one of the poorest in the country.

The spread of deprivation has coincided with a sharp increase in the number of locations where disadvantaged and affluent people end up living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the poorest neighbourhoods adjoined one of the wealthiest. This number increased to 119 in the most recent data.

A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land

At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the most pronounced in the country and starkly apparent. The barrier is much more than a metaphorical divide; it causes tangible difficulties for daily routines.

• School runs that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an sixty-minute journey.
• Reaching important amenities like supermarkets, schools and care homes is hindered.
• The site often sees vandalism and loitering, with instances of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other issues.

“People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one local, gesturing towards the rusted barricade.

Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship

At Centre4, staff stress that support transcends addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained director Tracey Good.

Regardless of ranking in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a fierce loyalty and feeling of community among its inhabitants. By contrast, Scartho is classified among the least deprived 10% nationally.

A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent

This phenomenon is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in the country. It is closely bordered by large detached homes built in the early 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and living environment.

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

The financial divide is clear: an average family home costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side equivalent properties fetch about £410,000.

Residents speak of a tangible sense of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” said resident Susan. “In this area our amenities have slowly been taken away, and most of the community problems here are related to financial hardship.”

The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a portrait of an increasingly segregated society, where wealth and deprivation are often awkwardly close neighbours.