A Rising ‘Wealth-Poverty Gap’: The Way Prosperity and Deprivation Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in Across England.

In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, inhabitants live in properties just a few metres from their more affluent counterparts in nearby Scartho. A six-foot-tall barricade physically separates the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off roads and walkways that previously linked them.

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

A Stark National Picture

Data from government figures shows the extent of inequality often exists, at times across little more than a short distance of asphalt, a hedge row or a wall. Years of budget cuts and lack of funding have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now have a locality ranking as one of the poorest in the country.

This geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a sharp rise in the quantity of locations where disadvantaged and affluent residents end up as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the least deprived. That figure rose to 119 in the most recent data.

A Wall That Divides More Than Land

At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the biggest in the country and starkly apparent. The wall transcends being just a symbolic divide; it creates very real problems for daily routines.

• The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour become an sixty-minute detour.
• Access to key amenities like supermarkets, educational facilities and employment centres is hindered.
• The site can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other issues.

“You try to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one resident, gesturing towards the corroded barricade.

Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Hardship

At a local community centre, staff emphasise that need does not recognise addresses. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” said chief executive Tracey Good.

Despite being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, the estate boasts a strong sense and sense of community among its residents. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall.

A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent

This phenomenon is repeated nationally. The Stanhope area in Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of areas in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the early 2000s that are in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and living environment.

“They might have bigger houses, but here there’s a stronger community,” said a long-term resident, aged 63. “It’s likely a lot of people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”

The financial divide is clear: an typical three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while across the divide equivalent homes go for about £410,000.

Locals speak of a palpable feeling of being overlooked. “This part of the community is neglected,” said resident Susan. “Over here our amenities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.”

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