The Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Prosperity and Hardship Are Found Cheek by Jowl in England.

In Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in homes only a few metres from their more affluent counterparts in nearby Scartho village. One 1.8-metre-high barricade physically separates the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off paths and streets that previously connected them.

“This is the divide between rich and poor,” said 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.”

An Increasingly Common National Picture

Analysis of official figures reveals the extent of disparity often exists, sometimes over nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a hedge row or a barrier. Decades of austerity and lack of funding mean a majority of local authorities now have a neighbourhood classified as one of the most deprived in the country.

This geographical widening of deprivation has led to a significant increase in the number of locations where deprived and affluent residents find themselves living side by side. Just a few years ago, just 65 of the most deprived areas bordered one of the least deprived. This number increased to 119 in the latest data.

A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land

In Grimsby, the divide is the most pronounced in the country and starkly apparent. The barrier transcends being just a metaphorical division; it causes very real problems for daily routines.

• School runs that should take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long detour.
• Reaching key amenities like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is made more difficult.
• The site often sees antisocial behaviour, with reports of rubbish being dumped over the wall and other issues.

“People strive to have a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one resident, motioning at the rusted barricade.

Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Hardship

Within Centre4, staff stress that need transcends postcodes. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” said director a community leader.

Regardless of being placed in the lowest 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe boasts a fierce loyalty and feeling of togetherness among its residents. Meanwhile, the neighbouring area ranks among the least deprived 10% nationally.

A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford

This phenomenon is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope area in Kent, a mid-century housing development, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large houses built in the early 2000s that are in the top 10% for job prospects and living environment.

“They might have bigger houses, but here there’s more community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find a lot of people in the new builds never even talk to each other.”

The economic gap is clear: an average three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side comparable properties fetch about £410,000.

Residents describe a tangible sense of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and most of the community problems here are to do with poverty.”

The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an increasingly divided England, where prosperity and need are often awkwardly in close proximity.