The Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Prosperity and Deprivation Now Sit Side by Side in England.

In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in homes just a few metres from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho. One six-foot-tall barricade physically divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off paths and streets that once connected them.

“This is the posh-poor divide,” said Serenity Colley, aged 37. “It has been there since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to associate with us.”

A Stark Pattern Across the Country

Data from government figures shows the extent of disparity often exists, sometimes across little more than a few metres of tarmac, a hedge row or a barrier. Decades of austerity and lack of funding have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now have a locality ranking as one of the most deprived in the nation.

The geographical widening of deprivation has led to a sharp increase in the quantity of places where deprived and affluent people find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, only 65 of the poorest areas bordered one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the most recent data.

A Barrier Which Does More Than Separate Land

At this Lincolnshire site, the divide is the biggest in the UK and starkly apparent. The barrier is much more than a metaphorical division; it causes very real problems for daily routines.

• The school commute that should take 15-20 minutes turn into an hour-long journey.
• Access to important services like grocery stores, educational facilities and care homes is hindered.
• The area can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and other issues.

“People strive to maintain a nice house and nice garden, and then you reside facing that,” noted one resident, motioning at the corroded barricade.

Local Bonds Amidst Hardship

Within Centre4, workers emphasise that support does not recognise addresses. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said director Tracey Good.

Regardless of being placed in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and sense of community among its inhabitants. By contrast, Scartho ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall.

A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford

This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The Stanhope area in Kent, a mid-century overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by large detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for job prospects and quality of surroundings.

“They may possess larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said a long-term resident, aged 63. “It’s likely a lot of people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”

The financial gap is evident: an average three-bedroom house sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while across the divide comparable homes fetch about £410,000.

Locals speak of a tangible feeling of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” stated holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and the majority of the community problems here are to do with poverty.”

The rise in these ‘deprivation divides’ presents a picture of an ever more divided society, where wealth and deprivation are often awkwardly close neighbours.