A Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Prosperity and Hardship Now Sit Cheek by Jowl in Across England.

In a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents live in properties just several yards from their more affluent neighbours in nearby Scartho. One six-foot-tall barricade physically divides the two communities in the town of Grimsby, blocking off paths and streets that previously connected them.

“This is the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, aged 37. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known. I don’t think they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.”

An Increasingly Common Pattern Across the Country

Analysis of official figures shows the extent of inequality often exists, at times across little more than a few metres of asphalt, a hedge row or a barrier. Years of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of local authorities now have a locality classified as one of the poorest in the country.

This geographical widening of poverty has led to a significant rise in the quantity of locations where disadvantaged and affluent people find themselves living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods bordered one of the least deprived. That figure rose to 119 in the most recent data.

A Wall That Does More Than Separate Land

In Grimsby, the divide is the most pronounced in the country and painfully apparent. The wall is much more than a symbolic division; it causes very real problems for everyday life.

• The school commute that should take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long journey.
• Access to key services like grocery stores, schools and employment centres is made more difficult.
• The area can attract antisocial behaviour, with reports of rubbish being thrown over the wall and related problems.

“People strive to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one local, gesturing towards the corroded barricade.

Local Bonds Against a Backdrop of Challenges

Within a local community centre, workers emphasise that support transcends addresses. “Your postcode is not a reliable indicator of your level of challenge,” explained director Tracey Good.

Despite being placed in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, the estate retains a strong sense and feeling of togetherness among its inhabitants. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% nationally.

Echoes Elsewhere: Stanhope in Ashford

This pattern is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope estate in Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the most disadvantaged tenth of areas in England. 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 larger properties, but here there’s a stronger community,” commented Phil Hockley, aged 63. “You’ll probably find many people over there don’t even speak to each other.”

The economic divide is evident: an average three-bedroom house costs about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side comparable homes go for about £410,000.

Locals speak of a palpable feeling of neglect. “Our neighbourhood gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan. “Over here our facilities have gradually disappeared, and most of the issues we face here are related to poverty.”

The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an ever more segregated society, where wealth and deprivation are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.