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

Within Nunsthorpe, inhabitants occupy properties only a few metres from their more affluent counterparts in the adjacent Scartho village. One 1.8-metre-high barricade literally divides the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off roads and walkways that previously linked them.

“It’s the divide between rich and poor,” said Serenity Colley, 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

Data from official figures shows the extent of disparity often exists, at times over nothing more than a few metres of asphalt, a hedge row or a barrier. Years of austerity and lack of funding mean a majority of local authorities now contain a neighbourhood ranking as one of the poorest in the country.

The geographical widening of poverty has led to a significant rise in the quantity of places where deprived and well-off people end up living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the poorest areas adjoined one of the least deprived. That figure increased to 119 in the latest data.

A Barrier Which Divides More Than Space

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

• The school commute that ought to take a quarter of an hour turn into an sixty-minute journey.
• Access to important amenities like grocery stores, schools and care homes is made more difficult.
• The area often sees antisocial behaviour, with instances of rubbish being thrown over the wall and other issues.

“People strive to maintain a well-kept home and garden, and then you reside facing that,” said one local, motioning at the rusted metal wall.

Local Bonds Amidst Hardship

Within a local community centre, staff emphasise that support transcends addresses. “Where you live doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said chief executive a community leader.

Regardless of ranking in the lowest 10% for multiple deprivation indicators, Nunsthorpe boasts a strong sense and feeling of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area is classified among the most prosperous 10% nationally.

A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent

This phenomenon is mirrored nationally. The Stanhope area in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s 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 sit in the wealthiest tenth for job prospects and living environment.

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

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

Locals speak of a tangible sense of being overlooked. “Our neighbourhood is neglected,” said resident Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our facilities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to poverty.”

The rise in these ‘inequality borders’ presents a picture of an ever more segregated society, where wealth and need are frequently uncomfortably in close proximity.