A Rising ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: How Affluence and Hardship Now Sit Side by Side in Across England.

In Nunsthorpe, inhabitants live in properties just several yards from their wealthier counterparts in nearby Scartho village. One 1.8-metre-high barricade literally separates the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, blocking off roads and walkways that once connected them.

“It’s the posh-poor divide,” said a resident, aged 37. “It’s been like this since I’ve known. I doubt they’ll bring 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 how deep inequality often exists, sometimes over little more than a few metres of asphalt, a line of hedges or a wall. Decades of austerity and underinvestment have led to a situation where almost two-thirds of councils now have a neighbourhood classified as one of the most deprived in the country.

The spread of deprivation has coincided with a significant rise in the number of places where disadvantaged and affluent residents end up living side by side. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods adjoined one of the least deprived. That figure rose to 119 in the most recent data.

A Wall That Divides More Than Land

In Grimsby, the divide is the biggest in the country and starkly obvious. The wall transcends being just a metaphorical division; it causes very real difficulties for everyday life.

• School runs that should take a quarter of an hour turn into an hour-long detour.
• Reaching important services like grocery stores, schools and employment centres is made more difficult.
• The site can attract vandalism and loitering, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and other problems.

“You try 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

At a local community centre, staff emphasise that need transcends postcodes. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your level of challenge,” explained director a community leader.

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

A Similar Story: An Estate in Kent

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

“They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” said Phil Hockley, aged 63. “It’s likely a lot of people in the new builds don’t even speak to each other.”

The financial divide is clear: an typical family home sells for about £275,000 on the estate, while on the other side comparable properties go for about £410,000.

Locals speak of a tangible feeling of neglect. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said holistic health worker Susan Riley-Nevers. “In this area our amenities have slowly been taken away, and most of the issues we face here are to do with poverty.”

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