Liverpool gap between rich and poor highest in UK
Article in Daily Post

THE gap between Liverpool's richest and poorest residents is the largest in Britain, a new national survey has revealed.

The report by solutions analysts CACI found that the people living in Liverpool's wealthiest areas earn three times more than those in the poorest.

And parts of Liverpool remain the poorest in the nation.

The CACI report shows that while people in the wealthiest areas of the UK are likely to enjoy timeshare holidays, sailing, trendy cafe bars and playing bridge, those in the low income areas, such as Everton, are more likely to have tent holidays, and enjoy angling and bingo.

The Wealth of the Nation study follows a similar survey carried out 10 years ago, offering a snapshot on economic trends across the country.

CACI compiles its results based on a system that estimates gross household incomes based on postcodes.

According to the report Liverpool has emerged as the city having the greatest discrepancy between rich and poor.

It will come as little surprise to a city that has seen million-pound luxury apartments built among the most deprived households in Europe.

While the study shows the impact of the so-called north-south divide, it also highlights exceptions, where areas north of Birmingham are included in the wealthiest parts of the country. Warrington and parts of Manchester are included in this sector.

"The local income divide in Liverpool is particularly acute, with the wealthiest areas earning three times as much as the poorest," says the CACI report.

While areas in the mainly affluent south dominate the charts, the report says industrial cities such as Liverpool dominate the other extreme.

The lowest household income in the country is £16,000, a level shared jointly by Everton in Liverpool and the Darnall district of steel town Sheffield.

Stockbridge Village, better known as Cantril Farm, and neighbouring Croxteth in Liverpool scoop joint third place in the poverty chart with a household income of £17,000.

Toxteth and Speke also make it to the top 10 poverty hot spots, with household incomes of £18,000.

It means Liverpool and Knowsley dominate the top 10 chart with half of the ratings showing the lowest household incomes in the country.

The figures revealed by the CACI study are in line with government statistics for the wealth of individual areas which still place Liverpool and parts of Merseyside close to the foot of the tables for so-called GDP, or gross domestic product.

Although Liverpool's climb up the scale is the highest in the UK it is starting from a lower base after years of decline.

A spokesman for CACI said: "By reporting this level of detail, planners and analysts are able to see underlying and regional variations in income patterns to produce a true picture of UK wealth."

While parts of Liverpool have the lowest income, the households generating the highest are in Northampton, Wapping and Thurrock in Essex.