Portland Road, the most divided street in the UK

London, UK – The Portland Road may usually seem impossible. On one hand, it is the most exclusive street where well known people live and shops of famous artists are located. On the other hand, this is the exact same street where socially deprived people are established.

The Portland Road is known by many people in London as the place to go in terms of fancy shopping. It’s full of elegant houses, antique shops and art galleries, all within the upper class’ price range. The Cross, for instance, sells gorgeous cashmere dressing gowns costing around £400.

Yet while the street on the edge of Notting Hill in West London appears to be one of the most exclusive in Britain, it is also the most divided.

Only 600 yard away from these fancy shops, around which the rich and wealthy businessmen gravitate, a different life is being lived. Behind black gates, the most socially deprived people are living either in the Winterbourne House or the Nottingwood House.

The different residents are obviously divided from their neighbours, with a barrier what they like to call their own Berlin Wall.

Besides the standard of living, the most significant difference is the difference in house prices. In 2011, an amazing five-bedroom house with Bulthaup kitchen and private cinema, was sold for £6 million. About 700 yards along the Portland Road, a modest £244,000 was paid for flat 14 at the .

This extraordinary story is also told BBC documentary series in order to show that in Portland Road, some of the richest people in Britain are living side by side with some of the poorest.

Picture by: Alan Cleaver / Flickr