Better choice of housing and safer communities will encourage cohesion

Tom Ratcliffe and Rasheda Khatun at a site where new homes are being built with Housing Market Renewal funding in Rochdale

New research into race, housing and community cohesion in Rochdale and Oldham shows a new confidence among young Asian and white people to live in more mixed neighbourhoods.

The research, commissioned by the Oldham Rochdale Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder and carried out by Professor Ludi Simpson of Manchester University and Dr Deborah Phillips of the University of Leeds, confirms that aspirations and expectations of young white and Asian residents within Rochdale and Oldham are extremely similar.

It also highlights positive signs that increased housing choices along with safer communities would encourage more stable mixed communities as young Asian people are now more willing than the previous generation to live away from the parental home.

The qualitative research involved focus groups with around 100 people of which 85% were young adults (18 - 30) of Pakistani, Bangladeshi and white ethnic origins, supplemented by interviews with key stakeholders.

Councillor Mohammed Sharif, HMR Board Member and Rochdale Council Cabinet Member for Regeneration, welcomed the findings.  He said: “This is not about forcing people to mix.  We are working to improve people’s choice of high quality, affordable housing in safe and attractive neighbourhoods and to help to remove barriers that are restricting people’s choices.  This research shows that more young people recognise the value of neighbourhoods where people from different backgrounds live.”

Professor Simpson, who is recognised nationally for his work on cohesion, said: “The resounding message is that the aspirations of young adult white and Asian residents are very similar - for safe neighbourhoods with a good environment, an absence of anti-social behaviour with close proximity to family and friends. Like young white people, young Asian people desire to be more independent, moving away from the family home, but within the borough - providing that the type, quality and cost of housing is right.”

“This should give the Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder and Councils more confidence as they move forward in plans to increase the choice of housing on offer and improve the environment of key areas in both boroughs.”

People living in neighbourhoods undergoing change are offered support and these programmes were cited as examples of good housing practice by both Asian and White people in the study.

Dr Phillips added: “Our research showed that there was a good basis for building integrated communities in Oldham and Rochdale. Both Asian and white young people spoke positively about the prospect of living in ethnically integrated neighbourhoods and of getting to know each other’s communities better in the process.”

Tom Ratcliffe, 22, from Littleborough, Rochdale, participated in one of the focus groups.  He said: “I might have expected there to be some differences between the social activities that white and Asian people want to be close to, for example, white people would probably want to live near pubs and clubs, but on the whole, the findings are what I expected.  Of course, people from all backgrounds want to be close to their family, friends and work.”

Some barriers to greater ethnic integration were nevertheless identified, most notably in relation to safety, fear of racist harassment, choice and affordability.

The findings will help shape policy initiatives designed to meet the housing needs of local people. The Pathfinder is giving developers the confidence to invest in areas of Rochdale and Oldham that are at risk of decline as they have suffered from lower house prices. The view from one of the focus groups was that new developments don’t hold any past racial perceptions, so could attract people from a range of backgrounds.  

More than 2,500 modern homes are in the pipeline over the next three years, the first of which will be delivered by the Pathfinder’s four lead developers.  High quality design standards will be achieved which will ensure a better range of sizes and homes for sale, rent and shared ownership.  Developments will feature houses and apartments ranging from one to five bedrooms.