In the second part of our series focusing on Southampton's Newtown and Nicolstown as part of Crime Reduction and Environment Week (CREW), the Daily Echo looks at how the influx of asylum seekers has marked the beginning of a fresh chapter in the history of these already diverse communities...

FOR the past four decades its residents have created one of the closest-knit neighbourhoods in Southampton.

The diverse communities that began to settle in Newtown and Nicolstown a few years after the war helped create a village-like atmosphere where everyone knew each other.

But changes in government policy five years ago saw refugees and asylum seekers disperse away from London and into cities across the country, including Southampton.

With the number of temples and mosques in Newtown, it seemed natural many were placed there while those who weren't would naturally gravitate towards it.

It marked a huge change in the make-up of the area and yet another challenge for the established communities.

Now, as new communities begin to settle, the next chapter in the history of the vibrant area is taking shape.

Organisations like the city council and Refugee Action have worked alongside community leaders to quell any tensions.

The role of Gavin Barker, manager of the council's Community Outreach Team, has been to support asylum seekers and refugees in Newtown and across the city.

"Before the legislation came in in 1999, 85 per cent of asylum seekers and refugees were placed in inner and outer London," he said.

"After 1990 Southampton was on the receiving end of that dispersal process.

"Many were from a Muslim background and in the Newtown area you had mosques within walking distance and things like Halal shops.

"It did start to change the character of the area.

"Up to that point it was a reasonably stable area in terms of transitory groups.

"There were Indian Sikhs, Afro-Caribbean, Pakistani and Bengali communities who had been established there since the 1960s.

"In that sense it was quite a stable area and the area was subjected to quite a dramatic change."

But the numbers of asylum seekers and refugees coming into the area, particularly the number of single young men, did cause many concern.

"About 90 per cent of the asylum seekers coming in were single, young men," said Mr Barker. "They were coming into an area where the communities had such a strong sense of family.

"It caused an immediate anxiety among local people.

"Even now Newtown is going through a transitioniary period where people are still having to learn about each other.

"My role has been to actively network with the new community.

"There have been genuine efforts by the new communities to take the concerns of the existing community on board.

"In a small geographic neighbourhood like Newtown, where everybody knows everyone else, to suddenly see so many new faces about can create situations.

"In established communities people can resolve disputes and differences by going to elders as they know who the person is and what community they are from and things can be sorted out by talking and knowing who to talk to.

"But with new communities, many of the young men have no family, no elders, and the anxiety of the existing communities is who can they talk to. Because of this, efforts have been made to create community refugee organisations.

"Things improve when people start to get to know each other and start to talk to each other at places like mosques and it reduces the fear that often underpins the wariness of the stranger.

"Because Newtown has such a high percentage of rented accommodation, and with people from new EU communities possibly moving here, I think it will always be a first stop for new migrants."

But it is not just the local authority that has worked to ensure the evolution of Newtown went smoothly.

Residents themselves have led the way in laying out the welcome mat.

The Clovelly Road Residents' Forum has organised a series of informal get-togethers.

Last summer they arranged a street barbecue to bring people together.

Chairman Richard Pitt told the Daily Echo: "We noticed there were a number of new people moving into the street and thought an event like this would be an ideal way of welcoming them."

Riaz Ali, who had lived in the road for two months after fleeing Pakistan, said: "It is good to feel welcome like this. It makes it a lot nicer place to live."

Community leader John Roath said there had been concerns among some at the numbers of asylum seekers who were placed in the area but said that existing communities were keen to forge new partnerships and friendships to help Newtown grow even stronger.

"I think this is a very welcoming area for new communities," he said.

"But at the same time we would like to engage with the new communities to help develop the area further.

"Southampton is a multicultural area but the way that has been achieved has always been through a two-way process and I would like to see that happening more.

"There has always needed to be a cultural exchange going on where we all come together to celebrate each other's festivals."