Community
Religions in Redbridge
The above statistics represent the diverse culture of Ilford and the surrounding area which are all a part of the London borough of Redbridge. Ilford has been one of the most popular areas for immigrants, at present in Ilford 1 out 3 people are Asian, black or from an ethnic background. This shows that Ilford is a vibrant multi-cultural town; to accompany the vibrant cultures Ilford has many different shops and markets within the main town centre. One of the most famous areas in Ilford is the Ilford lane, this is where most of the Indian grocery shops are, and also where most of the Indian restaurants are situated.
The different communities and the different types of people is what make Ilford so interesting and vibrant, also one of the main reasons for attracting people. The new cineworld in Ilford shows movies from Hollywood and bollywood, this shows how they care for all communities. Since 1986 a lot of immigrants from Africa, Asia started to migrate to London and most of the population got situated in Ilford or in the vicinity of Ilford. However recently after 1t January 2007 as most European countries were legal to come to UK, a lot of Bulgarians, Romanian and polish people started migrating to Ilford. Since then Ilford has become one of the only towns in London where there are more than 40 different communities living.
As I have mentioned before there a re a lot of new commercial properties in Ilford, a lot of them have been transformed to shops such as newsagents. Newsagents have various advantages to the local community and also some disadvantages. I will discuss these issues with a local family who lives on Clements road. I will also be interviewing a newsagent owner and have his thoughts on the issue. First I will discuss this issue with the Sanghera family.
Interview
How long have you lived in this house or this area?
We have lived in this house since 1998, approximately 9 years and in Ilford we have spent most of our lives. I have lived here since I was born and so has the rest of my family.
Haven’t you ever wanted to move?
No, this town has given a lot to me and it is my home, I could never think of moving from here as I was born and brought up in this area. All my childhood memories are from Ilford. However since my childhood Ilford has changed a lot, there have been many changes in all aspects such as buildings and shops. One of the main change was the transformation of the cineworld, and due to all these changes our thoughts have changed about sticking to this area even though we have lived here our whole lives. Now we do considering moving.
What affects has the transformation of the car park to a multiplex cineworld had on you?
Well before the transformation our road use to be a normal residential road, with some quite and peace, and It was really nice to take a stroke on the road at night or in the evenings. However since the cineworld was built this road has become like a main street in London, you see people all day and it’s just so hectic. There no more quite and peace left in this area, it doesn’t even feel like were living in our own house now, it feels more like were living in some shop. I do agree that building a cineworld has attracted a lot of new people and has also raised the popularity of Ilford, however this could affect the local residents was not thought before being built.
What other changes do you think have been made in the area?
There have been other changes on the area as well put a side the transformation of cineworld. A lot of newsagents and off licence shops have been introduced to the area, and also shisha bars. All these changes have added to the massacre which has been caused. Ilford has now become very hectic and a very busy place to be. The numbers of teenagers who hang around in the area have increased, and they increased the violence in the area. They start a lot of fights which ends into death sometimes. The area at present is not safe as it used to be before which is one of the disadvantages.
Do you think that the crime rate has increased?
Yes, I strongly think that the crime rate has increased a lot since all these changes took place. A lot of the violence and crime is caused by mostly teenagers and young adults. There a lot of thieves, fights and stabbing incidents recently, I believe this mostly because of the number of teenagers and young adults who come to Ilford now. All these people are attracted by the new shisha bars and newsagents shops, the shisha bars are places where they can all hang out and some of the newsagents sell alcohol illegally to underage people. As more people get attracted there are now groups of teenagers, and these groups end up fighting each other which causes violence and injuries. Alcohol sold b the newsagents motivates them more and slow there thinking down. Now the situation is so bad that there is police in Ilford at all times and I am always afraid to send my children out to play in this kind of harmful environment.
Do you think that there is room for improvement?
Yes, I think that this can all be improved however it will take quite a bit of time and this will only be possible if everyone works together in order to make this change. I also think that these newsagents’ shops should be given a warning to prevent them from selling alcohol illegally.
I also think that the new shisha bars should be closed or shisha should be banned in order to keep the teenagers away from creating any problems. I believe that a teenager should only be concentrating on their school work rather than going out everyday and doing shisha and drinking.
Questionnaire
As a part of my investigation I have created a questionnaire for the shop owners around the area, I have issued this questionnaire to an owner of a newsagent, Mr Patel and another one of the owners of a off licence shop, Mr Shamalji
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How long have u owned a shop in this area for?
0-5 years 5-10 years 10-20 More than 20 years
- How would you describe your business?
Poor Average Very Good Excellent
- Have you ever felt the need to move?
Yes No
Please explain the reason for the above answer
- Do you feel that the crime rate has increased?
Yes No
Please explain the above answer
- Do you feel that there have been too many changes?
Yes No
- Do you feel that the number of teenagers increasing in the area is a good point?
Yes No
- What age group are most of your customers from?
13-19 20-25 26-35 36 & Over
Below are the answers to the questionnaire which Mr Patel filled in:
- 5-10 years
- Very Good
- No, I have never felt the need to move because my business is going very well, I have had a vast experience of owning a shop in this area for about 10 years, and since I have started the business popularity is increasing. The business has had a positive outbreak for the last 5 years now; since most of the changed took place my shop has become one of the checkpoints for everybody, which they visit on daily basis now.
- Yes, the crime rate has increased quite a bit but not up to a level where people would have to worry about it, I don’t think the crime rate is that bad compared to other areas nearby. In addition to this the crime rate has had no such affect on my shop and my business; I do get the odd teenagers trying to steal from my shop but that not such a big issue. The teenagers in the area are one of my main customers who come and visit everyday.
- No, I do not think that there have been too many changes, and even their have been changes, who cares? Its all for the best.
- Yes
- 13-19
My data is primary data, primary data is in which the data is collected by my self. I went to Ilford and I visited some shops and found this newsagents shop owned b Mr Patel just 10 seconds walk from Clements road, and I saw a lot of teenagers visiting the shop so I went in and gave him a questionnaire to fill in.
Below are the answers to the questionnaire which Mr Shamalji filled in:
- 0-5 years
- Excellent
- No, I don’t think there should be any reason for me to move because this area and business has given me so much. After opening a shop in this area my business has shot up rapidly. Since I have opened this shop 5 years ago my business has increased profit every year, instead of mobbing I would rather open another shop. Now my shop has all kind of different people, this is also a good experience for me as I get to meet new people.
- No, I have only been in this area for about 5 years and since then I don’t think the crime rate has increased a lot, it may have increased just a tiny bit but nothing to worry about really. I have also not experienced any kind of crime taking place within my shop.
- Yes I think there have been changes, but there are only for the benefit of us.
- Yes
- 13-19 & 20-25
This data is also primary data which I collected my self, I went to a off-licence shop near Clements road and gave this questionnaire to the owner of the shop. The reason I picked an off-licence shop is because the family which I had interviewed were really concerned about alcohol being sold to teenagers and young children. That’s why I thought it would be a good idea to have the prospective of an off-licence shop owner.
Comparison
I will now compare the interview which I took of the family living on Clements road and two shop owners.
The two questionnaires filled in by the shop owners of the newsagent’s shop and the off-licence shop are very similar to each other.
Ilford & Chadwell Heath
Ilford is an area which is highly populated with a mixed race of people; it is a main town to most of the other areas surrounding it. Ilford is a mixture of residential houses and commercial properties and a shopping centre. Chadwell heath in comparison is more like a small town which is mostly a residential area with a few small shops and pubs. Chadwell heath is the area which I currently live in and Ilford is the area which I have to compare it with. As a resident in Chadwell heath, Ilford to me is also a place for shopping and a main town centre for the people in Chadwell heath.
Between the two I will be comparing the:
Land Use
Most of the land in Ilford is occupied by residential properties and also commercial properties. Ilford is a town were farming does not take place as it is more of a commercial and residential town. Most of Ilford is occupied by big major stores such as Sainsbury and the exchange. There about two main parks in Ilford which are Loxford Park and Valentines Park, the road in Ilford are also fairly small and narrow. Road such as Ilford lane are full of commercial shops and the Ilford town centre is full of major commercial shops. One of the main areas, Cranbrook road is where the Ilford station is situated and also more shops, however the number of shops decreases as you go up the road.
In comparison to Ilford, Chadwell heath is an area with more residential properties than commercial properties. Chadwell heath is an area highly populated with houses. The only part where there are shops is on the high road near the station. Compared to Ilford in Chadwell heath there are less shops and many more houses. However compared to Ilford, Chadwell heath has more major stores such as curry’s, wickes, Tesco’s, halfords, Smyths, staples and many more. The roads in Chadwell heath are bigger and open in contrast to Ilford where the roads are narrow.
Bus Service
Ilford Bus Service:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
As I have mentioned before in this coursework, Ilford is one of the main areas and town centre for many of the areas in the vicinity. Being the main town centre Ilford has a large bus service and it also has many bus services which terminate their and which start from their. From Ilford there is a possibility of getting a bus to all directions of the city.
Chadwell Heath Bus Service:
86 – 362 – 128 – 150
As you can see above there are only for buses which terminate to their destinations via Chadwell heath. The comparison of the two bus services show that Ilford is surely more of a major town than Chadwell heath which is mostly a quite residential place. Ilford is a major town is also shown by the number of buses which terminate to Ilford via Chadwell heath.
Train Service
The trains which terminate at both Ilford station and Chadwell heath station is the national rail service.
Ilford station is comparatively the same, however there a few differences which are:
- Ilford has security checks
- Ilford has security guards
- There are more platforms at Ilford station
- Ilford is the main town centre that’s why there is more security because the crime rate is more.
There is no big difference between the two train services or any of the stations as the railway line which runs on it is the same one, and the train goes to London Liverpool Street via both of these places. So they are equally important.
Shops
Ilford:
In Ilford there are many shops, and there are also all kinds of different shops with different category to what they market. There are little shops like newsagents, off-licenses, Indian shops and ice cream parlours.
However there are also many big shops and stores such as Woolworths and other major stores within the shopping centre of Ilford exchange. There are two different parts to Ilford, one is Ilford lane where all the Indian and Asian groceries are sold, and also where most of the Indian restaurants are found.
The other part of Ilford is the main centre, which is mostly for shopping or if you want to go cinemas. Here are most of the big brand names and also the exchange shopping mall. There also various new shops that have been opened most of these are new shisha bars, however they are now out of business as shisha has been banned.
Chadwell Heath:
As I have mentioned many times before, Chadwell heath is a fairly small residential area. There are only a few shops in Chadwell heath and most of them are situated on the high road of Chadwell heath near the station. Most of these shops are newsagents, off-licenses, bingo, and food shops. There are also some pubs around the main high road but not many attractions to see as this is only a residential area.