This shop is situated in Glodwick, Oldham. Renowned for its racial tensions, Oldham has a history of racial segregation. Since the arrival of ethnic minorities to the town, a number of 'white' and 'Asian' estates have become the norm. The cheap housing that originally attracted migrants from South Asia and the availability of jobs which the migrants could take up, led to further immigration. As this expanded more immigrates began residing in these cheap houses and as an unfortunate consequence many local citizens moved out. Following the race riots of 2001, the BNP leader Nick Griffin labelled such estates 'no-go areas' for white people. While this view attracts some far right supporters in England, the reality for many locals is different. These estates are not exclusive race areas, it is possible to travel through them without fear and the local council is investing a lot of effort into assimilating all of Oldham's population (such as building new schools on estate boundaries to attract locals from all religions).
Divisions in Oldham therefore seem to be a mixture of economic factors, but also partly to do with a culture of fear fed by far-right groups such as the BNP and EDL.
This shop is also an example of how cultural differences are made visible in urban space. Unlike many 'typical' British shops, it displays many of its goods on the street. It uses the public space in a different way.
