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Migrant communities are on the move, driven by rising affluence and aspirations, a new analysis for the Observer concludes ahead of the census results. Now other arrivals are beginning the process of establishing themselves Every day, shortly before noon, the holy men in saffron robes perform the same ceremony. Watched by scores of people sitting cross-legged on pristine marble floors, they bang small cymbals and wave candles while chanting incantations to statues of Hindu gods. Any visitor to their temple, one of the largest in the world, could not fail to be awed by the spectacle. But the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is a temple built on superlatives. Everyone from Princess Diana to Jimmy Carter has paid a visit. On 27 October 2000 it broke a world record by serving 1,247 vegetarian dishes to mark the start of the Hindu new year. The temple, however, is not in Bengal or Kerala. It is in suburban north-west London, in Neasden, where it nestles incongruously near rows of Edwardian terraces. The site was chosen partly because of the region’s large number of Hindus, many of whom arrived from Uganda after being expelled by Idi Amin in the 1970s. As Yogesh Patel, a spokesman for the temple, acknowledges, the suburb was attractive to Hindu migrants because of “better employment prospects … the choice of good schools and business opportunities”. The temple, which has a highly successful independent school, is testimony to something significant happening in Britain, a shift that has been occurring largely without notice. Second- and third-generation migrant communities are on the move, driven by increasing affluence and aspiration. “We are seeing an emerging segment of dynamic young professionals, successful entrepreneurs and ambitious, resourceful wealth creators, all giving back to our country, enriching it economically, socially, culturally,” Patel said. Increasingly, younger generations believe their futures lie in the suburbs. The extent of this trend will emerge with greater clarity once the results of this year’s census are published. But an exhaustive analysis of Britain’s ethnic minorities, carried out for the Observer by Experian, the data-mining company, paints a vivid picture of the impact they are having on regions where once they were notably absent. Experian’s Mosaic database tracks almost 50 million people in Britain via their surnames. The names are then matched to postcodes, allowing the social mobility of immigrant groups to be tracked. “In the old days you would see these groups conspicuously settling in inner-city areas,” said Professor Richard Webber, who developed the database, “but you can now see how most groups have suburbanised themselves.” Experian’s data confirms the hypothesis. In London suburbs of the sort that are dominated by 1930s-built semi-detached housing, there can now be found high concentrations of Sri Lankans in the south (New Malden, Mitcham), Sikhs in the west (Southall, Hounslow), Hindu Indians in the north-west (Wembley, Harrow) and Greek Cypriots in the north (Southgate, Palmers Green). According to Webber, these are minority groups who have traditionally sought to acquire their own homes. As their economic circumstances have improved, they have moved outwards. Contrary to common stereotypes, the data suggests that many members of immigrant communities live in relatively prestigious neighbourhoods. Mosaic found that, if you live in the highest-status neighbourhoods, your chances of having a Jewish or Armenian name are five times the national average. Many other groups – notably Greek Cypriots, Iranians and Japanese – are also over-represented in these neighbourhoods. Almost one in four people in Harrow now have a Hindu Indian surname. By contrast, people of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origins are far more likely to live in poorer neighbourhoods, as are Albanians, black Africans and Vietnamese. The findings suggest that Britain is also becoming more diverse. The fastest growth has been among minorities who in 2006 were small in number, with the proportion of Slovakians rising by 977% and Lithuanians by 582%. There has also been rapid growth of black South Africans and Zimbabweans and of people from the former French west African colonies, such as Ivory Coast and Mali. The number of adults with Nigerian and Ghanaian names has doubled. By contrast, the growth in the number of adults from traditional centres of UK immigration, such as the West Indies, India and Pakistan, has been much lower. Some immigrant streams, from countries such as Vietnam, Laos and Mauritius, have almost ceased. Areas that have seen the greatest rise in the number of people with Mandarin Chinese names are around universities, reflecting the surge in students from mainland China. Over the same period, there was a 13.5% fall in the number of adults with Anglo-Saxon names living in smarter, private flats and a decline of 12.5% in the same group living in council flats. Conversely, there were increases in the proportion of people from eastern Europe and Africa and of the Hindu and Muslim religions in both types of housing. Tim Butler, professor of geography at King’s College London, and co-author with Chris Hamnett of Ethnicity, Class and Aspiration: Understanding London’s New East End , recently carried out studies in five regions in the east of the capital. “Among Asian groups, and particularly Indians, there was a desire to move out from inner London boroughs to outer London boroughs, particularly Redbridge. There were two main reasons for that: one was the attraction of suburban housing and the other was the high-quality schooling that met their aspirations. Many had been settled in the East End of London for possibly two to three generations and had themselves been to a local university and were keen for their children to get into one of the professions.” The trend has had some unusual consequences. New Malden in south London, with an adult population of 23,000, now has the largest expatriate community of South Koreans in Europe. Some estimates suggest that there are as many as 8,000 South Koreans living in the district, whose high street boasts at least 20 Korean businesses. Tesco has said it sells more fruit and vegetables in New Malden per head of population than anywhere else in Britain, and attributes this to local enthusiasm for healthy food. “When the embassy came over here [to nearby Wimbledon] in the 1970s, many followed suit,” said one South Korean shopkeeper. “They found houses in New Malden because suburban areas had cheaper properties and good travel opportunities into London. Gradually, their friends and families came over and gathered here.” But it was in the early 1990s that things really took off. “Many bankers and financiers came to New Malden, attracted to the area for the same reason,” the shopkeeper said. “Around 2,000 South Korean students came here because the education is very good.” A minister at the local Methodist church acknowledged that the presence of a large ethnic minority had created tensions. But, she said, the World Cup of 2002 had provided an unlikely opportunity for greater harmony. “South Korea was playing and there were massive celebrations. They were parading up and down the street, singing and shouting, everything. “But then, later on, in the early hours of the morning, they came down and cleaned the streets, even picking up the tiniest cigarette butt. And that so impressed the rest of the community. Not only do they celebrate politely, they clean up after themselves.” New Malden is also home to a large Sri Lankan community, with many working in local care homes. Almost 6% of New Malden’s population now has a Sri Lankan surname. The Methodist minister said while both groups were very different, they were united in their hopes for the next generation. “They put more effort into transforming their communities and enabling their children to aspire to the positions that they had in their home countries, but haven’t had here.” Admittedly the migrant aspiration to escape the inner city is nothing new. “Think about Brick Lane,” said Sarah Mulley, associate director of the IPPR thinktank. “You’ve had successive migrant groups moving into the inner city and then, when they are established, moving out to be replaced by another migrant group. You’ve had French Huguenots, Jews, Bangladeshis. They arrive and then disperse.” But changes to immigration policy suggest that the shift to more affluent suburbs will become more pronounced. “Restricted immigration regimes mean migrant workers entering the UK are more likely to be highly paid and highly skilled,” Mulley said. “People are now coming to do a specific, professional job, which means they are concentrated in particular areas that are increasingly outside London. The profiles of those communities are changing.” Immigration and asylum Jamie Doward guardian.co.uk