Places features

If you want to see how immigration's changing Nottingham just pop down to the shops in Hyson Green.

You'd expect to find a melting pot but you might be more surprised to find that several Polish shops have been opened by refugees from Iraq.

Moving in

Bob Bailey's been trading on Radford Road for 40 years. Bob's Homemaker store deals in fridges and washine machines.

"It used to be like the Cattle Market [in  Sneinton] is now. There is no trade as far as I'm concerned. I would think two or three years from now the road will be mainly coffee bars."

Wladek Bigos

It's 30 years Wladek Bigos took over Raithby's traditional butchers. He still hasn't changed the original signs and fittings. Wladek's Polish. And his business is busier than ever.

"It would be a shame to smash up the tiles. There's a big demand for Polish food. Turnover increased by 100%. We're doing okay at the moment but how long for we don't know as many Poles we know want to go home."

You can buy food from around the world on Radford Road.

Immigration used to be a product of Britain's colonial links. Migrant workers from Pakistan to the Caribbean. Then asylum seekers from countries like Zimbabwe and Iraq.

Khalid's a Kurdish refugee. But he's named his supermarket after Poland's capital city. And he's selling Polish food. He simply spotted a gap in the market. And he's very happy here.

"Nice city. Good people."

Mohammed Ibrahim

Khlaid's one of several Kurdish businessmen targeting Polish migrant workers. At Mohammed Ibrahim's barbers the signs are Polish. But the shop's called Halabja,  the city where Saddam Hussein gassed thousands of Kurds and where Mohammed used to live. Mohammed's married to a Pole.

"I've got many friends, they're married with Polish girls too."

A lot of traders were worried the tram would take customers away. Satpal Singh's been running Hyson Green Hardware for the last 12 years.

"I was on the verge of calling it a day. I thought is there any need for me to be here? We've got a good influx of different types of people in this area now. I do a lot of trade with the Polish people. They started from scratch and being a DIY store they need a lot of things."

Moving on

As different groups move into and out of Nottingham, Radford Road's shops have always adapted, to meet their changing demands. Changes which won't stop.