Abstract

Table of Contents

List of tables and figures  1

Acknowledgements  v

1. Introduction  1

1.1 Context 1

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1.2 Welcome to Llanybydder   2

3. The aim of the study  3
4. Layout of study  3

2. Literature review  5

2.1 Community cohesion agenda and history 5

2.2 EU immigration  7

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2.3 Immigration and community cohesion  8

2.4 Cohesion, integration and strong relationships 8

2.5 Immigration concerns   9

2.8 Research gaps  11

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9. Positioning within geography  12

3. Methodology   13
   1. Introduction  13
   2. Site study  13
   3. Research framework & questions 14
   4. Research philosophy & approach 15
   5. Data collection  17
   6. Data analysis technique   20
   7. Data limitations 20
4. Data analysis  21
   1. Sense of belonging  21
   2. Community tensions  28
   3. Cultural differences  35
   4. Strong, positive relationships  41
5. Conclusion  46
   1. Concluding thoughts  46
   2. Limitation of study and & further research   48

Bibliography  50

       Appendices  60

List of Figures

Figure 1 – Location of Llanybydder, mid-west Wales………………………………………………………… 2

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Figure 2 – Scheme for recruitment and interview process ………………………………………………. 18

Figure 3 – Percentage of LTR and Polish migrants who felt that Polish

migrants had integrated into the community …………………………………………………..45

List of Tables

Table 1 – Community Cohesion Framework for LLanybydder …………………………………………….14

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Table 2 – Criteria used to promote research validity ………………………………………………………….16

Table 3 – Sense of ‘belonging’ to Llanybydder by LTR and Polish migrants …………………………27

Table 4 – LTR Perceived negative impacts of Polish immigration on Welsh Identity

in Llanybydder …………………………………………………………………………………………………….40

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List of abbreviations

CIC            Commission of Integration and Cohesion

DCLG        Department for Communities and Local Government

HC             The House of Commons

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IPRR          Investigating Process Research Resources

LGA           Local Government Association

LTR            Long-term residents

MAC          Migration Advisory Committee

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MORI        Market & Opinion Research International

ONS          Office of National Statistics

STEM        Short-term economic migrants

Chapter 1: Introduction

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1.1 Context

European Union (EU) immigration has become an increasingly important topic of study within Human Geography, due to its growing scope, complexity and impact, raising issues for community dynamics and trajectories (UN, 2017). Historically, the pace and scale of EU immigration to the UK has been relatively high, with increased rates since 2004, with the accession of eight eastern European countries (A8) (including Poland) to the EU (Migration Watch UK, 2016). This last decade has seen unprecedented rates, with numbers increasing three-fold since 2004, leading to approximately 3.2 million EU citizens living in the UK, making up 5% of the British population (Office of National Statistics (ONS), 2015). The Polish community played a key role in this phase of migration, with 750,000 migrating to the UK between 2005-2015 (Migration Watch UK, 2016).

This new phase of immigration has been the cause of much debate in host countries, surrounding the potential negative impacts that immigration is assumed to have on the welfare, national identity and security of settled residents (Dustman et al. 2009).  Opinions have coalesced surrounding the view that immigration is posing a threat to community cohesion. Community cohesion, although absent of a universally agreed definition, is essentially a process required in all communities to ensure different groups of people get on well together (Commission of Integration and Cohesion (CIC), 2007). The common issues that immigration pose to cohesion are the perceived weakening values, norms and qualities that people have in common thus, weakening the sense of community; the view that settled residents are marginalised, competing for scarce public resources and employment opportunities; and the over-stretching of public services (CIC, 2007).

Additional to this ‘new’ wave of immigration is the emergence of a new geography of settlement (Robinson, 2010). ‘New’ immigrants have begun to settle beyond the traditional location areas such as London and other metropolitan centres, to locations with relatively little history of immigration and experience of accommodating diversity and difference (Robinson, 2010). This new settlement pattern can be attributed to the shifting nature of UK employment opportunities for migrant workers such as agricultural and food processing industries, which has facilitated a large influx of migrants into rural areas (Cantle, 2005). Llanybydder, a rural-Welsh village, on the border of the Carmarthenshire county (Figure 1), has been exposed to this recently new phenomena.

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1.2 Welcome to Llanybydder

Figure 1: Location of Llanybydder, mid-west Wales (Source: www.digimap.co.uk)

Llanybydder, is a rural market village which straddles the River Teifi, forming the boundary between the counties of Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion. It is located 29km from Carmarthen Town, and 8km from the small university town, Lampeter (Carmarthenshire County Council, 2005). The population is approximately 2,832, with the majority aged 45 + and Welsh speaking (58%) (ONS, 2011). What is unique about this village is the high, unforeseen influx of EU economic immigrants, mostly Polish, to the area since 2004. An area, predominately white and welsh speaking, with no previous experience of immigration, now holds a population which is 12% Polish (ONS, 2016). The Polish community are now the largest ethnic minority group in the county (Kreft and Ritchie, 2009).

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Crucial to this rise in Polish migrants was the development of the meat processing firm, Dunbia, which is now the villages main employer (Kreft and Ritchie, 2009). Dunbia claimed that due to the difficulty in recruiting from the local labour market, they became reliant in contracting migrant workers (Dunbia, 2006). This is clearly shown in the employment figures whereby three-quarter of the work force are now migrants (Kreft and Ritchie, 2009). Two different social groups, that hold different languages, cultures, values and norms are now living and working side by side one another. This unique case provides an interesting base to investigate the ways in which the new geography of immigration is reshaping local communities and the associated cohesion challenges.

1.3 The aim of the study

The main aim of this study is to:

Investigate whether Polish immigration [2004-present] is perceived to have had an impact on the community cohesion of Llanybydder, looking at both long term residents’ (LTR) and Polish migrant’s perspectives.

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1.4 Layout of study

This chapter has provided a brief outline on the issue of immigration and community cohesion, the location and overarching aim of the study. Chapter 2 will discuss the academic context defining the study, providing a background into the community cohesion agenda, EU immigration and the current issues perceived to be brought by immigration. Chapter 3, the methodology section deals with the research questions that were formulated using a framework produced from the literature review, CIC (2007) definition of ‘community cohesion’, and primary data collection. This chapter will also contain an overview of the research design and methods used, such as the interview methods, document analysis and secondary data. Chapter 4, the analysis section will discuss the results from the interview and document analysis, in turn answering the research questions illustrated in the methodology section. Chapter 5, will seek to draw together the main findings of this study, and awareness to the implications of this study and ways in which this research could be furthered will be addressed.

Chapter 2: Academic context   

This review provides a comprehensive insight into two key issues that have recurrently appeared within UK policy debates over the last 15 years; EU migration and community cohesion. The literature on ‘migration’ and ‘community cohesion’ is vast, thus, for the purpose of this study only the most relevant literature will be reviewed. Through this critical analysis of literature, the justification for this research into investigating the impact of immigration on community cohesion, using the unique case study of Polish migrants in Llanybydder, will be identified, with particular attention to gaps in the research such as the neglect of rural regions and mixed-method approaches.

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2.1 Community cohesion agenda and history

Community cohesion is a vague concept (House of Commons (HC), 2008). It has at least three formal national definitions since its emergence in 2001 (LGA, 2002; CIC, 2007; DCLG, 2008). Initially the focus of community cohesion was one of ethnic and racial tensions, however, increasingly it has been acknowledged that the concept goes beyond this to include other social factors such as age, gender and socio-economic status (Cooper and Innes, 2009). The foundations of the agenda were formed on the collective pessimism of policy makers and urban theorists surrounding the issue of the social cohesion ‘crisis’; what Castells (1997) refers to as the dissolution of shared identities that bind social systems together. Kearns and Forrest (2000) in their paper ‘Social cohesion and Multilevel Urban Governance’, attempt to disaggregate the concept of social cohesion by identifying five key elements (belonging, inclusion, participation, recognition and legitimacy). These key elements were used in the first formal definition of community cohesion by the Independent Review Team (LGA, 2002) replacing Kearns and Forrest’s ‘social cohesion’ dimensions with principal ‘community cohesion’ domains. This definition emphasizes that for communities to be cohesive, strong and positive relationships between people from different backgrounds are key, and a shared sense of belonging needs to be established (LGA, 2002).

In 2007, the CIC presented some departures from Kearns and Forrest (2000) conceptualisation in the launch of Our Shared Future, which added points around ‘trusts’, ‘rights’ and ‘responsibilities’ (Department for Education (DFE), 2010).  This agenda was updated due to two key developments that were perceived to be detrimental to the stability of societies. The first was the emergence of violent extremism, demonstrated by the 7/7 bombings in London. The second was the accession of the A8 countries to the European Union in 2004, which enabled a large movement of migrant workers into UK societies (DFE, 2010), the latter being the focal point of this study.

The current definition of community cohesion, defined by the Government in 2008 in response to Our Shared Future, argues that community cohesion is essential ‘in all communities to enable different groups of people to get on well together’ (HC, 2008, p.10). The government continues by emphasizing the importance of integration, with it almost becoming a synonym for cohesion. This definition claims to differ from former definitions (HC, 2008). Firstly, it stresses the importance of citizenship in building cohesion, and secondly it highlights the increasing importance of integration to cohesion (DFE, 2010). Thus, the relatively new term ‘community cohesion’ has proved highly complex to conceptualise, resulting in continual evolution of its interpretation and definition, providing challenges for its measurement. This conceptual uncertainty affords sound justification for exploring what the public of Llanybydder regard as community cohesion. This, coupled with theoretical knowledge gained from this analysis, enabled the development of a unique framework for measuring Llanybydder community cohesion.

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The concept of community cohesion emerged as a discrete policy concern in government discourse following several disturbances and riots in Bradford, Burnley and Oldham in 2001, being termed ‘race riots’ within the news media (Home Office, 2001). These disturbances emphasized the fracturing of local communities, attributed to the existence of ‘parallel lives’ (Robinson, 2005). The term ‘parallel lives’ was established in the Cantle Report (2005), deliberately chosen to highlight the distinct separateness of the ‘white’ and ‘Asian’ communities that were seen to live, socialise and work in separate spheres (Cantle, 2005). Living ‘parallel lives’ is argued to create situations whereby communities are separated by ethnicity and/or faith which allows little opportunity for the development of shared values. This is claimed to have led many living in ignorance and fear of one another (Home Office, 2001). Due to the lack of attention given to this issue at the time, there was little effort in trying to dissemble these barriers. Thus, prejudices festered, hatred emerged and myths began to circulate, providing the conditions for tensions to persist, fracturing cohesion (Home Office, 2001). Though much of the focus initially was on the Northern English towns, now many different parts of the UK, and increasingly rural communities, display these characteristics of spatial and social segregation (HC, 2008).

2.2 EU immigration

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union that consists of 28 member countries (Oxford Dictionary, 2016). EU migrants enjoy free movement between the 28 EU member countries, allowing them freedom to live, work and retire in any EU state. EU migrants are therefore a key part of UK immigration policy. As mentioned in Chapter 1, net EU migration to the UK has been historically high, peaking post-A8 accession in 2004. During this expansion of the EU, the UK Labour government encouraged immigration allowing immediate and unlimited access to their labour market, which led to large influxes of migrants to UK societies (HC, 2008). This immigration flow is thought to have constituted the largest inflow of immigration in the UK’s history, with the Polish community playing a key role (Migration Watch UK, 2016). Wales has seen its migrant population increase by 82% in the last 10 years (BBC, 2014), which represents the greatest percentage increase of all UK countries, with Polish-born representing the largest immigrant group (BBC, 2014). With these high figures, extensive literature on this recent, unprecedented immigration to Wales would be expected. However, this review demonstrates that this was not the case. Studies on community cohesion and immigration have largely focused on Asian (mainly Muslim) populations with little attention to other ethnic groups. The high net influx of Polish migrants to Wales, coupled with the neglect of immigration studies in rural Wales, provides clear validation for the location and context of this study.

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2.3 Immigration and community cohesion

Contemporary public debates often associate increasing immigration with erosion of community cohesion and increased inter-community tensions (Crowley et al, 2008). However, the relationship between the number of migrants in a particular area and levels of cohesion within it, is not straightforward (HC, 2008). Although community cohesion and immigration policy have stirred much heated debate, there has been little research connecting the two policy areas (Flint and Robinson, 2008). Although opinions are divided amongst different actors (general public, politicians and academic researchers) as to whether immigration is a predictor of lowered community cohesion, the impacts of immigration on receiving communities are complex and wide-ranging, potentially affecting communities socially, culturally and economically (Home Office, 2014).  However, assessing these impacts is challenging, firstly, as it is difficult to separate migration impacts from other factors that may affect cohesion (such as socio-economic deprivation). Secondly, the DFE (2010) state that there are numerous demographic and socio-economic variables that determine ones’ perception of cohesion, for example; age, education level, household income and emotional well-being.

2.4 Cohesion, integration and strong relationships

Saggar et al. (2012) in their study state that immigration may impact integration which under the most recent definition is vital to community cohesion (HC, 2008). Integration defined by the UN (2005) is seen as a process whereby all individuals participate to achieve and uphold peaceful and social relations of coexistence and cohesion. The report on Community Cohesion and Migration, ordered by The House of Commons (2008) highlights the necessity of integration and the establishment of strong, positive relationships between the long-term residents (LTR) and migrants. Firstly, to ensure that migrants understand the expectations and norms of their new community and secondly, to guarantee that migrants are able to; access public services, participate in the community, and know their rights to avoid exploitation by employers and/or landlords. Integration also concerns understanding the trajectories of immigration within social and economic domains, for example employment, social interaction, education, housing and health (Saggar et al, 2012). Understanding these trajectories will aid greater insight into the level of integration within a community and the factors influencing it.

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2.5 Immigration concerns

2.5a Identity threat and ‘otherness’

Cohesion cannot be improved without addressing public concerns (HC, 2008). Literature surrounding the topic of immigration and its impact on society is wide-ranging and diverse. Castles (2002) states that immigrant settlement may have an impact on the local economy, transforming communities and forcing the re-examination of social and cultural values. Cantle (2005) defines a cohesive society as one where cultural differences are embraced and valued. However, greater cultural, ethnic and religious diversity driven by immigration is perceived to be a threat to UK national identity, which has been linked with rising tensions between residents and new migrants, threatening cohesion (Zetter et al, 2006).  As Spohn and Triandafyllidou (2003) state ‘othering’ of immigrants is often used to ‘achieve’ or enhance local identity, as immigrants are seen as threatening ‘others’ that challenge a community’s perceived unity and authenticity. Kreft and Ritchie (2009) in their paper looked at substance abuse amongst the Polish migrants in Carmarthenshire as a threat to local identity and public order. However, Saggar et al. (2012) concluded that immigration plays a limited role in threatening national identity, and suggest that other factors such as globalisation, war, religion, and the influence of the right wing are of more significance. Crowley et al. (2008) supports this, their study across six sites in the UK on immigration and cohesion concluded that this general conception was ‘out of step’ with the reality of everyday life, attributing it to transformation in structural processes; globalisation, post-industrialism and individualisation.

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2.5b Unemployment

Many of the British public fear that the scale and pace of immigration into UK communities has exacerbated unemployment, particularly the economic migrants from eastern European countries, that are said to be contributing to rising competition and decreased wages locally (Markova and Black, 2007). The HC (2008) report highlights that rising unemployment can limit community participation and produce feelings of resentment against immigrants around issues of entitlement, argued to hinder a community’s cohesion. Such anxiety may be felt by some more than others, bringing increased competition to some, but more choice to others (Saggar et al, 2012). Previous academic studies differ in their conclusions on the potential displacement of local residents by migrants (MAC, 2012). The Home Office (2014) states that the impact of migration on the labour market depends on a wide range of aspects that are constantly changing, and thus this impact is not a universal, ‘one size fits all’ answer. To date there has been limited statistical evidence within literature on the significance of EU migration on host community employment. The increased competition for jobs is a common negative perception held by low-skilled, local born workers (HC, 2008). This has contributed to a view that immigration is undesirable, argued to be a key factor in the British decision to leave the EU in the Summer of 2016 (Springford, 2013). Investigating the impact of an immigrant group on a community will aid a greater understanding into why these negative perceptions fester at the local level.

2.5c Public services

The strain migration is perceived to place on public services has stirred much public debate. According to the MORI poll (2007), 56% of British adults believed that immigrants get unfair, priority access to public services. Immigration adds to the local population and is likely, therefore, to place some pressures on public services. The most common areas of concern cited within the literature were the pressures immigration places on local schools and the NHS (HC, 2008). The MAC (2012) pointed out that the impacts of immigration on local public services are very difficult to pinpoint. The strain on public services varies depending on individual migrant characteristics. For example, most immigrants are young adults and therefore do not require as much health service support as the UK born do. Nevertheless, according to The Migration Observatory (2015) migrants are more likely to have young children and therefore rely more on education. However, migrants pay taxes and make up a significant part of the public service workforce, thus contributing to the provision of public services (HC, 2008). There is little research however on the impacts of immigration on the quality of public services (MAC, 2012). For example, the additional challenge for schools to deal with an influx of migrants could drain school budgets and reduce teaching quality. Local perceptions (although they may be misconstrued) on issues surrounding misuse of healthcare and draining of school budgets are significant (Duffy and Frere-Smith,2014), as they colour individuals’ judgement on the impacts of immigration on communities. This can raise considerable barriers for cohesion, particularly when the local-born feel marginalised.

2.6 Research gaps

There is a large body of literature exploring the effect of immigration on communities. A study undertaken by Allen and Blinder (2016) found that roughly three quarters of the UK population favoured reduced levels of immigration. This study derived its findings from discourse analysis, analysing the language in newspapers over the last decade. This investigation, like several others, have focused on one method of data collection, leaving a significant gap for a mixed-methods approach to be adopted, which is considered to reduce biases and increase accuracy (Bowen, 2009). The HC in their report on Community Cohesion and Migration (2008) adopted a mixed -methods approach, utilising interviews, focus groups, questionnaires and secondary evidence. However, this research was not extended to Wales and focused only on large towns and cities. Studying rural communities is of increasing importance, as these are areas that have had little previous history of inward migration initially at least, therefore, migration may come as a major shock to the community, which could have detrimental impacts on its level of cohesion.

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2.7 Positioning within geography

This review highlights the geographical foundations of this study to be imbedded in the spatial patterns and processes located within migration studies. Migration studies analyse the movement of people from one country/area to another, a space-time phenomenon, making it fundamentally geographical (King, 2012). Paradoxical to this mobility, is the stability-within-movement which recognises international migrants in particular, with cultural divides, that form attachment to locality, geographies of belonging and community, and adoption of citizenship (Blunt, 2007). The issues and aim of this study (see Chapter 1) firmly place it under the umbrella of cultural and social geography.  Cultural geographies of diaspora are investigated in this study, in terms of its relationship between the diaspora itself, and the residents in the country in which it exists (Esman, 2009).

The definition of community cohesion is dynamic and perceived differently amongst certain groups. However, it is clear that although the impact of migration on community cohesion is difficult to measure public opinion, perception and feelings are all highly significant predictors, and therefore these form the information base of this study. What is conclusive from this review is that most research has focused on inner-city areas, that have experienced high influxes of immigration, however, the impact of immigration to rural Wales is neglected, which is unexpected considering the high level of eastern-European immigration it has experienced. Although some economic impacts of immigration are well documented, such as employment and public finance, the cultural effects of immigration on a community have often been neglected, and argued to be inferior to other determinants of cohesion (Saggar et al. 2012). Additionally, while the impact of immigration on communities in terms of ethnic diversity is well documented, there is little information on the impact of one migrant group upon a single community. Furthermore, a possible new influence on community cohesion is Brexit, but due to its novelty, little research on community cohesion has been undertaken since the referendum.  Thus, the research gaps illustrated above, provide clear justification for investigating community cohesion in Llanybydder, a rural village that has incurred a high level of Polish migrants.

Chapter 3: Research Methodology      

3.1 Introduction

The research design, data collection and data analysis used here are explained and justified with emphasis on the value of epistemology.  Explanations for the choice of study site, research questions, and the relevance of the methods used are given. The importance of appropriate methods in providing valid data, which enables credible conclusions to be drawn (Eriksson and Kovalainen, 2015) is highlighted.

3.2 Study Site

Llanybydder, a rural Welsh village, in the traditional Welsh-speaking heartland of Carmarthenshire (Morgan, 2014) (Figure 1) was chosen due to the unprecedented influx of Polish immigrants to the area in 2004, after the accession of the A8 countries to the EU. For economic reasons, Carmarthenshire was a principle destination for Polish migrants post-2004 (Jones and Lever, 2014). The ONS (2011) recorded 2,003 Polish residents in Carmarthenshire, accounting for 37% of the total Polish population in rural Wales (ONS, 2016) and 12% of the Llanybydder population (Kreft and Ritchie, 2009). Llanybydder has an estimated 58% of Welsh speakers (Census, 2011). Data for this study was collected 3-6 months after the EU referendum, a potentially significant factor in this research. Thus, I believe that this rural village, that lacked previous experience of immigration and ethnic diversity prior to 2004, that has a high proportion of Welsh speakers, and has experienced an unforeseen influx of Polish migrants, is an appropriate place to investigate the effects of an immigrant group on community cohesion.

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3.3 Research framework and questions

This research necessitated analysis of the complexities of the geography of community cohesion and the phenomenon of immigration to determine the relationship between them. The CIC (2007) definition of community cohesion was initially intended to form the basis of this research. However, as the research progressed it became apparent that the concept of community cohesion was malleable and more broadly interpreted by different participants. Thus, the CIC (2007) definition was coupled with the data from the 24 semi-structured interviews undertaken in this research to formulate a specific community cohesion framework for Llanybydder (Table 1.)

Table 1. Community Cohesion Framework for LLanybydder