Southall Middlesex
Southall is situated in the London Borough of Ealing and in the county of Middlesex. It is situated just a couple of miles from Heathrow Airport and has the largest Asian community in London.
Southall Broadway is the only place where you can see everything Asian, from food, spices, clothes, restauarants, take-away, jewellers to languages spoken. Looking around, you may feel you are in "Little India", as you won't need to speak English or see many English faces around (only the tourists!). Due to Southall Broadways success/appeal it has parking restrictions in place 7 days of the week.
It has more processions, celebrations and festivals than any other town due to the sheer size and mix of its ethnic community, working and living together in harmony. Some of the events that take place are the Muslim Milad-un-Nabi procession, the Sikh Vaisakhi procession, the Hindu Shobha Yatra procession and the SACA charity bike ride. Make sure you not drive in on the religious occasions, as the roads will be temporarily blocked off for traffic.
There is even a church, mosque, gurdwaras and a mandir very close to Southall Broadway.
The number of radio stations broadcasting from here is second to none.
The number of newspapers and magazine published from here are not small either.
| 2021 | 2011 | 2001 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | ?? | 69,857 | 65,000 |
| Ethnic minorities | ?? | 85.7 % | 83 % |
| Asian | ?? | 65.2 % | 63 % |
| Indian | ?? | 39.4 % | 47 % |
It has the largest Sikh community in London and a large Muslim and Hindu representation.
According to the 2011/2001 Census, the religious mix of Southall is as follows:
| Religion | Percentage 2021 | Percentage 2011 | Percentage 2001 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sikh | ?? | 29.7 % | 31 % |
| Christian | ?? | 19.9 % | 25 % |
| Muslim | ?? | 23.0 %; | 16 % |
| Hindu | ?? | 17.2 % | 16 % |
| Other / not stated | ?? | 10.2 % | 11 % |
Southall Broadway is a well known place that lots of people want to visit for shopping, but would not considering living in.
You only have to look at the state of the roads and the amount of litter around to realise that Southall is the poor relation of the London Borough of Ealing. According to Ealing Council "areas within Southall appear within the top 5% most deprived in the country in terms of income deprivation, crime and barriers to housing and services".
A brief history of Southall is available on the Ealing Council website.
