This research addresses social cohesion at the community level, and how this has evolved over a forty year period in a multicultural setting in a place in Surrey. It aims to bridge the potential tensions between the community approach pursued by national and local government agencies and the lived complexities of multicultural areas of Britain. The research focuses on a location that includes established white Italian-Sicilian and Asian Pakistani minorities and the majority white population. White Italian settlers are particularly interesting in this context since they are invisible in the 'race' and ethnicity literature in Britain as a minority group. An examination of how belonging is experienced for white and Asian minorities will provide insights into the ways in which these established minorities are positioned in relation to the white majority. Particular emphasis will be given to how residents across ethnic locations narrate their attachment to the area they live. This also involves an analysis of how residents perceive and interact with newly arrived migrants. The research will be based on recorded family histories for each of the three ethnicities.