Towns with a history of racial tension could find salvation in the supermarket queue, according to a new model of community cohesion.
The theory, based around casual or "banal" encounters in neutral territory, was laid out by the chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, Trevor Phillips, at the Association of London Government's annual summit on Saturday.

Phillips said: "We know that in many Northern towns there are parallel communities – places where people don't mix and don't feel any need to mix. So, what do we do about this?

"What we need to think about are practical, concrete things we can do. Relationships are formed at the school gate and the local supermarket and we need to encourage this.

"With green spaces, should we try to put them between two communities so people are led to mix in places that are not culturally charged? And with new supermarket developments so people meet in the checkout queue, and schools and so forth?"

He said that for this to work, community cohesion should be at the heart of the planning process and the support of government and local authorities would be essential.

There have been a spate of racially motivated incidents over recent years – the most prominent have been in Northern towns including Oldham and Bradford.

Should we try to put green spaces between communities so people are led to mix in places that are not culturally charged?

Trevor Phillips, chairman, CRE

Cym D'Sauza, chief executive of Arawak Walton Housing Association in Manchester, said she knew of a supermarket in Oldham that was based between predominately white and Asian areas.

She said: "I'm not sure that it has been an inducement to mixing for the people who shop there but what we do see is quite a community of [white and Asian] people working together."

Abdul Malik Ahad, community cohesion manager at the First Choice Homes ALMO in Oldham, said: "They need to consider community involvement and ownership from the start and look at all the cross-cutting initiatives in place. Additional facilities are great, but it's about winning hearts and minds, not just places. They need to make sure anything they do is sustainable, and any new facilities are looked after properly."

A spokesman for Asda supermarkets said: "In principle, it's a fantastic idea and we would definitely welcome the next stage to work on the practicalities.