A contrasting picture of community life in Britain has emerged in a new report issued today by the Manchester based Co-op, which shows that a third of people are disconnected from the place where they live – while a quarter feel closer now than at any time in the past 10 years.
One in three have no pride in their area and a similar number are not prepared to do anything to improve the wellbeing of their community, but almost twice as many say they are closer to the place where they live now than the 12% who say they feel less connected than a decade ago.
Despite the disconnected third, many are still keen to roll up their sleeves and get involved. Two in five are willing to donate food or goods to a local cause, a third would join a campaign to save a neighbourhood resource, while a quarter are prepared to help care for isolated and vulnerable people.
For those wanting to make a difference to their neighbourhoods, the local campaigns attracting most support are fighting a library closure (27%), saving a health facility (18%) and supporting education (17%).
This insightful analysis of community life comes as the Co-op’s Local Community Fund is about to share £19m with 4,000 local causes across the UK.
Rebecca Birkbeck, Director of Community Engagement at the Co-op, said: “It is clear there is a growing divide between those who feel close to their community and those who are completely disconnected.
“However, with almost a third feeling totally disengaged our communities are only operating at 70 per cent capacity.
“We have shown through our previous work in tackling isolation and loneliness that those individuals who are disconnected are more likely to draw disproportionately on local services and resources such as health and social care, over the longer term.
