Neighbourhood spirit in evidence at a street party for last year’s royal wedding

Everybody needs good neighbours, and Brits have plenty of them according to a study released today … and face-to-face relationships are getting better.

A report into relations between neighbours released by OM Property Management reveals one in four people hang out with their neighbours, popping next door for drinks (23%) and parties (27%).

Whereas nearly half of people (45%) said former neighbours had caused them problems, the figure halves (27%) when people were asked if their current neighbours have given them grief. People are much less concerned about noise and rowdy parties from their current neighbours, reporting that next door incumbents are much better behaved than people they have lived next door to in the past.

Neighbours are not just for fun either. The vast majority (81%) of people say they have also been helped by their current neighbours. A quarter of people (26%) entrust next door with a spare set of house keys and also help each other out with everything from feeding pets and babysitting to lending each other money.

In fact, half (50%) of us say our current neighbours do more to help them than previous ones, and two thirds (62%) went as far as describing the people who currently live next door as “fantastic”.

Adam Cooper, OM Property Management Managing Director, said: “We’ve been managing properties for over 30 years and our report is backed by our view that our residents seem to be much more community-focused.”

“This study shows the “neighbourhood spirit” Britain was once famous for is back – hopefully for good – and the Queen’s diamond jubilee next year will give neighbours another chance to throw a party with those who live around them.”

Image: © iStockphoto.com/nicolamargaret