ACS

A report published by the Prince’s Trust has stated that a third of people are predicting the death of their community. The report claims that traditional social networks are becoming a thing of the past, as towns and villages across the country adapt to fast changing populations that have little in common other than happening to live near one another.

Most people believe the days of face-to-face contact are numbered, with 65 per cent saying that people in the future will have more contact through the internet than in person. Almost one in 10 Britons, nine per cent, admits to failing to meet other people socially on a weekly basis. And 15 per cent go a week without speaking to any of their neighbours.

The results are from an Ipsos MORI survey of almost 1,000 Britons aged 15 and above.

"There's a real issue with people being dislocated from the communities where they live," said Ginny Lunn, the director of policy and development at the Prince's Trust. "Everybody needs to take responsibility for communities and make sure people aren't isolated, otherwise we could face a generation of people who will become unconnected from society."

One of Britain's top experts, Professor Gary Craig, the head of the Centre for Research in Social Inclusion and Social Justice at Hull University, said: "Community empowerment of the poor neighbourhoods hasn't really happened; I don't think politicians believe in having powerful local communities."

ACS Chief Executive, James Lowman, said: “This report highlights the key role that community facilities such as the local shop play in the future of cohesive communities. The local shop offers a a unique point of contact for neighbours, one which cannot be replicated by the large out of town supermarkets, which are impersonal and for many hard to get to.

“ACS are working hard to encourage the Competition Commission to recognise the very real threat that suggested changes to the current planning policy pose to our communities. We expect Government to publish a consultation on reforms to planning laws sometime in the spring.”