18/08/2006

Local hooligans top ‘most loathed’ list

According to the Somerfield Local Life Report

An Englishman’s home may be his castle, but the surrounding neighbourhood is deteriorating rapidly according to a study out today.

A new report into neighbourhood living – Local Life – by Somerfield supermarket reveals local youths hanging around street corners tops the list of what Britons most loath about where they live (38 per cent).

And that’s not all that is disliked. Second on the list of neighbourhood niggles is a lack of parking spaces (30 per cent), followed by dog mess on the pavement (29 per cent) and litter (27 per cent).

In addition, one in four households are driven to distraction by noisy neighbours and more than one in 10 (14 per cent) suffer nosy neighbours on a regular basis.

These strained relations are leading to angry words over the garden fence with more than a fifth (21 per cent) of Brits admitting they have fallen out with at least one of their neighbours.

However there are two sides to every story and for every angry word spoken, there are plenty of kind gestures to redress the balance.

According to the nation, by far the most valued aspect of local life is friendly neighbours (61 per cent) and we’re prepared to go a long way to foster this community spirit.

In fact, more than one in 20 (six per cent) community-minded Brits go to the more unusual length of lending their spouse to a neighbour in need – of DIY.

Close to three quarters (73 per cent) of Brits have received a delivery on behalf of their neighbour, 44 per cent have given their neighbour a lift and a third (33 per cent) collect the post when next door is vacant.

And it’s not just favours we extend to those over the garden fence; the Local Life report reveals we have lent more than £12 million to our neighbours to help them out of a tight spot.

Pete Williams, Somerfield spokesman, said: “Forget the apathetic modern society, community spirit is alive and kicking in Britain.

“Food remains one of the most commonly borrowed items among neighbours with one in 10 (nine per cent) Brits making the trip next door to raid the refrigerator or cupboard. And it seems old habits die hard; six per cent of our trips next door are still in search of that ever-elusive cup of sugar.”

After friendly neighbours, the second most valued feature of British neighbourhoods is greenery and gardens (48 per cent), followed closely by open spaces (47 per cent) and good transport links (42 per cent).

In addition, four in 10 (40 per cent) people rate their local supermarket as a positive feature of their neighbourhood.

East Anglia tops the chart as the region people are most likely to say has a good neighbourhood with 93 per cent of residents voting it a good place to live. The second-most loved neighbourhoods are in the South West (X per cent), followed by the North (X per cent).

Notes to Editor
The research upon which this release is based includes:

Analysis from the British Household Panel Survey, a study among 6,000 UK households and 10,000 individuals
Original quantitative online omnibus research by YouGov among 2,000 UK respondents aged 18+
Analysis of UK geo-demographic segmentation tool, MOSAIC
Secondary desk research and analysis from nVision

Findings reported here are taken from the first of five chapters of the Local Life report by the Future Foundation, commissioned by Somerfield. The report takes the premise that the nature of local communities is changing in response to a wide array of social, demographic and consumer trends that have transformed UK society over recent decades. The purpose of the Somerfield Local Life report is to explore how these many different factors are affecting the ways in which people experience their everyday lives.

Most loved neighbourhoods of the UK

East Anglia (93 per cent)
South West (91 per cent)
North (88 per cent)
South East (88 per cent)
Scotland (87 per cent)
East Midlands (87 per cent)
West Midlands (84 per cent)
North West (84 per cent)
Yorks and Humber (84 per cent)
Wales (83 per cent)
Outer London (82 per cent)
Inner London (68 per cent)

Most loved neighbourhoods of the UK

East Anglia (93 per cent)
South West (91 per cent)
North (88 per cent)
South East (88 per cent)
Scotland (87 per cent)
East Midlands (87 per cent)
West Midlands (84 per cent)
North West (84 per cent)
Yorks and Humber (84 per cent)
Wales (83 per cent)
Outer London (82 per cent)
Inner London (68 per cent)

Top five items borrowed by region

London

Book - 14 per cent
DVD - 13 per cent
Food - nine per cent
Ladder - eight per cent
Electric Drill - eight per cent

Midlands

Ladder - 13 per cent
DVD - 12 per cent
Book - 11 per cent
Food - nine per cent
Lawnmower - seven

East Anglia

DVD - 14 per cent
Book - 11 per cent
Spouse - nine per cent
Food - nine per cent
Ladder - eight per cent

Wales

DVD - 14 per cent
Ladder - 13 per cent
Food - nine per cent
Sugar - nine per cent
Spouse - eight per cent

South West

Ladder - 15 per cent
Food - nine per cent
Book - nine per cent
Spouse - six per cent
DVD - six per cent

South

Ladder - 17 per cent
DVD - 17 per cent
Food - 11 per cent
Book - 11 per cent
Electric drill - seven per cent

Lancashire

Book - 13 per cent
DVD - 11 per cent
Ladder - 10 per cent
Lawnmower - six per cent
Drill - six per cent

North East

DVD - 17 per cent
Book - 15 per cent
Food - 11 per cent
Ladder - 10 per cent
Spouse - eight per cent

Yorkshire

Book - 14 per cent
DVD - 13 per cent
Food - 12 per cent
Ladder - 12 per cent
Spouse - nine per cent

Scotland

Ladder - 17 per cent
Book - 11 per cent
DVD - 14 per cent
Electric drill - eight per cent
Spouse - eight per cent

Top five problems with neigbourhoods by regions

London

Young people hanging around on street - 42 per cent
Lack of parking - 36 per cent
Litter - 31 per cent
Dog mess - 28 per cent
Noisy neighbours - 21 per cent

Midlands

Young people hanging around on street - 34 per cent
Dog mess - 30 per cent
Noisy neighbours - 18 per cent
Litter - 27 per cent
Lack of parking - 23 per cent

East Anglia

Young people hanging around on street - 27 per cent
Noisy neighbours - 22 per cent
Dog mess - 24 per cent
Lack of parking - 22 per cent
Litter - 21 per cent

Wales

Young people hanging around on street - 39 per cent
Lack of parking - 38 per cent
Litter - 27 per cent
Dog mess - 27 per cent
Noisy neighbours - 17 per cent

South West

Lack of parking - 38 per cent
Young people hanging around on street - 34 per cent
Dog mess - 29 per cent
Litter - 24 per cent
Noisy neighbours - 14 per cent

South

Lack of parking - 40 per cent
Young people hanging around on street - 38 per cent
Noisy neighbours - 21 per cent
Litter - 25 per cent
Traffic - 23 per cent

Lancashire

Young people hanging around on street - 46 per cent
Dog mess - 34 per cent
Noisy neighbours - 21 per cent
Lack of parking - 27 per cent
Litter - 23 per cent

North East

Dog mess - 45 per cent
Young people hanging around on street - 41 per cent
Litter - 35 per cent
Lack of parking - 27 per cent
Noisy neighbours - 20 per cent

Yorkshire

Young people hanging around on street - 33 per cent
Dog mess - 29 per cent
Lack of parking - 27 per cent
Noisy neighbours - 21 per cent
Litter - 26 per cent

Scotland

Young people hanging around on street - 35 per cent
Dog mess - 30 per cent
Lack of parking - 25 per cent
Noisy neighbours - 37 per cent
Litter - 21 per cent

Top five positives of neighbourhoods by regions

London

Friendly neighbours - 56 per cent
Good transport links - 54 per cent
Greenery - 51 per cent
Open spaces - 50 per cent
Local supermarket - 48 per cent

Midlands

Friendly neighbours - 58 per cent
Greenery - 45 per cent
Open spaces - 41 per cent
Local supermarket - 38 per cent
Good transport links - 39 per cent

East Anglia

Friendly neighbours - 65 per cent
Open spaces - 55 per cent
Nearby retailers - 37 per cent
Amenities - 33 per cent
Friendly shopkeepers - 65 per cent

Wales

Friendly neighbours - 66 per cent
Open spaces - 47 per cent
Good transport links - 37 per cent
Local supermarket - 35 per cent
Nearby pub - 32 per cent

South West

Friendly neighbours - 62 per cent
Open spaces - 52 per cent
Greenery - 48 per cent
Local supermarket - 32 per cent
Friendly shopkeepers - 62 per cent

South

Friendly neighbours - 65 per cent
Greenery - 54 per cent
Open spaces - 51 per cent
Local supermarket - 41 per cent
Good transport links - 36 per cent

Lancashire

Friendly neighbours - 61 per cent
Good transport links - 49 per cent
Greenery - 46 per cent
Open spaces - 42 per cent
Amenities - 39 per cent

North East

Friendly neighbours - 65 per cent
Good transport links - 51 per cent
Greenery - 50 per cent
Amenities - 47 per cent
Open spaces - 43 per cent

Yorkshire

Friendly neighbours - 61 per cent
Greenery - 48 per cent
Open spaces - 45 per cent
Local supermarket - 41 per cent
Good transport links - 40 per cent

Scotland

Friendly neighbours - 58 per cent
Open spaces - 49 per cent
Greenery - 53 per cent
Amenities - 39 per cent
Good transport links - 37 per cent

About Somerfield

Somerfield places the customer at the heart of its decision-making and works with specialist qualitative and quantitative research agencies to develop its consumer insight. A range of bespoke continuous and ad hoc research studies provide an insight into customer opinion of everything from the store environment and customer service levels to perceptions of the brand and its fresh food range.

The Local Life study complements this focused consumer research by building a broader picture of the state of today’s communities and the expectations of those living in the neighbourhood of its stores.

Somerfield’s strategy is to be the UK’s leading convenience and local food retailer with a focus on fresh foods in easy to shop store locations.
Its stores offer a genuine alternative to the big out-of-town superstores providing local customers with a full-service supermarket, exciting choice and a wide range of fresh and convenient foods at great value prices.
Somerfield operates over 1,100 stores across the UK with nine out of 10 located in town centre or neighbourhood locations. The supermarket employs over 52,000 colleagues and has more than 10 million customer visits every week.

For further information, please contact Kevin O’Sullivan at Brando on 020 7419 8632 or kevin@brando-world.com

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