Cup of tea and a chat hailed as key to fostering neighbourhood spirit

People are being encouraged to have a cup of tea and a chat with people in their area (Anthony Devlin/PA)

THE UK may be facing the “slow death of our neighbourhoods”, a former Downing Street adviser warned as he launched a campaign to encourage people to have a cup of tea and a chat with people in their area.

The “share a cuppa” pledge is being launched by social network Nextdoor, Neighbourhood Watch and social cohesion charity The Challenge.

Max Chambers, who worked as an aide to David Cameron, warned that the internet meant people were globally connected but “losing touch with those immediately around us”.

Enjoying a cuppa could help preserve neighbourhoods (Anthony Devlin/PA)

Mr Chambers, who left Downing Street to help launch the neighbourhood-level social network Nextdoor in the UK, said: “While we are ever more connected globally through the internet, we are losing touch with those immediately around us, and it was clear to us in government that the warning lights are flashing when it comes to social cohesion, isolation and feelings of belonging.”

He said research commissioned by Nextdoor “reveals the UK is in danger of sleepwalking towards the slow death of our neighbourhoods”.

Dame Louise Casey after she was made a Dame by the Prince of Wales during an Investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace (John Stillwell/PA)

“We have been trying to fix the issues of community cohesion and social capital for a long time.

“Government and public services will always have a role in this but it is the public, residents and families, first and foremost who are in the best position to knit that social fabric together.”