Press

New website allows you to get to know your neighbours

A new UK community web site with a difference has launched. My Neighbourhoods aims to take the online community into the local neighbourhood by putting neighbours in touch with each other. The site was developed out of frustration at not being able to find a good quality builder and, having lived in North London for 3 years, knowing only a handful of people in the area.

Membership is free and allows people to:

  • Get to know their local neighbourhood and the people in it.
  • Search for businesses by postcode.
  • Find out more about their area (or an area they are looking to move to), from properties and local amenities to crime and education.
  • Get recommendations for local services from other members.
  • Join forums, organise and find out about local events.
  • Get to know like-minded people who don't live thousands of miles away.
  • Buy and sell products and services locally or nationally in the Market Place.

Online communities have been growing in popularity over the last couple of years. Sharing images, ideas, music, videos and opinions with virtual strangers, many of who don't live in the same country. At the same time, local communities are suffering, especially in larger cities. My Neighbourhoods aims to harness the success of social networking to create closer relationships in communities all over the UK.

My Neighbourhoods founder, Danny Bull, says there are millions of people who would benefit from closer communities. "The proliferation of social networking sites allows us to talk to and share our experiences with people on the other side of the world yet we can't communicate with people who live down the road. My Neighbourhoods allows users to build community relationships without having to knock on your neighbour's door."

Bringing people in neighbourhoods together and allowing them to contact each other online could also help with local community problems such as crime, bored and misbehaving youth and the environment. Closer communities have lower crime rates, events and out of school activities can be arranged by those with children, and child supervision can be shared. Neighbourhood clean up programmes have also proven to be successful when neighbours work together. All this can be facilitated through My Neighbourhoods.

The members and what they need or want from the site will dictate how My Neighbourhoods develops over time. The local information available will also grow naturally through members sharing their knowledge of the neighbourhood and posting recommendations. The ability to find information on the local area isn't dependent on there being members registered in a particular postcode.

A soft launch has already supplied some positive feedback:

  • "Really easy to register."
  • "It's a great idea, especially to get local service recommendations."
  • "The site looks great."
  • "Imagine a combination of UpMyStreet.com + Fish4 + Friends Reunited." (Sam Sethi, Tech Crunch UK)

Full details are available on the website at www.myneighbourhoods.co.uk or by calling My Neighbourhoods on 020 8144 0536.

Notes to editors

Screenshots, logos and other downloads are available from the press page.