Call for people to get together
Lack of neighbourliness can be costly
A Rutherglen man has called for greater links between local communities, as a new study claimed that “disconnected communities” are costing the Scottish e conomy ov e r £700million per year.
The research was commissioned by Eden Project initiative The Big Lunch and funded by the Big Lottery.
Among the report’s claims are that social isolation and a lack of neighbourliness leads to a drop in productivity, extra demand on health services and extra demand on policing.
Gordon MacLean, who stays on Rutherglen Main Street, has been involved in the community project Grow 73 for just under a year.
He said: “It can really help a community. Even just the group of us that are involved can provide a huge support to each other and I think the wider community seem to enjoy the events we’ve put on too.
“We did a festive singa- long in Overtoun Park last year and people were saying how great it was to see the bandstand being used.
“A lot of the time people might want to go to parks or facilities, but they might feel that there’s no point in going out on their own, which can lead to people feeling lonely and from there you can have people feeling isolated or having mental health issues.
“We all share the same areas and the same space and we should use that together because it gives people more of a voice.”
Gordon has been given positive feedback about the work of Grow 73, and he hopes to see the group continue to grow.
He added: “I have received lots of comments f rom people in the community regarding various aspects of our projects.
“Being a local dog walker I spend a lot of time in the local parks.
“I have overheard positive talk of the community plot and activities that we have held in the park as well as through conversation with fellow park users.
“We would like to provide sociable and creative opportunities for learning about growing our own food, how to prepare it for eating and its origins, while improving the local environment for local people and for wildlife, to help tackle climate change and address issues around the sustainability of our food.”
The Centre of Economics and Business Research carried out the research.
It claimed that neighbourliness already delivers substant i a l economic benefits to Scottish society, representing an annual saving of £ 1.1 billion in total.
This saving comes from sharing between neighbours, an increase in social connection and reductions in the demands on public services such as healthcare, social care, welfare and the environment.
We all share the same area and space