Detour Cafe owner Kelly de Lautour (left) with her personal trainer Bianca Sainty
Your neighbours are doing all the talking after more than 4,000 local residents have joined new online social network Nextdoor. Have you?
The app - which was developed as a start-up firm in Silicon Valley and recently acquired Streetlife - allows neighbours to plan local events, discuss safety issues, post things for sale and much more.
It’s proving a hit with neighbours. More than 75 per cent of neighbourhoods in Hammersmith & Fulham now have more than 50 members. In the Shepherds Bush neighbourhood of Wendell Park alone, more than 500 members have now signed up to the free, private network.
Whether that’s looking for a plumber, finding a lost dog or exchanging the latest hot restaurant tip, the app is a great way to get to know your neighbours and your neighbourhood better.
Eat and run
Kelly de Lautour, owner of Detour Café in Askew Road, Shepherds Bush, uses Nextdoor to connect to the other local residents. “There is a sense of trust with Nextdoor because you know these are real people who live or work on your doorstep,” she says.
“It’s helping bring the community together. People see our online posts and are motivated to meet-up in person - which is key to making the local area a much nicer place to be!”
She’s teamed up with Hammersmith personal trainer Bianca Sainty to help local people ‘get fit, eat better and feel great’.
“We've created a special programme which incorporates Detour’s food expertise with exercise and nutrition knowledge and promoted it on Nextdoor,” Bianca adds.
“We’ve also just set up a free weekly run every Wednesday lunchtime from Detour. We want to help the local community and local businesses get more out of their lunch hour.”
Tell us how we're doing
Hammersmith & Fulham Council is also using the pioneering network to keep locals up-to-date with issues that affect them - but also to listen to residents in finding ways to keep you better informed about what we’re doing and improve our services.
Nextdoor is used by more than 112,000 neighbourhoods in the United States, with more than 1,600 government agencies also talking to local communities.
While H&F Council can post on Nextdoor, it cannot see any of the exchanges between members on the site.
So why not download the Nextdoor app and find your local neighbourhood.
