Wealden
Wealden is a town or village in East Sussex, England. It has the nearest railway station at Tinkers Lane, 5.4 km away. There were around 1 recorded street crime in June 2026, most commonly other theft. Covers 61 towns with local open-data for the whole authority.
On deprivation, Wealden is among the least deprived areas in England (IoD2025). It is home to around 160,151 residents at roughly 192 people per km².
My Area Score
Good
Ranked 121st of 294 English council areas — better than 59% of them.
A percentile blend of eight open measures (100 = best in England); bars show this area’s England-wide percentile on each. See the rankings · methodology
Weather
5°COvercast
- Today: 11° / 5° · 16% rain
- Tomorrow: 12° / 5° · Overcast
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
33US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)
Source: WAQI · Eastbourne, United Kingdom
Air pollution (PM2.5)
- 6.5 µg/m³ average fine-particle (PM2.5) concentration
- 4.8% of adult (30+) deaths estimated attributable to fine-particle pollution
Lower is better for both figures.
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2024
Crime
Road safety
317 reported road collisions (2025)
113 killed or seriously injured · 453 casualties · 19.8 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
17 food businesses within 2 miles
- 16 rated 4–5 ★ (14 top)
- 0 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Tinkers Lane (5.4 km)
- 0 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Buxted (6.8 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£380,679 average▼ 1.6% YoY
Across Wealden · to 2026-08
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£1,262 average monthly rent▲ 1.6% YoY
- 1 bed £897
- 2 bed £1,143
- 3 bed £1,428
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-08
Affordability
10.8× house price to earnings
A typical home costs 10.8 times median annual pay (10.9× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).
Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025
Property sales
2,329 property sales in the last 12 months
12 months to May 2026
A busier or quieter market is not by itself good or bad. Monthly counts are small and volatile, so only the annual total is shown.
Source: HM Land Registry UK HPI, 12 months to 2026-05
Fuel prices
- Cheapest petrol: 138.8p · AppleGreen (7.6 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 145.8p · AppleGreen (7.6 km)
1 station within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
5 charging locations within ~8 km
- 1 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 120 kW
- Nearest: May Garland Inn (3.5 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Sports pitches2
- Playgrounds1
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local news
- Alliance for Wealden retains one-seat majority on Wealden District Council· 3 Nov 2026
- Thirteen towns and parishes in Wealden to receive funding from developments· 30 Oct 2026
- Wealden Crematorium earns another prestigious award· 28 Oct 2026
- Twelve affordable council homes in Buxted to be built for Wealden residents· 26 Oct 2026
- Work to prepare site for Polegate and Willingdon Medical Centre to begin· 20 Oct 2026
Source: Wealden Council
Population
160,151 residents in Wealden · 192/km²
- Under 16: 17%
- 16–64: 57%
- 65+: 27%
Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)
Internal migration
- Moves in from elsewhere in the UK10,796
- Moves out to elsewhere in the UK8,519
- Net moves+2,277
Residential moves between local authorities (counts of moves, not people) · ONS Internal migration, YE Jun 2025
Deprivation
Among the least deprived areas in England
Ranked 238 of 296 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2025
Council tax
£2,728 a year · Band D, 2026-27
Most homes here are Band C (24% of 75,220)
Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27
Schools
71 schools · 21,298 pupils
51 primary · 5 secondary · 15 other
Ofsted: 17 of 21 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (81%)
61 inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)
Secondary schools:
- Beacon AcademyOutstanding
- Uckfield CollegeOutstanding
- Heathfield Community CollegeGood
- Uplands Academy
- Willingdon Community School
Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Wealden
Care & health services
703 CQC-registered services
- Care homes301
- GP practices81
- Dentists140
- Homecare agencies107
- Hospitals & hospices24
CQC ratings: 88% of rated services Good or Outstanding · 1 Inadequate
Source: Care Quality Commission · East Sussex
Heritage & planning
- Not in the Green Belt
- 28 listed buildings within ~1.5 km
Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)
Planning decisions
350 applications decided
85.7% granted · 300 granted, 50 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q2
Council control
Liberal Democrat / Green coalition
- Lab 2
- Con 9
- LD 11
- Grn 11
- Ref 2
- Oth 10
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
Local businesses
9,540 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2026)
Local economy
£866 median full-time weekly pay
2.5% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits
£31,270 disposable income per head (2024)
Source: ONS / Nomis (claimant count · ASHE) · ONS regional GDHI
Energy efficiency
42% of homes rated EPC C or above
Most common band: D · 75,732 certificates
10.6% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)
Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty
Health
Life expectancy: 85.1 yrs women · 81.3 yrs men
Healthy life expectancy (East Sussex): 59.9 women · 59.2 men
65% of adults overweight or obese
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025
Wellbeing
- Life satisfaction7.6
- Feeling worthwhile8.1
- Happiness yesterday7.6
- Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.3
Average rating out of 10 · ONS personal well-being 2022-23
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Sussex Weald:
- Hold a UK-wide briefing on climate and nature risks297 local signatures · 127,144 nationwide
- Review discharge of mental health patients237 local signatures · 14,649 nationwide
- Permanent driving ban on intoxicated drivers guilty of causing death236 local signatures · 29,985 nationwide
- Protect legal right to support for children with SEND231 local signatures · 111,357 nationwide
- Launch a public inquiry into illegal migration in the UK198 local signatures · 78,478 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-10-05
Towns in Wealden
- Alfriston
- Argos Hill
- Ashurst Wood
- Blackboys
- Boreham Street
- Broad Oak (Wealden)
- Buxted
- Cade Street
- Chelwood Common
- Chelwood Gate
- Cousley Wood
- Cowbeech Hill
- Cowden
- Cross in Hand
- Crowborough
- Danehill
- Duddleswell
- East Grinstead
- East Hoathly
- Five Ash Down
- Five Ashes
- Forest Row
- Framfield
- Frant
- Golden Cross
- Groombridge
- Hadlow Down
- Hailsham
- Halland
- Hartfield
- Heathfield (Wealden)
- Hellingly
- Herstmonceux
- High Hurstwood
- Hooe Common
- Horam
- Horney Common
- Isfield
- Little London (Wealden)
- Lower Dicker
- Magham Down
- Maresfield
- Mayfield (Wealden)
- Maynard's Green
- Ninfield
- Nutley
- Polegate
- Punnett's Town
- Ripe
- Rotherfield
- Royal Tunbridge Wells
- Sharpthorne
- Stone Cross
- The Platt
- Town Row
- Uckfield
- Upper Dicker
- Upper Hartfield
- Wadhurst
- Westham
- Windmill Hill