West Berkshire
West Berkshire is a town or village in Berkshire, England. There are around 1 supermarkets and 1 restaurants & cafés, with the nearest railway station being Newbury Racecourse, 4.9 km away. There were around 6 recorded street crimes in June 2026, most commonly Criminal damage & arson. Covers 54 towns with local open-data for the whole authority.
On deprivation, West Berkshire is among the least deprived areas in England (IoD2019). It is home to around 161,448 residents at roughly 229 people per km².
My Area Score
Excellent
Ranked 41st of 294 English council areas — better than 86% 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
21°CCloudy
- Today: 21° / 13° · 21% rain
- Tomorrow: 23° / 12° · Overcast
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:32Sunset 19:31
12h 59m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
22US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: ozone
Source: WAQI · Oxford St Ebbes, United Kingdom
Crime
11 reported · July 2026▲ 83% YoY
- Violence & sexual offences5
- Shoplifting2
- Anti-social behaviour1
- Burglary1
2 stop & searches · mostly stolen goods
Neighbourhood team: Bucklebury and Downlands · Thames Valley
Local policing priorities
- Due to the season, there has been a noticeable increase in fish Poaching on the River Kennet, especially in Upper Eddington, Lower Denfor…
- There have been ongoing reports of Buckleberry Common being a hotspot for Anti-Social Behaviour, Drug use (and potentially drug dealing)…
Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)
Road safety
206 reported road collisions (2024)
44 killed or seriously injured · 269 casualties · 12.8 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
34 food businesses within 2 miles
- 31 rated 4–5 ★ (27 top)
- 0 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Newbury Racecourse (4.9 km)
- 0 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Newbury Racecourse (4.9 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£402,790 average▲ 0.2% YoY
Across West Berkshire · to 2026-06
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£1,314 average monthly rent▲ 3.2% YoY
- 1 bed £919
- 2 bed £1,194
- 3 bed £1,483
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-07
Affordability
9.6× house price to earnings
A typical home costs 9.6 times median annual pay (9.9× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).
Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025
Fuel prices
- Cheapest petrol: 142.9p · Shell (11.9 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 147.9p · Shell (11.9 km)
6 stations within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
49 charging locations within ~8 km
- 10 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 350 kW
- Nearest: Thatcham Priors Court Road 001 (1.6 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Swimming pools14
- Sports pitches5
- Playgrounds3
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Population
161,448 residents in West Berkshire · 229/km²
- Under 16: 19%
- 16–64: 61%
- 65+: 20%
Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)
Deprivation
Among the least deprived areas in England
Ranked 289 of 317 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019
Council tax
£2,505 a year · Band D, 2026-27
Most homes here are Band C (28% of 72,040)
Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27
Schools
99 schools · 27,859 pupils
67 primary · 10 secondary · 22 other
Ofsted: 21 of 23 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (91%)
82inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)
Secondary schools:
- St Bartholomew's SchoolOutstanding
- Denefield SchoolGood
- Kennet SchoolGood
- Theale Green SchoolGood
- John O'Gaunt School
- Little Heath School
- Park House School
- The Downs School
- The Willink School
- Trinity School
Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · West Berkshire
Care & health services
150 CQC-registered services
- Care homes46
- GP practices17
- Dentists34
- Homecare agencies39
- Hospitals & hospices4
CQC ratings: 95% of rated services Good or Outstanding
Source: Care Quality Commission · West Berkshire
Heritage & planning
- Not in the Green Belt
- 10 listed buildings within ~1.5 km
Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)
Planning decisions
218 applications decided
86.7% granted · 189 granted, 29 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q1
Council control
Liberal Democrat majority
- Lab 1
- Con 11
- LD 28
- Grn 2
- Oth 1
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Schools3
- Supermarkets2
- Parks & greens3
- Restaurants & cafés1
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
9,340 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)
Jobs
1,685 jobs advertised · £37,850 avg
e.g. Superflex Roadside Mechanic, Superflex Roadside Patrol, Roadside Vehicle Technician
Source: Adzuna
Local economy
£861 median full-time weekly pay
2.4% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits
£32,258 disposable income per head (2024)
Source: ONS / Nomis (claimant count · ASHE) · ONS regional GDHI
Energy efficiency
44% of homes rated EPC C or above
Most common band: D · 75,598 certificates
8.5% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)
Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty
Health
Life expectancy: 84.9 yrs women · 82 yrs men
Healthy life expectancy: 66.5 women · 65.5 men
59% of adults overweight or obese
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025
Wellbeing
- Life satisfaction7.5
- Feeling worthwhile7.7
- Happiness yesterday7.4
- Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.1
Average rating out of 10 · ONS personal well-being 2022-23
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Newbury:
- Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership420 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
- Do not ban social media for under 16s359 local signatures · 217,501 nationwide
- Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership327 local signatures · 163,883 nationwide
- Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office271 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide
- Review the evidence and fund the addition of SMA to the Newborn Screening Test264 local signatures · 151,287 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06
Notable places nearby
Cold Ash Quarry · 0.2 kmCold Ash Quarry is a 0.4-hectare (0.99-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Newbury in Berkshire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.
Downe House School · 0.4 kmDowne House School is a private girls' boarding and day school in Cold Ash near Newbury, Berkshire, for girls aged 11–18. Entrance is selective, and the school has an enrollment of 559.
- Order of Silence · 0.4 km
The Order of Silence was a small Christian community based in Cold Ash, Berkshire between 1912 and 1921.
Curridge · 1.1 kmCurridge is a village in the civil parish of Chieveley in the English county of Berkshire.
Hermitage railway station · 1.3 kmHermitage railway station was a railway station on the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway which served the villages of Hermitage and Oare in Berkshire. The station closed in 1962. The station house remains and is…
Grimsbury Castle · 1.3 kmGrimsbury Castle is an Iron Age "multiple enclosure" Hill Fort comprising a large circular encampment on a high hill. It is within Grimsbury Wood, between Cold Ash and Hermitage, in the county of Berkshire.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Towns in West Berkshire
- Aldermaston
- Aldermaston Wharf
- Ashmore Green
- Ball Hill
- Beenham
- Bishop's Green
- Boxford (West Berkshire)
- Bradfield (West Berkshire)
- Brimpton
- Brimpton Common
- Burghfield
- Burghfield Common
- Chaddleworth
- Chapel Row
- Chieveley
- Cold Ash
- Compton (West Berkshire)
- Curridge
- East Garston
- East Ilsley
- Eastbury
- Goring
- Grazeley Green
- Great Shefford
- Greenham
- Hampstead Norreys
- Hermitage
- Hungerford
- Inkpen
- Kintbury
- Lambourn
- Lambourn Woodlands
- Lower Basildon
- Lower Green
- Lower Padworth
- Mortimer
- Newbury
- Old Warren
- Pangbourne
- Peasemore
- Southend
- Stanford Dingley
- Stratfield Mortimer
- Streatley (West Berkshire)
- Tadley
- Thatcham
- Theale (West Berkshire)
- Tidmarsh
- Tutts Clump
- Upper Basildon
- Upper Bucklebury
- Upper Lambourn
- Welford (West Berkshire)
- Woolhampton