My Area UK

Cardington

Cardington is a village in Bedfordshire, England, with a population of around 288. It has around 1 GP surgery, around 1 pharmacy, and around 3 restaurants and cafés, with 2 bus stops and the nearest railway station being Bedford St Johns, 3.8 km away. In June 2026, there were around 53 recorded street crimes, most commonly violence & sexual offences. This page gathers weather, crime, food hygiene, transport, flood risk, house prices, population, deprivation and your local MP for the Cardington area — all from official UK open data.

On deprivation, the Bedford area is around the average in England (IoD2019). The wider council area has around 185,227 residents at roughly 389 people per km².

Council
Bedford
County
Bedfordshire
Constituency
North East Bedfordshire
Police force
Bedfordshire
47/ 100

My Area Score

Mixed

Ranked 170th of 294 English council areas — better than 42% of them.

Low crime51
Home affordability39
Affordable rents46
Good schools69
Life expectancy45
Low deprivation49
Employment23
Low council tax40

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

17°COvercast

  • Today: 19° / 11° · 8% rain
  • Tomorrow: 20° / 11° · Overcast

Source: WeatherAPI

Daylight

Sunrise 06:24Sunset 19:33

13h 8m of daylight today

Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec

Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk

Air quality

21US AQI · Good

Main pollutant: ozone

Source: WAQI · Northampton Spring Park, United Kingdom

Crime

38 reported · July 2026 44% YoY

  • Anti-social behaviour14
  • Violence & sexual offences8
  • Criminal damage & arson5
  • Shoplifting5

Neighbourhood team: Wilstead, Shortstown, Willington · Bedfordshire

Local policing priorities

  • Community Priority for New Cardington and Shortstown. During the priority setting meeting held on 31st January 2026 your local councillor…

Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)

Road safety

288 reported road collisions (2024)

55 killed or seriously injured · 366 casualties · 15.5 collisions per 10,000 residents

Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)

Food hygiene

98 food businesses within 2 miles

  • 85 rated 4–5 ★ (69 top)
  • 2 rated 0–2 (poor)

Source: Food Standards Agency

Flood risk

No active flood warnings nearby.

Buses & trains

  • Nearest station: Bedford St Johns (3.8 km)
  • 2 bus stops within ~½ mile

Live trains from Bedford St Johns (3.8 km):

Loading live departures…

Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail

House prices

£329,830 average 4.4% YoY

Across Bedford · to 2026-06

Detached£560,990
Semi-detached£346,527
Terraced£275,742
Flat£159,325

Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)

Private rents

£1,170 average monthly rent 3.4% YoY

  • 1 bed £798
  • 2 bed £1,027
  • 3 bed £1,256

Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-07

Affordability

9.1× house price to earnings

A typical home costs 9.1 times median annual pay (9.3× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).

Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025

Fuel prices

  • Cheapest petrol: 165.9p · ESSO (11.2 km)
  • Cheapest diesel: 185.9p · ESSO (11.2 km)

4 stations within ~8 miles

Source: CMA fuel price scheme

EV charging

47 charging locations within ~8 km

  • 14 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
  • Fastest nearby: 300 kW
  • Nearest: Bedford iLab Priory Buisness Park (0.9 km)

Source: Open Charge Map

Sport & leisure

  • Swimming pools1
  • Sports pitches6
  • Playgrounds12

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

Population

185,227 residents in Bedford · 389/km²

  • Under 16: 20%
  • 16–64: 63%
  • 65+: 17%

Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)

Deprivation

Around the average in England

Ranked 156 of 317 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)

4% of neighbourhoods are in England’s most deprived 10%

Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019

Council tax

£2,472 a year · Band D, 2026-27

Most homes here are Band C (25% of 80,810)

A £1,648
B £1,922
C £2,197
D £2,472
E £3,021
F £3,570
G £4,120
H £4,943

Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27

Schools

85 schools · 35,894 pupils

54 primary · 13 secondary · 18 other

Ofsted: 35 of 38 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (92%)

75inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)

Secondary schools:

  • Bedford Free SchoolOutstanding
  • Bedford AcademyGood
  • Goldington AcademyGood
  • St Thomas More Catholic SchoolGood
  • Mark Rutherford SchoolRequires improvement
  • Wixams AcademyRequires improvement
  • Biddenham International School and Sports College
  • Castle Newnham School
  • Daubeney Academy
  • Kempston Academy
  • Lincroft Academy
  • Sharnbrook Academy
  • Wootton Academy

Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Bedford

Care & health services

272 CQC-registered services

  • Care homes73
  • GP practices34
  • Dentists50
  • Homecare agencies84
  • Hospitals & hospices8

CQC ratings: 82% of rated services Good or Outstanding · 7 Inadequate

Source: Care Quality Commission · Bedford

Heritage & planning

  • In a conservation area (Cardington)
  • Not in the Green Belt
  • 39 listed buildings within ~1.5 km

Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)

Planning decisions

221 applications decided

72.4% granted · 160 granted, 61 refused

Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q1

Your MP

Richard Fuller

Conservative

North Bedfordshire

Recent votes:

  • AyeHealth Bill: Report Stage: Amendment 1
  • AyeHealth Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 143
  • AyeHealth Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 142
  • NoRepresentation of the People Bill: Third Reading

Source: UK Parliament

Council control

Conservative majority · directly-elected mayor

  • Lab 12
  • Con 14
  • LD 13
  • Grn 4
  • Oth 3

Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)

Amenities nearby

  • Schools1
  • GPs & clinics1
  • Pharmacies1
  • Parks & greens6
  • Restaurants & cafés3

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

Local businesses

8,350 active business enterprises in the area

Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)

Jobs

21 jobs advertised

e.g. Online Physics Tutor - Part Time, Online Computer science Tutor - Part Time, Become a Yoga Tutor in Gretton – Flexible & Remote

Source: Adzuna

Local economy

£780 median full-time weekly pay

4.4% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits

£24,626 disposable income per head (2024)

Source: ONS / Nomis (claimant count · ASHE) · ONS regional GDHI

Energy efficiency

54% of homes rated EPC C or above

Most common band: C · 90,060 certificates

9.5% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)

Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty

Grid electricity

88% low-carbon electricity

Wind 57% · Nuclear 18% · Gas 11% · Solar 9%

49 gCO₂/kWh · low intensity

Latest estimate for East England · National Grid ESO

Health

Life expectancy: 83.4 yrs women · 80.2 yrs men

Healthy life expectancy: 62.7 women · 62.5 men

73% of adults overweight or obese

Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025

Wellbeing

  • Life satisfaction7.5
  • Feeling worthwhile7.7
  • Happiness yesterday7.6
  • Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.4

Average rating out of 10 · ONS personal well-being 2022-23

Local petitions

Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in North Bedfordshire:

Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06

Notable places nearby

  • Cardington, Bedfordshire · 0.3 km

    Cardington is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England.

  • Cardington railway station · 0.6 km

    Cardington was a railway station on the Bedford to Hitchin Line which served the village of Cardington in Bedfordshire, England. Opened in 1857, it gave more than a century of service before closing in 1962.

  • Heart Bedford · 0.9 km

    Heart Bedford was an Independent Local Radio station based in the Priory Business Park in Bedford, Bedfordshire in England.

  • Cardington Workmen's Platform railway station · 1.0 km

    Cardington Workmen's Platform was a railway station on the Bedford to Hitchin Line which served the Royal Air Force station near the village of Cardington in Bedfordshire, England. A short-lived halt, it opened during…

  • Real Bedford F.C. · 1.0 km

    Real Bedford Football Club is a football club in Bedford, England, established in 2002 as a merger of Bedford United and US Valerio. They are members of the Southern League Premier Division Central, the seventh tier o…

  • Biggleswade F.C. · 1.2 km

    Biggleswade Football Club is a football club based in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, England. The club are currently members of the Southern League Division One Central and groundshare at Bedford Town's Eyrie ground in Ca…

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)

Frequently asked questions

Where is Cardington?
Cardington is a town in Bedfordshire, England, in the Bedford local authority.
What is the population of Cardington?
Cardington has an approximate settlement population of 288.
How deprived is Cardington?
The Bedford local authority, which includes Cardington, is around the average in England on the IoD2019.