Harpenden

19°COvercast

• Today: 25° / 16° · 39% rain
• Tomorrow: 21° / 13° · Sunny

Source: WeatherAPI

Sunrise 06:33Sunset 19:20

12h 48m of daylight today

Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec

Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk

46US AQI · Good

Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)

Source: WAQI · Brent - Ikea, United Kingdom

108 reported · July 2026▼ 2% YoY

• Violence & sexual offences28
• Anti-social behaviour26
• Other theft12
• Shoplifting12

2 stop & searches · mostly article for use in theft

Neighbourhood team: Harpenden and Rural · Hertfordshire

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

510 reported road collisions (2024)

125 killed or seriously injured · 738 casualties · 17.3 collisions per 10,000 residents

Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)

164 food businesses within 2 miles

• 135 rated 4–5 ★ (106 top)
• 5 rated 0–2 (poor)

Source: Food Standards Agency

• Nearest station: Harpenden (0.4 km)
• 31 bus stops within ~½ mile

Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail

£356,453 average▲ 2.9% YoY

Across Central Bedfordshire · to 2026-06

Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)

£1,249 average monthly rent▲ 3.6% YoY

• 1 bed £864
• 2 bed £1,097
• 3 bed £1,374

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

9.7× house price to earnings

A typical home costs 9.7 times median annual pay (10.7× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).

Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025

• Cheapest petrol: 161.9p · Asda (7.7 km)
• Cheapest diesel: 145.8p · AppleGreen (7.5 km)

15 stations within ~8 miles

Source: CMA fuel price scheme

58 charging locations within ~8 km

• 8 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
• Fastest nearby: 250 kW
• Nearest: Bowers Way Car Park (0.2 km)

Source: Open Charge Map

• Sports centres3
• Gyms3
• Swimming pools30
• Sports pitches44
• Playgrounds7

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

• Record-breaking start for Leighton Leisure and Community Centre as memberships and attendance surge· 10 Sept 2026
• Green Flags flying high at Central Bedfordshire schools· 8 Sept 2026
• Fostering families enjoy summer picnic at Whipsnade Zoo· 2 Sept 2026
• Housing Matters - August 2026· 2 Sept 2026
• Electric cars, e-bikes and energy savings: Free event comes to Leighton Buzzard· 28 Aug 2026

Source: Central Bedfordshire Council

294,252 residents in Central Bedfordshire · 411/km²

• Under 16: 20%
• 16–64: 62%
• 65+: 18%

Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)

Among the least deprived areas in England

Ranked 264 of 317 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)

Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019

£2,516 a year · Band D, 2026-27

Most homes here are Band C (27% of 134,350)

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

136 schools · 49,238 pupils

95 primary · 14 secondary · 27 other

Ofsted: 52 of 59 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (88%)

129inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)

Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Central Bedfordshire

221 CQC-registered services

• Care homes64
• GP practices27
• Dentists56
• Homecare agencies56
• Hospitals & hospices3

CQC ratings: 85% of rated services Good or Outstanding · 2 Inadequate

Source: Care Quality Commission · Central Bedfordshire

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

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

359 applications decided

83.8% granted · 301 granted, 58 refused

Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q1

Victoria Collins

Liberal Democrat

Harpenden and Berkhamsted

Source: UK Parliament

Independent (minority)

• Lab 4
• Con 20
• LD 8
• Grn 1
• Ref 2
• Oth 28

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

• Schools15
• GPs & clinics4
• Pharmacies4
• Supermarkets4
• Parks & greens20
• Restaurants & cafés52

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

13,830 active business enterprises in the area

Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)

282 jobs advertised · £35,942 avg

e.g. Quantity Surveyor, Chef, Mobile Vehicle Technician

Source: Adzuna

£869 median full-time weekly pay

2.6% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits

£26,560 disposable income per head (2024)

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

54% of homes rated EPC C or above

Most common band: C · 138,501 certificates

8.3% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)

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

55% low-carbon electricity

Gas 44% · Nuclear 21% · Wind 14% · Solar 13%

179 gCO₂/kWh · high intensity

Latest estimate for East England · National Grid ESO

Life expectancy: 84.4 yrs women · 82 yrs men

Healthy life expectancy: 60.9 women · 61.5 men

65% of adults overweight or obese

Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025

• Life satisfaction7.3
• Feeling worthwhile7.8
• Happiness yesterday7.3
• Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.2

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

Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Harpenden and Berkhamsted:

• Do not ban social media for under 16s401 local signatures · 217,501 nationwide
• Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership357 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
• Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership324 local signatures · 163,883 nationwide
• Review the evidence and fund the addition of SMA to the Newborn Screening Test230 local signatures · 151,287 nationwide
• Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office224 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide

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

• 
  St Nicholas Church, Harpenden · 0.1 km

  The church of St Nicholas in Harpenden is a parish church in the Church of England. It is a Grade II* listed building.

• 
  Lydekker Park · 0.3 km

  Lydekker Park is a 3-acre (1.2 ha) park in Harpenden, Hertfordshire. The land was formerly part of the garden of Harpenden Lodge, built in 1803, home for many years to the Lydekkers, one of the town's oldest families.…

• 
  Harpenden · 0.3 km

  Harpenden is a town and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The population of the built-up area was 30,674 in the 2021 census, while the population of the civil…

• 
  Harpenden railway station · 0.4 km

  Harpenden railway station is on the Midland Main Line in England, serving the town of Harpenden, Hertfordshire. It is 24 miles 51 chains (39.7 km) down the line from London St Pancras and is situated between St Albans…

• 
  Harpenden Town Hall · 0.4 km

  Harpenden Town Hall is a municipal building in Leyton Road in Harpenden, a town in Hertfordshire, in England. It accommodates the offices and meeting place of Harpenden Town Council.

• 
  Harpenden Town F.C. · 0.5 km

  Harpenden Town Football Club is a football club based in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, England. They are currently members of the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division and play at Rothamsted Park.

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)