Leighton Buzzard

7°COvercast

• Today: 11° / 5° · 20% rain
• Tomorrow: 9° / 5° · Overcast

Source: WeatherAPI

Sunrise 07:02Sunset 16:29

9h 27m of daylight today

Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec

Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk

33US AQI · Good

Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)

Source: WAQI · London Harlington, United Kingdom

• 7.1 µg/m³ average fine-particle (PM2.5) concentration
• 5.3% of adult (30+) deaths estimated attributable to fine-particle pollution

Lower is better for both figures.

Source: OHID Fingertips · 2024

209 reported · August 2026▲ 3% YoY

• Violence & sexual offences57
• Anti-social behaviour52
• Shoplifting25
• Other theft17

Neighbourhood team: Leighton Buzzard and Rural · Bedfordshire

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

475 reported road collisions (2025)

113 killed or seriously injured · 688 casualties · 16.1 collisions per 10,000 residents

Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)

202 food businesses within 2 miles

• 175 rated 4–5 ★ (145 top)
• 1 rated 0–2 (poor)

Source: Food Standards Agency

• Nearest station: Page's Park (1.1 km)
• 33 bus stops within ~½ mile

Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail

£355,263 average▲ 0.1% YoY

Across Central Bedfordshire · to 2026-08

Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)

£1,250 average monthly rent▲ 3.7% YoY

• 1 bed £865
• 2 bed £1,097
• 3 bed £1,376

Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-08

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

4,398 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

• Cheapest petrol: 168.7p · Asda (10.9 km)
• Cheapest diesel: 194.7p · Asda (10.9 km)

4 stations within ~8 miles

Source: CMA fuel price scheme

12 charging locations within ~8 km

• 4 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
• Fastest nearby: 100 kW
• Nearest: Hockliffe Street (0.1 km)

Source: Open Charge Map

• Sports centres3
• Gyms2
• Sports pitches43
• Playgrounds30

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

• Homeowners refunded £142,000 after rogue trader investigation· 3 Nov 2026
• Firework season sparks safety checks across Central Bedfordshire· 3 Nov 2026
• Protecting our roads and keeping Central Bedfordshire moving this winter· 29 Oct 2026
• Residents invited to help shape Public Health Funerals Policy· 29 Oct 2026
• Remembrance Day road closures – 2026· 28 Oct 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)

• Moves in from elsewhere in the UK20,665
• Moves out to elsewhere in the UK16,435
• Net moves+4,230

Residential moves between local authorities (counts of moves, not people) · ONS Internal migration, YE Jun 2025

Less deprived than the average in England

Ranked 230 of 296 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)

Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2025

£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%)

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

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

224 CQC-registered services

• Care homes64
• GP practices27
• Dentists56
• Homecare agencies58
• Hospitals & hospices3

CQC ratings: 85% of rated services Good or Outstanding

Source: Care Quality Commission · Central Bedfordshire

• Not in the Green Belt
• 113 listed buildings within ~1.5 km

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

421 applications decided

81.5% granted · 343 granted, 78 refused

Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q2

Alex Mayer

Labour

Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard

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 & clinics7
• Pharmacies4
• Supermarkets6
• Parks & greens31
• Restaurants & cafés68

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

14,040 active business enterprises in the area

Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2026)

376 jobs advertised · £39,323 avg

e.g. Manufacturing Engineer, Test and Development Support Technician, Supplier Quality Assurance Engineer - 12 month FTC

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

59% low-carbon electricity

Gas 40% · Wind 39% · Nuclear 14% · Biomass 7%

165 gCO₂/kWh · moderate 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

7 GP surgeries · 9 pharmacies in LU7

• Dr Jl Henderson & Partners
• Salisbury House Surgery
• Leighton Road Surgery

Source: NHS Organisation Data Service

Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard:

• Protect legal right to support for children with SEND318 local signatures · 111,357 nationwide
• Change surrogacy law to recognise intended parents from birth287 local signatures · 113,305 nationwide
• Make statutory maternity pay 90% of wage for first 12 weeks & minimum wage after179 local signatures · 58,157 nationwide
• Support the Ceramics Industry and protect British manufacturing jobs and skills158 local signatures · 111,154 nationwide
• Remove sentence reductions for guilty pleas in controlling and coercive cases151 local signatures · 105,832 nationwide

Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-10-05

• 
  Bedfordshire Greensand Ridge · 0.2 km

  The Bedfordshire Greensand Ridge is an escarpment which runs through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, and Cambridgeshire in the south and east of England. A pathway runs along the ridge from Leighton Buzzard to Gamlinga…

• 
  Old Town Hall, Leighton Buzzard · 0.2 km

  The Old Town Hall is a municipal building in the Market Square, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, England. The town hall, which is currently used as a restaurant, is a Grade II listed building.

• Leighton Buzzard Urban District · 0.3 km

  The town of Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, England, was administered as a Local Government District from 1891 to 1894 and an Urban District from 1894 to 1965.

• 
  Leighton Buzzard · 0.3 km

  Leighton Buzzard is a market town in the civil parish of Leighton–Linslade, in the Central Bedfordshire district, in Bedfordshire, England, in the southwest of the county and close to the Buckinghamshire border. It li…

• 
  Leighton Town F.C. · 0.5 km

  Leighton Town Football Club are an English football club located in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire. They were established in 1885. The club plays home games at Bell Close and currently play in the Southern League Prem…

• 
  Leedon · 0.7 km

  Leedon is a former hamlet in Bedfordshire, England, which is now part of Leighton Buzzard town. Originally, Leedon was a small rural settlement and was part of the Eggington civil parish. However, the expansion of Lei…

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)