Meppershall

17°CCloudy

• Today: 25° / 16° · 39% rain
• Tomorrow: 21° / 12° · Sunny

Source: WeatherAPI

Sunrise 06:32Sunset 19:20

12h 48m of daylight today

Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec

Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk

23US AQI · Good

Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)

Source: WAQI · Enfield - Bowes Primary School, United Kingdom

13 reported · July 2026▼ 35% YoY

• Anti-social behaviour6
• Violence & sexual offences3
• Criminal damage & arson2
• Burglary1

Neighbourhood team: Biggleswade, Sandy, Potton and Shefford · Bedfordshire

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)

70 food businesses within 2 miles

• 58 rated 4–5 ★ (49 top)
• 1 rated 0–2 (poor)

Source: Food Standards Agency

• Nearest station: Arlesey (5.1 km)
• 2 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: 159.9p · Esso (10.1 km)
• Cheapest diesel: 189.9p · Asda (8.9 km)

7 stations within ~8 miles

Source: CMA fuel price scheme

11 charging locations within ~8 km

• Fastest nearby: 11 kW
• Nearest: Hitchin Road (2.2 km)

Source: Open Charge Map

• Swimming pools8
• Sports pitches5
• Playgrounds4

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

• Not in the Green Belt
• 25 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

Alistair Strathern

Labour

Hitchin

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)

• Schools1

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

13,830 active business enterprises in the area

Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)

81 jobs advertised · £42,530 avg

e.g. Surveyor, Year 1 Teacher | Inspiring School in Shefford, Bedfordshire | September 2024, Mobile Windscreen Technician's Assistant

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

43% low-carbon electricity

Gas 56% · Nuclear 20% · Wind 14% · Biomass 8%

231 gCO₂/kWh · very 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 Hitchin:

• Remove sentence reductions for guilty pleas in controlling and coercive cases474 local signatures · 104,741 nationwide
• Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership416 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
• Review the evidence and fund the addition of SMA to the Newborn Screening Test386 local signatures · 151,287 nationwide
• Do not ban social media for under 16s328 local signatures · 217,501 nationwide
• Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership319 local signatures · 163,883 nationwide

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

• 
  Meppershall · 0.0 km

  Meppershall is a hilltop village in Bedfordshire near Shefford, Campton, Shillington, Stondon and surrounded by farmland.

• 
  Upper Stondon · 1.3 km

  Upper Stondon is a village in the civil parish of Stondon, in the Central Bedfordshire district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England.

• 
  Campton and Chicksands · 1.6 km

  Campton and Chicksands is a civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. Its main settlements are Campton and Chicksands. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 1,895.

• 
  Church of All Saints, Campton · 1.7 km

  The Church of All Saints is the Anglican parish church in the village of Campton, Shefford, Bedfordshire, England. Its official title is Campton and Chicksands Parish and encompasses the villages of Campton and Chicks…

• 
  Campton, Bedfordshire · 1.8 km

  Campton is a village in the civil parish of Campton and Chicksands, in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. It is about 9 miles (14 km) south of Bedford, and is about 9 miles (14 km) north-west…

• 
  Shefford Town & Campton F.C. · 1.9 km

  Shefford Town & Campton Football Club is an English football club based in the town of Shefford, Bedfordshire. The team plays its home matches at Shefford Sports Club on Hitchin Road in Shefford and at Campton Playing…

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)