Cold Ash

9°CPatchy rain nearby

• Today: 10° / 8° · 28% rain
• Tomorrow: 11° / 5° · Overcast

Source: WeatherAPI

Sunrise 07:03Sunset 16:33

9h 30m of daylight today

Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec

Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk

25US AQI · Good

Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)

Source: WAQI · Reading New Town, United Kingdom

• 6.3 µg/m³ average fine-particle (PM2.5) concentration
• 4.8% of adult (30+) deaths estimated attributable to fine-particle pollution

Lower is better for both figures.

Source: OHID Fingertips · 2024

8 reported · August 2026

• Criminal damage & arson3
• Violence & sexual offences3
• Public order1
• Shoplifting1

Neighbourhood team: Bucklebury and Downlands · Thames Valley

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

221 reported road collisions (2025)

70 killed or seriously injured · 280 casualties · 13.7 collisions per 10,000 residents

Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)

90 food businesses within 2 miles

• 68 rated 4–5 ★ (56 top)
• 3 rated 0–2 (poor)

Source: Food Standards Agency

• Nearest station: Thatcham (3.6 km)
• 1 bus stops within ~½ mile

Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail

£401,830 average▼ 0.4% YoY

Across West Berkshire · to 2026-08

Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)

£1,338 average monthly rent▲ 5% YoY

• 1 bed £936
• 2 bed £1,216
• 3 bed £1,511

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

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

2,071 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: 159.9p · BP (6.6 km)
• Cheapest diesel: 191.9p · BP (6.6 km)

4 stations within ~8 miles

Source: CMA fuel price scheme

48 charging locations within ~8 km

• 10 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
• Fastest nearby: 350 kW
• Nearest: Thatcham Town Council (2.2 km)

Source: Open Charge Map

• Swimming pools20
• Sports pitches6
• Playgrounds4

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

161,448 residents in West Berkshire · 229/km²

• Under 16: 19%
• 16–64: 61%
• 65+: 20%

Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)

• Moves in from elsewhere in the UK9,730
• Moves out to elsewhere in the UK9,143
• Net moves+587

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

Among the least deprived areas in England

Ranked 257 of 296 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)

Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2025

£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

99 schools · 27,859 pupils

67 primary · 10 secondary · 22 other

Ofsted: 21 of 23 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (91%)

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

Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · West Berkshire

149 CQC-registered services

• Care homes45
• GP practices17
• Dentists34
• Homecare agencies39
• Hospitals & hospices4

CQC ratings: 95% of rated services Good or Outstanding

Source: Care Quality Commission · West Berkshire

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

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

273 applications decided

89.4% granted · 244 granted, 29 refused

Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q2

Mr Lee Dillon

Liberal Democrat

Newbury

Source: UK Parliament

Liberal Democrat majority

• Lab 1
• Con 11
• LD 28
• Grn 2
• Oth 1

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

• Schools3
• Parks & greens2

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

9,355 active business enterprises in the area

Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2026)

£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

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

41% low-carbon electricity

Gas 51% · Wind 15% · Solar 14% · Imports 8%

212 gCO₂/kWh · high intensity

Latest estimate for South England · National Grid ESO

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

• 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

5 GP surgeries · 1 pharmacy in RG18

• Thatcham Health Centre
• Charles Clore Macmillan Day Unit
• Miu / N219000

Source: NHS Organisation Data Service

Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Newbury:

• Protect legal right to support for children with SEND342 local signatures · 111,357 nationwide
• Hold a UK-wide briefing on climate and nature risks258 local signatures · 127,144 nationwide
• Remove sentence reductions for guilty pleas in controlling and coercive cases248 local signatures · 105,832 nationwide
• Support the Ceramics Industry and protect British manufacturing jobs and skills190 local signatures · 111,154 nationwide
• Change surrogacy law to recognise intended parents from birth179 local signatures · 113,305 nationwide

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

• 
  Cold Ash · 0.3 km

  Cold Ash is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire centred 1 mile (1.6 km) from Thatcham and 2.5 miles (4 km) northeast of Newbury.

• 
  Ashmore Green · 1.1 km

  Ashmore Green is a hamlet in Berkshire, England. It is situated just to the west of the village of Cold Ash and to the north of Thatcham in the West Berkshire district.

• 
  Downe House School · 1.7 km

  Downe 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 · 1.7 km

  The Order of Silence was a small Christian community based in Cold Ash, Berkshire between 1912 and 1921.

• 
  Cold Ash Quarry · 2.2 km

  Cold Ash Quarry is a 0.4-hectare (0.99-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Newbury in Berkshire, England. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.

• 
  Thatcham · 2.2 km

  Thatcham is a market town and civil parish in West Berkshire, England. It is situated in the valley of the River Kennet 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Newbury, 14 miles (23 km) west of Reading and 54 miles (87 km) west of L…

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)