Cerne Abbas
Cerne Abbas is a village in Dorset, England, with a population of around 784. It has around 1 restaurant and café, and the nearest railway station is Maiden Newton, 7.2 km away. There were around 2 recorded street crimes in June 2026, 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 Cerne Abbas area — all from official UK open data.
On deprivation, the Dorset area is less deprived than the average in England (IoD2019). The wider council area has around 379,579 residents at roughly 152 people per km².
My Area Score
Good
Ranked 118th of 294 English council areas — better than 60% of them.
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
19°CSunny
- Today: 19° / 12° · 19% rain
- Tomorrow: 22° / 16° · Light rain shower
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:39Sunset 19:33
12h 54m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
23US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: ozone
Source: WAQI · Bournemouth, United Kingdom
Crime
4 reported · July 2026▲ 100% YoY
- Anti-social behaviour3
- Violence & sexual offences1
Neighbourhood team: Dorchester · Dorset
Local policing priorities
- Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) - youth related nuisance Location: South Walks and Trinity Street Issue: Young people are gathering in groups…
- Criminal damage and nuisance Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Location: River Walks Issue: Criminal damage to the boardwalk and reports of ASB…
Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)
Road safety
686 reported road collisions (2024)
156 killed or seriously injured · 883 casualties · 18.1 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
9 food businesses within 2 miles
- 8 rated 4–5 ★ (7 top)
- 0 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Maiden Newton (7.2 km)
- 0 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Maiden Newton (7.1 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£325,410 average▲ 1.6% YoY
Across Dorset · to 2026-06
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£1,051 average monthly rent▲ 4.8% YoY
- 1 bed £728
- 2 bed £961
- 3 bed £1,184
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-07
Affordability
9.9× house price to earnings
A typical home costs 9.9 times median annual pay (9.5× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).
Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025
Fuel prices
- Cheapest petrol: 171.9p · Esso (11.5 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 193.9p · Esso (11.5 km)
1 station within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
Sport & leisure
- Sports pitches1
- Playgrounds1
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Population
379,579 residents in Dorset · 152/km²
- Under 16: 15%
- 16–64: 55%
- 65+: 30%
Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)
Deprivation
Less deprived than the average in England
Ranked 197 of 317 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
3% of neighbourhoods are in England’s most deprived 10%
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019
Council tax
£2,765 a year · Band D, 2026-27
Most homes here are Band C (23% of 187,680)
Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27
Schools
184 schools · 51,332 pupils
119 primary · 18 secondary · 47 other
Ofsted: 68 of 86 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (79%)
158inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)
Secondary schools:
- Beaminster SchoolGood
- Dorset Studio SchoolGood
- Gillingham SchoolGood
- Shaftesbury SchoolGood
- The Blandford SchoolGood
- The Swanage SchoolGood
- The Woodroffe SchoolGood
- Wey Valley AcademyGood
- All Saints' Church of England AcademyRequires improvement
- Budmouth Academy WeymouthRequires improvement
- Queen Elizabeth's SchoolRequires improvement
- Ferndown Upper School
- Lytchett Minster School
- Sturminster Newton High School
- The Gryphon School
- The Purbeck School
- The Sir John Colfox Academy
- The Thomas Hardye School
Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Dorset
Care & health services
385 CQC-registered services
- Care homes121
- GP practices59
- Dentists84
- Homecare agencies86
- Hospitals & hospices14
CQC ratings: 96% of rated services Good or Outstanding · 2 Inadequate
Source: Care Quality Commission · Dorset
Heritage & planning
- In a conservation area (Cerne Abbas Conservation Area)
- Not in the Green Belt
- 77 listed buildings within ~1.5 km
Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)
Planning decisions
662 applications decided
92.4% granted · 612 granted, 50 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q1
Your MP
Edward Morello
Liberal Democrat
West Dorset
Recent votes:
- AyeTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Second Reading
- AyeClosure motion
- NoSocial Housing Bill [Lords]: Reasoned Amendment to Second Reading
- AyeHealth Bill: Report Stage: Amendment 1
Source: UK Parliament
Council control
Liberal Democrat / Green coalition
- Lab 2
- Con 30
- LD 42
- Grn 4
- Oth 4
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Schools1
- GPs & clinics1
- Parks & greens1
- Restaurants & cafés1
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
20,515 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)
Jobs
5 jobs advertised
e.g. Delivery Opportunities Near Me? - Deliver with Uber Eats, Be Your Own Boss - Deliver with Uber Eats, Deliver with Uber Eats - Sign Up and Start Earning
Source: Adzuna
Local economy
£737 median full-time weekly pay
2.3% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits
£27,403 disposable income per head (2024)
Source: ONS / Nomis (claimant count · ASHE) · ONS regional GDHI
Energy efficiency
43% of homes rated EPC C or above
Most common band: D · 186,790 certificates
9.9% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)
Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty
Grid electricity
64% low-carbon electricity
Wind 34% · Gas 21% · Solar 17% · Imports 16%
97 gCO₂/kWh · moderate intensity
Latest estimate for South England · National Grid ESO
Health
Life expectancy: 85.4 yrs women · 82.1 yrs men
Healthy life expectancy: 65.6 women · 65.3 men
66% of adults overweight or obese
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025
Wellbeing
- Life satisfaction7.6
- Feeling worthwhile7.9
- Happiness yesterday7.6
- Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)2.9
Average rating out of 10 · ONS personal well-being 2022-23
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in West Dorset:
- Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership477 local signatures · 163,883 nationwide
- Do not ban social media for under 16s335 local signatures · 217,501 nationwide
- Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership317 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
- Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office287 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide
- Hold a UK-wide briefing on climate and nature risks237 local signatures · 49,615 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06
Notable places nearby
Cerne Abbas · 0.2 kmCerne Abbas is a village and civil parish in Dorset in southern England. It lies in the Dorset Council administrative area in the Cerne Valley in the Dorset Downs. The village lies just east of the A352 road 10 km (6…
Cerne Abbey · 0.3 kmCerne Abbey was a Benedictine monastery founded in 987 in the town now called Cerne Abbas, Dorset, by Æthelmær the Stout.
Cerne Abbas Giant · 0.6 kmThe Cerne Abbas Giant, or Cerne Giant, is a hill figure near the village of Cerne Abbas, in Dorset, England. It is currently owned by the National Trust, and listed as a scheduled monument of England. Measuring 55 met…
Black Hill Down · 0.7 kmBlack Hill Down is a 71.84 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Dorset, notified in 1989.
Up Cerne · 1.8 kmUp Cerne is a hamlet lying to the west of the River Cerne, between Minterne Magna and Cerne Abbas in Dorset, England. It was the birthplace of John Mount Batten.
Watts Hill · 2.7 kmWatts Hill is a hill in the Dorset Downs and one of the highest in the county of Dorset, England. The height of the summit is variously recorded as 261 metres or 262 metres.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Cerne Abbas?
- Cerne Abbas is a town in Dorset, England, in the Dorset local authority.
- What is the population of Cerne Abbas?
- Cerne Abbas has an approximate settlement population of 784.
- How deprived is Cerne Abbas?
- The Dorset local authority, which includes Cerne Abbas, is less deprived than the average in England on the IoD2019.