Dorchester (Dorset)

8°CSunny

• Today: 10° / 6° · 18% rain
• Tomorrow: 9° / 6° · Overcast

Source: WeatherAPI

Sunrise 07:06Sunset 16:40

9h 34m of daylight today

Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec

Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk

30US AQI · Good

Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)

Source: WAQI · Bournemouth, United Kingdom

• 5.5 µg/m³ average fine-particle (PM2.5) concentration
• 4.1% of adult (30+) deaths estimated attributable to fine-particle pollution

Lower is better for both figures.

Source: OHID Fingertips · 2024

132 reported · August 2026

• Anti-social behaviour42
• Violence & sexual offences42
• Shoplifting15
• Criminal damage & arson9

2 stop & searches · mostly controlled drugs

Neighbourhood team: Dorchester · Dorset

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

675 reported road collisions (2025)

215 killed or seriously injured · 893 casualties · 17.8 collisions per 10,000 residents

Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)

287 food businesses within 2 miles

• 216 rated 4–5 ★ (211 top)
• 1 rated 0–2 (poor)

Source: Food Standards Agency

• Nearest station: Dorchester West (0.2 km)
• 18 bus stops within ~½ mile

Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail

£328,589 average▼ 0.4% YoY

Across Dorset · to 2026-08

Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)

£1,056 average monthly rent▲ 4.9% YoY

• 1 bed £732
• 2 bed £967
• 3 bed £1,191

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

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

5,771 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: 174.9p · Asda (10.5 km)
• Cheapest diesel: 199.9p · Asda (10.5 km)

1 station within ~8 miles

Source: CMA fuel price scheme

12 charging locations within ~8 km

• 5 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
• Fastest nearby: 75 kW
• Nearest: Brewhouse & Kitchen (0.1 km)

Source: Open Charge Map

• Sports centres2
• Gyms2
• Swimming pools2
• Sports pitches44
• Playgrounds20

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

379,579 residents in Dorset · 152/km²

• Under 16: 15%
• 16–64: 55%
• 65+: 30%

Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)

• Moves in from elsewhere in the UK20,787
• Moves out to elsewhere in the UK16,709
• Net moves+4,078

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

Around the average in England

Ranked 174 of 296 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)

2% of neighbourhoods are in England’s most deprived 10%

Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2025

£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

184 schools · 49,648 pupils

119 primary · 18 secondary · 47 other

Ofsted: 67 of 85 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (79%)

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

Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Dorset

388 CQC-registered services

• Care homes120
• GP practices61
• Dentists85
• Homecare agencies87
• Hospitals & hospices14

CQC ratings: 97% of rated services Good or Outstanding

Source: Care Quality Commission · Dorset

• In a conservation area (Dorchester Conservation Area 10)
• Not in the Green Belt
• 290 listed buildings within ~1.5 km

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

683 applications decided

91.7% granted · 626 granted, 57 refused

Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q2

Edward Morello

Liberal Democrat

West Dorset

Source: UK Parliament

Liberal Democrat majority

• Lab 2
• Con 30
• LD 42
• Grn 4
• Oth 4

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

• Schools8
• GPs & clinics5
• Pharmacies5
• Supermarkets5
• Parks & greens134
• Restaurants & cafés54

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

20,570 active business enterprises in the area

Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2026)

459 jobs advertised · £45,857 avg

e.g. Estate Planning Consultant, Senior Care Assistant, Level 3 qualified Personal Trainer - Dorchester

Source: Adzuna

£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

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

29% low-carbon electricity

Gas 69% · Wind 14% · Biomass 8% · Nuclear 7%

282 gCO₂/kWh · very high intensity

Latest estimate for South England · National Grid ESO

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

• 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

5 GP surgeries · 6 pharmacies in DT1

• Queens Avenue Surgery
• Atrium Health Centre
• Poundbury Doctors Surgery

Source: NHS Organisation Data Service

Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in West Dorset:

• Hold a UK-wide briefing on climate and nature risks572 local signatures · 127,144 nationwide
• Make catapult attacks against animals a standalone criminal offence304 local signatures · 55,084 nationwide
• Remove sentence reductions for guilty pleas in controlling and coercive cases233 local signatures · 105,832 nationwide
• End the mandatory fortification of white flour with folic acid immediately197 local signatures · 76,640 nationwide
• Support the Ceramics Industry and protect British manufacturing jobs and skills188 local signatures · 111,154 nationwide

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

• 
  Maumbury Rings · 0.2 km

  Maumbury Rings is a Neolithic henge in the south of Dorchester town in Dorset, England. It is a large circular earthwork, 85 metres in diameter, with a single bank and an entrance to the north east. It was modified du…

• 
  Dorchester West railway station · 0.2 km

  Dorchester West is one of two railway stations that serve the town of Dorchester in Dorset, England, the other being Dorchester South. It is managed by Great Western Railway, which also operates all services that stop…

• 
  St Mary's Church, Dorchester · 0.2 km

  St Mary's Church, also known as St Mary the Virgin, is a Church of England church in Fordington, Dorchester, Dorset, England. It was built in 1910–12 for a cost of £11,500. The church became Grade II* listed in 1975,…

• 
  Dorchester South railway station · 0.3 km

  Dorchester South is one of two railway stations that serve the town of Dorchester in Dorset, England, the other is Dorchester West. The station is on the South West Main Line and is situated 135 miles 70 chains (218.7…

• 
  Borough Gardens, Dorchester · 0.4 km

  The Borough Gardens is a public open space in Dorchester, in Dorset, England, It was opened in 1896, and is listed Grade II in Historic England's Register of Parks and Gardens. The gardens are owned and maintained by…

• 
  Dorset County Hospital · 0.5 km

  Dorset County Hospital is a district general hospital in the town of Dorchester, Dorset, England. The hospital is managed by Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)