Fortuneswell
Fortuneswell is a town in Dorset, England, with a population of around 3,381. It has one supermarket and around 7 restaurants and cafés, with 18 bus stops and Weymouth railway station 5.7 km away. There were around 23 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 Fortuneswell 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
18°CLight rain shower
- Today: 19° / 18° · 81% rain
- Tomorrow: 19° / 18° · Sunny
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:40Sunset 19:30
12h 50m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
34US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)
Source: WAQI · Bournemouth, United Kingdom
Crime
37 reported · July 2026▼ 29% YoY
- Violence & sexual offences13
- Public order7
- Anti-social behaviour5
- Other theft4
2 stop & searches · mostly controlled drugs
Neighbourhood team: Portland · Dorset
Local policing priorities
- Knife Crime Location: Portland Issue: Op Guardian is our operational response to knife crime - particularly children that carry knives in…
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
113 food businesses within 2 miles
- 72 rated 4–5 ★ (71 top)
- 0 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Weymouth (6.2 km)
- 16 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Weymouth (6.2 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: 166.9p · ESSO (5.8 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 186.9p · Morrisons (8.2 km)
5 stations within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
13 charging locations within ~8 km
- 5 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 120 kW
- Nearest: The Heights Hotel (0.6 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Sports centres3
- Swimming pools1
- Sports pitches12
- Playgrounds2
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
- Not in the Green Belt
- 124 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
Lloyd Hatton
Labour
South Dorset
Recent votes:
- AyeTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Second Reading
- AyeClosure motion
- NoHealth Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 145
- NoHealth Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 6
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
- Schools2
- GPs & clinics1
- Supermarkets2
- Parks & greens4
- Restaurants & cafés10
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
20,515 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)
Jobs
16 jobs advertised · £33,656 avg
e.g. Field Care Supervisor, Production Operative Laminating Department, Care Assistant
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
15% low-carbon electricity
Gas 46% · Imports 39% · Biomass 6% · Solar 4%
214 gCO₂/kWh · high 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 South Dorset:
- Introduce legislation to make it possible to renumerate emergency volunteers438 local signatures · 13,788 nationwide
- Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership382 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
- Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office367 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide
- Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership327 local signatures · 163,883 nationwide
- Remove sentence reductions for guilty pleas in controlling and coercive cases327 local signatures · 104,741 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06
Notable places nearby
St John's Church, Portland · 0.1 kmSt. John's Church is an Anglican Church of England church in Fortuneswell, on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. It was built between 1838–40 and has been a Listed Grade II building since January 1951. The churchyard walls…
- Underhill, Dorset · 0.1 km
Underhill is the name given to the area of very steep land, at the northern end of the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England, which contains the villages of Chiswell, Castletown and Fortuneswell. The remaining part of t…
Fortuneswell · 0.2 kmFortuneswell is a village in Underhill on the Isle of Portland, in Dorset, England. It lies on steeply sloping land on the northern edge of the island, known as Underhill, where Chesil Beach connects the island to the…
Easton Methodist Church · 0.2 kmEaston Methodist Church is a Methodist Church in Easton, on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, which was built in 1906–07. The church, along with its former manse and boundary walls, has been a Grade II* Listed since May 1…
Underhill Methodist Church · 0.2 kmUnderhill Methodist Church is a Methodist Church, opened in 1899, located in Fortuneswell, on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. It was built between 1898 and 1899, replacing a 1793 chapel built by Robert Carr Brackenbury,…
- Royal Manor Theatre · 0.2 km
Royal Manor Theatre is a theatre located in Fortuneswell, Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. Formerly a Methodist chapel, the building was later converted into the Royal Manor Theatre, which opened in 1978.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Fortuneswell?
- Fortuneswell is a town in Dorset, England, in the Dorset local authority.
- What is the population of Fortuneswell?
- Fortuneswell has an approximate settlement population of 3,381.
- How deprived is Fortuneswell?
- The Dorset local authority, which includes Fortuneswell, is less deprived than the average in England on the IoD2019.