Leigh (Dorset)
Leigh (Dorset) is a town or village in Dorset, England. The nearest railway station is Chetnole, 2.6 km away. This page gathers weather, crime, food hygiene, transport, flood risk, house prices, population, deprivation and your local MP for the Leigh (Dorset) 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
17°COvercast
- Today: 19° / 13° · 19% rain
- Tomorrow: 19° / 17° · Patchy rain nearby
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
21US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: ozone
Source: WAQI · Bristol St Paul's, United Kingdom
Crime
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
5 food businesses within 2 miles
- 5 rated 4–5 ★ (5 top)
- 0 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Chetnole (2.6 km)
- 0 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Chetnole (2.7 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: 153.9p · BP (8.4 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 188.7p · Asda (11.7 km)
4 stations within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
1 charging location within ~8 km
- Fastest nearby: 13 kW
- Nearest: Summer Lodge Hotel Restaurant & Spa (6.2 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
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
- 27 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
Local businesses
20,515 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)
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
49% low-carbon electricity
Gas 28% · Wind 28% · Imports 23% · Biomass 16%
140 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
Leigh, Dorset · 0.5 kmLeigh is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England, situated approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) south-southwest of Sherborne. It is known as the site of a former Miz Maze. In the 2011 census t…
St Peter's Church, Chetnole · 2.1 kmSt Peter's Church is an Anglican church in the village of Chetnole, Dorset, and in the Diocese of Salisbury. It is in the Three Valleys Benefice. The church, with 13th-century origins and 15th-century additions, was p…
Chetnole · 2.1 kmChetnole is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It lies approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) south-southwest of Sherborne and 5.5 miles (8.9 km) southeast of Yeovil in Somerset. It is sit…
Chetnole railway station · 2.6 kmChetnole railway station is a small rural station serving the village of Chetnole, Dorset, England. The station is on the Heart of Wessex Line 21¼ miles (34 km) north of Weymouth towards Westbury, and 147.5 miles from…
Hermitage, Dorset · 2.9 kmHermitage is a small village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It is situated in the Blackmore Vale under the scarp of the Dorset Downs, 6 miles (9.7 km) south of the town of Sherborne. Dor…
Melbury Bubb · 3.3 kmMelbury Bubb is a small village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in South West England, situated approximately 7 miles (11 km) south of the town of Sherborne. It is sited on Cornbrash limestone beneath the cha…
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Leigh (Dorset)?
- Leigh (Dorset) is a town in Dorset, England, in the Dorset local authority.
- How deprived is Leigh (Dorset)?
- The Dorset local authority, which includes Leigh (Dorset), is less deprived than the average in England on the IoD2019.