Southwell (Dorset)
Southwell (Dorset) is a village in Dorset, England, with a population of around 1,000. It has 1 school and around 1 restaurant and café, served by 13 bus stops. There were around 24 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 Southwell (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°CPatchy rain nearby
- Today: 20° / 16° · 81% rain
- Tomorrow: 20° / 17° · 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
17US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)
Source: WAQI · Bournemouth, United Kingdom
Crime
31 reported · July 2026▲ 55% YoY
- Violence & sexual offences15
- Anti-social behaviour7
- Other theft3
- Vehicle crime3
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
63 food businesses within 2 miles
- 42 rated 4–5 ★ (42 top)
- 0 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- 13 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Weymouth (9.4 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 (8.7 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 186.9p · Morrisons (11.4 km)
5 stations within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
7 charging locations within ~8 km
- 2 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 50 kW
- Nearest: Your Staycation (0.5 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Swimming pools5
- Sports pitches9
- Playgrounds7
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
- 43 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
- Schools3
- Parks & greens1
- Restaurants & cafés2
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
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
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
- Atlantic Academy Portland · 0.3 km
Atlantic Academy Portland, formerly known as the Isle of Portland Aldridge Community Academy, is a coeducational all-through school for children aged 4 to 16. The school is located on one site on the Isle of Portland…
Avalanche Memorial Church · 0.3 kmThe Avalanche Memorial Church, also known as the Church of St Andrew, is a Church of England church in Southwell, on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It was built in 1879 and remains active as part of the Portla…
Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment · 0.4 kmThe Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment was an Admiralty research department dedicated to underwater detection systems and weapons. It was formed at the Isle of Portland in 1959 and later became part of the Adm…
- Southwell Business Park · 0.4 km
Southwell Business Park is a business park on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It is housed at the former Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment, which closed in 1995 and became the Southwell Business Park i…
Southwell, Dorset · 0.5 kmSouthwell is a small coastal village in Tophill on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. As Portland and Dorset's southernmost village, it lies between Portland Bill and the villages of Easton and Weston. Though close to the…
- Southwell Methodist Chapel · 0.5 km
Southwell Methodist Chapel is a former Methodist chapel at Southwell, on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. The chapel was built in 1849 between terraced cottages on the east side of the road leading from Southwel…
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Southwell (Dorset)?
- Southwell (Dorset) is a town in Dorset, England, in the Dorset local authority.
- How deprived is Southwell (Dorset)?
- The Dorset local authority, which includes Southwell (Dorset), is less deprived than the average in England on the IoD2019.