Sturminster Newton
Sturminster Newton is a village in Dorset, England, with a population of around 3,501. It has 1 GP surgery, 1 pharmacy, 1 park, and around 1 restaurant and café, with 4 bus stops and the average sold house price is around £399,755. There were around 24 recorded street crimes in June 2026, most commonly anti-social behaviour. This page gathers weather, crime, food hygiene, transport, flood risk, house prices, population, deprivation and your local MP for the Sturminster Newton 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
16°CPartly Cloudy
- Today: 17° / 11° · 8% rain
- Tomorrow: 17° / 11° · Overcast
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:33Sunset 19:39
13h 6m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
38US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)
Source: WAQI · Bournemouth, United Kingdom
Crime
33 reported · July 2026▲ 43% YoY
- Anti-social behaviour16
- Violence & sexual offences8
- Public order4
- Shoplifting2
Neighbourhood team: North Dorset Rural · Dorset
Local policing priorities
- ASB (Anti-Social Behaviour) Location: Sturminster Newton- Stour Castle. Issue: Drug related ASB by those residing and visiting specific a…
- Drug Related ASB. Location: Rivers Mead- Sturminster Newton Issue: There has been an increase in reported ASB linked to drugs in the vici…
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
43 food businesses within 2 miles
- 40 rated 4–5 ★ (39 top)
- 0 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- 4 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Templecombe (11.4 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: 167.9p · Shell (11.9 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 189.9p · Shell (11.9 km)
1 station within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
4 charging locations within ~8 km
- Fastest nearby: 43 kW
- Nearest: Station Road Car Park 2 (0.1 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Sports centres1
- Swimming pools3
- Sports pitches19
- Playgrounds12
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 (Sturminster Newton Conservation Area)
- Not in the Green Belt
- 110 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
Simon Hoare
Conservative
North Dorset
Recent votes:
- AyeHealth Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 145
- NoRepresentation of the People Bill: Third Reading
- NoRepresentation of the People Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 88
- AyeRepresentation of the People Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 67
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
- Schools4
- GPs & clinics1
- Pharmacies1
- Supermarkets1
- Parks & greens4
- Restaurants & cafés1
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
20,515 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)
Jobs
174 jobs advertised · £35,171 avg
e.g. Delivery Opportunities Near Me? - Deliver with Uber Eats, Deliver with Uber Eats - Sign Up and Start Earning, Sign Up as A Delivery Person - Earn With Uber Eats
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
58% low-carbon electricity
Solar 34% · Imports 30% · Wind 14% · Gas 13%
76 gCO₂/kWh · low 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 North Dorset:
- Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership353 local signatures · 163,883 nationwide
- Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership341 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
- Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office306 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide
- Do not ban social media for under 16s286 local signatures · 217,501 nationwide
- Remove sentence reductions for guilty pleas in controlling and coercive cases260 local signatures · 104,741 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06
Notable places nearby
Sturminster Newton · 0.1 kmSturminster Newton is a town and civil parish situated on the River Stour in the north of Dorset, England. The town is at the centre of the Blackmore Vale, a large dairy agriculture region around which the town's econ…
Sturminster Newton railway station · 0.1 kmSturminster Newton railway station was a station in the town of Sturminster Newton, in the English county of Dorset. It was located on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway.
St Mary's Church, Sturminster Newton · 0.3 kmSt Mary's Church is a Church of England Parish Church in Sturminster Newton, Dorset. The present church dates from a rebuild in 1486 by the abbots of Glastonbury. The church was heavily modified in the 19th century, b…
- Sturminster Newton Castle · 0.7 km
Sturminster Newton Castle is a site consisting of the remains of a medieval manor house within an Iron Age hillfort, near Sturminster Newton in Dorset, England. The ruins are privately owned.
- Sturminster Newton High School · 0.8 km
Sturminster Newton High School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Sturminster Newton in the English county of Dorset.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Sturminster Newton?
- Sturminster Newton is a town in Dorset, England, in the Dorset local authority.
- What is the population of Sturminster Newton?
- Sturminster Newton has an approximate settlement population of 3,501.
- How deprived is Sturminster Newton?
- The Dorset local authority, which includes Sturminster Newton, is less deprived than the average in England on the IoD2019.