My Area UK

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 around the average in England (IoD2025). The wider council area has around 379,579 residents at roughly 152 people per km².

Council
Dorset
County
Dorset
Constituency
North Dorset
Police force
Dorset
54/ 100

My Area Score

Good

Ranked 123rd of 294 English council areas — better than 58% of them.

Low crime85
Home affordability30
Affordable rents51
Good schools16
Life expectancy86
Low deprivation59
Employment82
Low council tax0

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

8°CPatchy rain nearby

  • Today: 9° / 7° · 43% rain
  • Tomorrow: 11° / 6° · Patchy rain nearby

Source: WeatherAPI

Daylight

Sunrise 07:08Sunset 16:37

9h 29m of daylight today

Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec

Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk

Air quality

57US AQI · Moderate

Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)

Source: WAQI · Bournemouth, United Kingdom

Air pollution (PM2.5)

  • 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

Crime

30 reported · August 2026▲ 43% YoY

  • Anti-social behaviour14
  • Violence & sexual offences7
  • Criminal damage & arson5
  • Shoplifting2

Neighbourhood team: North Dorset Rural · Dorset

Local policing priorities

  • ASB (Anti-Social Behaviour) Location: Rivers Mead - Sturminster Newton Issue: Reports of anti-social behaviour linked to drug-related act…
  • Shoplifting Location: One Stop - Sturminster Newton Issue: One Stop has been repeatedly targeted by theft offences, resulting in financia…

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

Road safety

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)

Food hygiene

49 food businesses within 2 miles

  • 41 rated 4–5 ★ (40 top)
  • 0 rated 0–2 (poor)

Source: Food Standards Agency

Flood risk

No active flood warnings nearby.

Buses & trains

  • 4 bus stops within ~½ mile

Live trains from Templecombe (11.4 km):

Loading live departures…

Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail

House prices

£328,589 average▼ 0.4% YoY

Across Dorset · to 2026-08

Detached£519,998
Semi-detached£333,127
Terraced£267,978
Flat£169,474

Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)

Private rents

£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

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

Property sales

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

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)

Internal migration

  • 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

Deprivation

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

Council tax

£2,765 a year · Band D, 2026-27

Most homes here are Band C (23% of 187,680)

A £1,843
B £2,151
C £2,458
D £2,765
E £3,379
F £3,994
G £4,608
H £5,530

Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27

Schools

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)

Secondary schools:

  • Beaminster SchoolGood
  • Dorset Studio 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
  • Gillingham 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

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

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

683 applications decided

91.7% granted · 626 granted, 57 refused

Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q2

Your MP

Simon Hoare

Conservative

North Dorset

Recent votes:

  • NoDraft Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications, Requests and Site Visits) (England) (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026
  • NoDraft Code of Practice on Access and Unfair Practices During the Recognition and Derecognition Process
  • NoNorthern Ireland Troubles Bill: Third Reading
  • AyeNorthern Ireland Troubles Bill Committee: New Clause 12

Source: UK Parliament

Council control

Liberal Democrat majority

  • 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

20,570 active business enterprises in the area

Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2026)

Jobs

36 jobs advertised · £35,745 avg

e.g. CNC Turner, Heavy plant fitter, AVON Representatives wanted in Stalbridge, Dorset, England – start today

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

51% low-carbon electricity

Gas 46% · Wind 29% · Biomass 12% · Nuclear 10%

194 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

Health services

1 GP surgery · 3 pharmacies in DT10

  • Blackmore Vale Partnership

Source: NHS Organisation Data Service

Local petitions

Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in North Dorset:

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

Notable places nearby

  • Sturminster Newton · 0.1 km

    Sturminster 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 km

    Sturminster 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 km

    St 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…

  • Rixon, Dorset · 0.5 km

    Rixon is a village near Sturminster Newton in Dorset, England.

  • 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)

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 around the average in England on the IoD2025.