West Stour
West Stour is a settlement in Dorset, England. The nearest railway station is Gillingham, located 4.2 km away. There were around 3 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 West Stour 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°COvercast
- Today: 21° / 11° · 22% rain
- Tomorrow: 18° / 16° · Patchy rain nearby
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:38Sunset 19:32
12h 54m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
19US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: ozone
Source: WAQI · Bristol St Paul's, United Kingdom
Crime
1 reported · July 2026▼ 67% YoY
- Anti-social behaviour1
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
15 food businesses within 2 miles
- 10 rated 4–5 ★ (9 top)
- 0 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Gillingham (4.2 km)
- 0 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Gillingham (Dorset) (4.2 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: 158.9p · Esso (4.2 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 188.9p · Asda (8.1 km)
4 stations within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
6 charging locations within ~8 km
- 1 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 75 kW
- Nearest: The Udder Farm Shop (2.1 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Sports centres1
- Sports pitches4
- Playgrounds1
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 (West Stour Conservation Area 2)
- 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
Simon Hoare
Conservative
North Dorset
Recent votes:
- NoTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Second Reading
- NoClosure motion
- AyeSocial 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
- Parks & greens2
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
20,515 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)
Jobs
5 jobs advertised
e.g. Become a Economics Tutor in West Stour – Flexible & Remote, Become a Maths Tutor in West Stour – Flexible & Remote, Online Maths Tutor - Part Time
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
52% low-carbon electricity
Wind 30% · Gas 27% · Imports 21% · Biomass 15%
136 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 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
West Stour, Dorset · 0.1 kmWest Stour is a village and civil parish situated in the Blackmore Vale area of north Dorset, England. It is one of a group of villages known as The Stours, located in the River Stour Valley, five miles south of Gilli…
- Fifehead Magdalen · 1.3 km
Fifehead Magdalen is a small village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It lies within the Blackmore Vale, about three miles south-southwest of Gillingham and five miles west of Shaftesbury.…
Christ Church, East Stour · 1.3 kmChrist Church is a Church of England parish church in East Stour, Dorset, England. The church, a Grade II listed building, was designed by George Alexander and built in 1841–42. Today the church forms part of the Stou…
East Stour, Dorset · 1.4 kmEast Stour is a village and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Dorset in southern England. It lies within the Dorset administrative district, about two miles south of the town of Gillingham. The village is 1⁄2 m…
Stour Provost · 1.5 kmStour Provost is a village and civil parish in the Blackmore Vale area of north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour between Sturminster Newton and Gillingham. In old writings it is usually spelled Stower Prov…
Fifehead Wood · 1.7 kmFifehead Wood is a woodland in Dorset, England, near the village of Fifehead Magdalen. Owned and maintained by the Woodland Trust, Fifehead Wood covers a total area of 20.36 hectares, and is situated upon a ridge of C…
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Compare Dorset with nearby areas
Frequently asked questions
- Where is West Stour?
- West Stour is a town in Dorset, England, in the Dorset local authority.
- How deprived is West Stour?
- The Dorset local authority, which includes West Stour, is less deprived than the average in England on the IoD2019.