Zeals
Zeals is a village in Dorset, England, with a population of around 658. The nearest railway station is Gillingham, located 5.7 km away. There were around 2 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 Zeals 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.
My Area Score
Good
Ranked 123rd of 294 English council areas — better than 58% 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
9°COvercast
- Today: 10° / 8° · 26% rain
- Tomorrow: 11° / 6° · Overcast
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 07:06Sunset 16:38
9h 32m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
34US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)
Source: WAQI · Bristol St Paul's, 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
3 reported · August 2026▼ 62% YoY
- Vehicle crime2
- Other theft1
Neighbourhood team: Mere · Wiltshire
Local policing priorities
- Rural crime (farms / hare coursing / non-dwelling burglaries)
- Retail Crime
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
24 food businesses within 2 miles
- 21 rated 4–5 ★ (18 top)
- 0 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Gillingham (6.4 km)
- 0 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Gillingham (Dorset) (6.4 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£328,589 average▼ 0.4% YoY
Across Dorset · to 2026-08
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
Fuel prices
- Cheapest petrol: 158.9p · Esso (6.1 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 189.9p · Esso (6.1 km)
3 stations within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
8 charging locations within ~8 km
- 3 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 300 kW
- Nearest: The Bell and Crown (0.1 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Sports pitches2
- 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)
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)
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 (ZEALS)
- Not in the Green Belt
- 45 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
Dr Andrew Murrison
Conservative
South West Wiltshire
Recent votes:
- NoBudget Resolution No. 86: High value council tax surcharge
- NoBudget Resolution No. 76: Rates of alcohol duty
- NoBudget Resolution No. 15: Charges in connection with employment visas
- NoBudget Resolution No. 8: Capital gains tax (business asset disposal relief)
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
- Schools1
- GPs & clinics1
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
20,570 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2026)
Jobs
1 jobs advertised
e.g. Practice Nurse
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
33% low-carbon electricity
Gas 65% · Wind 19% · Biomass 8% · Nuclear 6%
266 gCO₂/kWh · very 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
3 GP surgeries · 4 pharmacies in BA12
- Warminster Medical Centre
- Avenue Surgery
- Mere Surgery
Source: NHS Organisation Data Service
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in South West Wiltshire:
- Hold a UK-wide briefing on climate and nature risks274 local signatures · 127,144 nationwide
- Change surrogacy law to recognise intended parents from birth183 local signatures · 113,305 nationwide
- Protect legal right to support for children with SEND179 local signatures · 111,357 nationwide
- End the mandatory fortification of white flour with folic acid immediately168 local signatures · 76,640 nationwide
- Support the Ceramics Industry and protect British manufacturing jobs and skills161 local signatures · 111,154 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-10-05
Notable places nearby
Zeals · 0.2 kmZeals is a village and civil parish in southwest Wiltshire, England. The village is about 2.2 miles (3.5 km) west of Mere, next to the A303 road towards Wincanton, and adjoins the villages of Bourton, Dorset and Pense…
RAF Zeals · 1.0 kmRoyal Air Force Zeals, or more simply RAF Zeals, is a former Royal Air Force station in Wiltshire, sited to the north of the village of Zeals, next to the village of Stourton and the Stourhead estate.
Bourton, Dorset · 1.9 kmBourton is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated north of the A303 road on the border with Somerset and Wiltshire between Mere and Wincanton. The parish is the most northerly in Dorset and in t…
- Dead Maid Quarry · 2.1 km
Dead Maid Quarry is a 4,400 square metre geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Mere, Wiltshire, England, notified in 1951. It lies in an area of industrial buildings off Castle Street on the south west ou…
Bristol High Cross · 2.2 kmBristol High Cross is a monumental market cross said to have been erected c.1373 in the centre of Bristol, England, to commemorate the granting of a charter by Edward III to make Bristol a county, separate from Somers…
Stourton with Gasper · 2.3 kmStourton with Gasper is a civil parish in the southwest of the English county of Wiltshire. Its main settlement is the village of Stourton, along with the hamlets of Bonham and Gasper. The village is about 2+1⁄2 miles…
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Compare Dorset with nearby areas
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Zeals?
- Zeals is a town in Dorset, England, in the Dorset local authority.
- What is the population of Zeals?
- Zeals has an approximate settlement population of 658.
- How deprived is Zeals?
- The Dorset local authority, which includes Zeals, is around the average in England on the IoD2025.