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 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
19°CSunny
- Today: 25° / 18° · 67% rain
- Tomorrow: 20° / 11° · Sunny
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:41Sunset 19:28
12h 47m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
9US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: ozone
Source: WAQI · Bristol St Paul's, United Kingdom
Crime
5 reported · July 2026▼ 44% YoY
- Other theft3
- Burglary2
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
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
22 food businesses within 2 miles
- 22 rated 4–5 ★ (19 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
£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 (6.1 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 188.9p · Asda (11.9 km)
6 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)
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 (ZEALS)
- Not in the Green Belt
- 45 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
Dr Andrew Murrison
Conservative
South West Wiltshire
Recent votes:
- NoTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Second Reading
- NoClosure motion
- AyeSocial Housing Bill [Lords]: Reasoned Amendment to Second Reading
- NoDraft Plant Health, Seeds, Seed Potatoes and Plant Propagating Material (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026
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
- Schools1
- GPs & clinics1
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
20,515 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)
Jobs
2 jobs advertised
e.g. Online Arabic Tutoring Job in Zeals – Flexible Schedule, Online Arabic 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
32% low-carbon electricity
Gas 64% · Wind 14% · Biomass 11% · Nuclear 7%
265 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
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in South West Wiltshire:
- Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership440 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
- Do not ban social media for under 16s329 local signatures · 217,501 nationwide
- Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office309 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide
- Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership295 local signatures · 163,883 nationwide
- Review the evidence and fund the addition of SMA to the Newborn Screening Test272 local signatures · 151,287 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06
Notable places nearby
- 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…
Stourhead · 2.5 kmStourhead is a 1,072-hectare (2,650-acre) estate at the source of the River Stour in the southwest of the English county of Wiltshire, extending into Somerset.
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 less deprived than the average in England on the IoD2019.