Great Bardfield
Great Bardfield is a village in Essex, England, with a population of around 1,227. It has 1 restaurant or café and 19 bus stops. There were around 2 recorded street crimes in June 2026, most commonly Other theft. This page gathers weather, crime, food hygiene, transport, flood risk, house prices, population, deprivation and your local MP for the Great Bardfield area — all from official UK open data.
On deprivation, the Braintree area is less deprived than the average in England (IoD2019). The wider council area has around 155,270 residents at roughly 254 people per km².
My Area Score
Good
Ranked 80th of 294 English council areas — better than 73% 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
21°CPatchy rain nearby
- Today: 23° / 17° · 58% rain
- Tomorrow: 25° / 15° · Partly Cloudy
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:28Sunset 19:20
12h 52m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
13US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)
Source: WAQI · Stanford-le-Hope Roadside, United Kingdom
Crime
3 reported · July 2026▼ 25% YoY
- Other theft1
- Vehicle crime1
- Violence & sexual offences1
Neighbourhood team: Braintree Central · Essex
Local policing priorities
- Concerns from residents about vehicle nuisance in hotspot locations including Braintree town centre, Braintree Retail and Leisure Park, C…
- Concerns about antisocial behaviour and shoplifting in key hotspot locations including Braintree town centre and Braintree Village shoppi…
Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)
Road safety
235 reported road collisions (2024)
67 killed or seriously injured · 294 casualties · 15.1 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
20 food businesses within 2 miles
- 18 rated 4–5 ★ (16 top)
- 0 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- 19 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Braintree (11.7 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£330,637 average▲ 2% YoY
Across Braintree · to 2026-06
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£1,217 average monthly rent▲ 2.8% YoY
- 1 bed £853
- 2 bed £1,103
- 3 bed £1,359
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-07
Affordability
9.2× house price to earnings
A typical home costs 9.2 times median annual pay (10.0× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).
Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025
Fuel prices
- Cheapest petrol: 169.9p · Shell (11.2 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 195.9p · Shell (11.2 km)
1 station within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
Sport & leisure
- Swimming pools4
- Sports pitches2
- Playgrounds1
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local news
- Braintree District Council supports Recycle Week 2026 and calls residents to rescue their recyclables· 11 Sept 2026
- Braintree District Council Leader Cllr Tom Cunningham’s open letter to Essex County Council Leader Cllr Peter Harris on Operation Vanguard and Wethersfield Asylum Accommodation Centre· 11 Sept 2026
- Braintree Town Hall to host inspiring wedding fayre this September· 11 Sept 2026
- New community centre completed in Witham· 8 Sept 2026
- Man prosecuted for operating as a scrap metal dealer without a licence· 4 Sept 2026
Source: Braintree Council
Population
155,270 residents in Braintree · 254/km²
- Under 16: 18%
- 16–64: 61%
- 65+: 20%
Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)
Deprivation
Less deprived than the average in England
Ranked 203 of 317 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019
Council tax
£2,280 a year · Band D, 2026-27
Most homes here are Band C (29% of 71,120)
Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27
Schools
68 schools · 21,326 pupils
52 primary · 8 secondary · 8 other
Ofsted: 30 of 33 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (91%)
63inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)
Secondary schools:
- Honywood SchoolGood
- Lift MaltingsRequires improvement
- Notley High School and Braintree Sixth FormRequires improvement
- Tabor AcademyRequires improvement
- Alec Hunter Academy
- Hedingham School and Sixth Form
- Lift New Rickstones
- The Ramsey Academy, Halstead
Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Braintree
Care & health services
1,571 CQC-registered services
- Care homes407
- GP practices230
- Dentists309
- Homecare agencies475
- Hospitals & hospices39
CQC ratings: 87% of rated services Good or Outstanding · 17 Inadequate
Source: Care Quality Commission · Essex
Heritage & planning
- In a conservation area (Great Bardfield)
- Not in the Green Belt
- 104 listed buildings within ~1.5 km
Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)
Planning decisions
215 applications decided
85.6% granted · 184 granted, 31 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q1
Your MP
Sir James Cleverly
Conservative
Braintree
Recent votes:
- NoTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Second Reading
- NoClosure motion
- NoDraft Plant Health, Seeds, Seed Potatoes and Plant Propagating Material (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026
- AyeHealth Bill: Report Stage: Amendment 1
Source: UK Parliament
Council control
Conservative majority
- Lab 9
- Con 25
- Grn 4
- Ref 1
- Oth 10
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Schools1
- Supermarkets1
- Restaurants & cafés1
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
7,490 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)
Jobs
1 jobs advertised · £27,123 avg
e.g. Customer Team Member
Source: Adzuna
Local economy
£826 median full-time weekly pay
2.7% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits
£26,019 disposable income per head (2024)
Source: ONS / Nomis (claimant count · ASHE) · ONS regional GDHI
Energy efficiency
48% of homes rated EPC C or above
Most common band: D · 68,719 certificates
10.1% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)
Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty
Grid electricity
56% low-carbon electricity
Gas 42% · Nuclear 23% · Solar 22% · Biomass 6%
173 gCO₂/kWh · high intensity
Latest estimate for East England · National Grid ESO
Health
Life expectancy: 83.9 yrs women · 80.5 yrs men
75% of adults overweight or obese
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025
Wellbeing
- Life satisfaction7.3
- Feeling worthwhile7.7
- Happiness yesterday7.6
- Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.1
Average rating out of 10 · ONS personal well-being 2022-23
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Braintree:
- Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office462 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide
- Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership441 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
- Review the evidence and fund the addition of SMA to the Newborn Screening Test428 local signatures · 151,287 nationwide
- Do not ban social media for under 16s329 local signatures · 217,501 nationwide
- Change surrogacy law to recognise intended parents from birth295 local signatures · 112,809 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06
Notable places nearby
Great Bardfield · 0.1 kmGreat Bardfield is a village and civil parish in the Braintree district of Essex, England. It is approximately 9 mi (14 km) northwest of the town of Braintree, and approximately 12 mi (19 km) southeast of Saffron Wald…
Gibraltar Mill, Great Bardfield · 0.5 kmGibraltar Mill is a grade II listed Tower mill at Great Bardfield, Essex, England which has been converted to residential use.
Little Bardfield · 1.6 kmLittle Bardfield is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of northwest Essex, England. Little Bardfield is a small scattered village on the southwest side of the vale of the River Pant. A minor road ru…
Oxen End · 2.0 kmOxen End is a hamlet on the B1057 road, in the Uttlesford District, in the English county of Essex. It is located a few miles from the village of Great Bardfield.
Waltham's Cross · 2.0 kmWaltham's Cross is a hamlet in the Braintree district of Essex. It is located approximately equidistant from the villages of Finchingfield, Great Bardfield and Wethersfield.
Finchingfield · 2.3 kmFinchingfield is a village and civil parish in the Braintree district of North Essex, England, a primarily rural area. It is approximately 6 miles (10 km) from Thaxted, with the nearest larger towns being Saffron Wald…
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Compare Braintree with nearby areas
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Great Bardfield?
- Great Bardfield is a town in Essex, England, in the Braintree local authority.
- What is the population of Great Bardfield?
- Great Bardfield has an approximate settlement population of 1,227.
- How deprived is Great Bardfield?
- The Braintree local authority, which includes Great Bardfield, is less deprived than the average in England on the IoD2019.