My Area UK

Great Leighs

Great Leighs is a village in Essex, England, with a population of around 2,709. It has 12 bus stops and the nearest railway station is Cressing, 5.5 km away. In June 2026, there were around 10 recorded street crimes, 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 Great Leighs area — all from official UK open data.

On deprivation, the Chelmsford area is among the least deprived areas in England (IoD2019). The wider council area has around 181,523 residents at roughly 536 people per km².

Council
Chelmsford
County
Essex
Constituency
Saffron Walden
Police force
Essex
53/ 100

My Area Score

Good

Ranked 129th of 294 English council areas — better than 56% of them.

Low crime38
Home affordability23
Affordable rents21
Good schools43
Life expectancy80
Low deprivation82
Employment65
Low council tax81

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

22°CPartly Cloudy

  • Today: 26° / 16° · 33% rain
  • Tomorrow: 23° / 13° · Sunny

Source: WeatherAPI

Daylight

Sunrise 06:29Sunset 19:17

12h 48m of daylight today

Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec

Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk

Air quality

17US AQI · Good

Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)

Source: WAQI · Stanford-le-Hope Roadside, United Kingdom

Crime

14 reported · July 2026 12% YoY

  • Anti-social behaviour6
  • Violence & sexual offences4
  • Criminal damage & arson1
  • Other theft1

Neighbourhood team: North Chelmsford · Essex

Local policing priorities

  • Concerns from residents about antisocial behaviour (ASB) in hotspot areas across Chelmsford and Maldon, including town centres, retail an…
  • Concerns from residents regarding vehicle theft in higher-risk locations across Chelmsford and Maldon, including town centre car parks, r…

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

Road safety

300 reported road collisions (2024)

77 killed or seriously injured · 393 casualties · 16.5 collisions per 10,000 residents

Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)

Food hygiene

15 food businesses within 2 miles

  • 14 rated 4–5 ★ (12 top)
  • 0 rated 0–2 (poor)

Source: Food Standards Agency

Flood risk

No active flood warnings nearby.

Buses & trains

  • Nearest station: Cressing (5.5 km)
  • 12 bus stops within ~½ mile

Live trains from Cressing (5.6 km):

Loading live departures…

Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail

House prices

£383,103 average 1.2% YoY

Across Chelmsford · to 2026-06

Detached£690,495
Semi-detached£429,216
Terraced£342,756
Flat£211,852

Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)

Private rents

£1,442 average monthly rent 3.3% YoY

  • 1 bed £1,061
  • 2 bed £1,294
  • 3 bed £1,545

Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-07

Affordability

10.7× house price to earnings

A typical home costs 10.7 times median annual pay (11.2× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).

Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025

Fuel prices

  • Cheapest petrol: 159.9p · Esso (11.2 km)
  • Cheapest diesel: 146.8p · AppleGreen (8.2 km)

8 stations within ~8 miles

Source: CMA fuel price scheme

EV charging

12 charging locations within ~8 km

  • 5 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
  • Fastest nearby: 360 kW
  • Nearest: Gridserve Electric Forecourt - Braintree (2.8 km)

Source: Open Charge Map

Sport & leisure

  • Sports centres1
  • Sports pitches3
  • Playgrounds5

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

Population

181,523 residents in Chelmsford · 536/km²

  • Under 16: 19%
  • 16–64: 62%
  • 65+: 19%

Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)

Deprivation

Among the least deprived areas in England

Ranked 260 of 317 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)

Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019

Council tax

£2,300 a year · Band D, 2026-27

Most homes here are Band C (29% of 81,730)

A £1,533
B £1,789
C £2,045
D £2,300
E £2,811
F £3,322
G £3,834
H £4,600

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

Schools

86 schools · 31,575 pupils

55 primary · 10 secondary · 21 other

Ofsted: 27 of 31 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (87%)

72inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)

Secondary schools:

  • Chelmsford County High School for GirlsOutstanding
  • King Edward VI Grammar School, ChelmsfordOutstanding
  • Chelmer Valley High SchoolGood
  • Moulsham High SchoolGood
  • Hylands SchoolRequires improvement
  • The Sandon SchoolRequires improvement
  • Great Baddow High School
  • St John Payne Catholic School, Chelmsford
  • The Boswells School
  • William de Ferrers School

Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Chelmsford

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

  • Not in the Green Belt
  • 44 listed buildings within ~1.5 km

Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)

Planning decisions

307 applications decided

83.1% granted · 255 granted, 52 refused

Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q1

Your MP

Mrs Kemi Badenoch

Conservative

North West Essex

Recent votes:

  • NoTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Second Reading
  • NoDraft Plant Health, Seeds, Seed Potatoes and Plant Propagating Material (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026
  • AyeHealth Bill: Report Stage: Amendment 1
  • AyeHealth Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 143

Source: UK Parliament

Council control

Liberal Democrat majority

  • Con 19
  • LD 31
  • Ref 2
  • Oth 5

Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)

Amenities nearby

  • Schools1
  • Parks & greens4

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

Local businesses

9,385 active business enterprises in the area

Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)

Local economy

£878 median full-time weekly pay

2.7% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits

£28,603 disposable income per head (2024)

Source: ONS / Nomis (claimant count · ASHE) · ONS regional GDHI

Energy efficiency

49% of homes rated EPC C or above

Most common band: D · 82,010 certificates

7.5% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)

Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty

Grid electricity

49% low-carbon electricity

Gas 50% · Nuclear 20% · Wind 18% · Biomass 10%

207 gCO₂/kWh · high intensity

Latest estimate for East England · National Grid ESO

Health

Life expectancy: 85.2 yrs women · 81.5 yrs men

60% of adults overweight or obese

Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025

Wellbeing

  • Life satisfaction7.5
  • Feeling worthwhile7.7
  • Happiness yesterday7.8
  • Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)2.8

Average rating out of 10 · ONS personal well-being 2022-23

Local petitions

Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in North West Essex:

Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06

Notable places nearby

  • Great Leighs · 0.3 km

    Great Leighs is a village in the civil parish of Great and Little Leighs, in the Chelmsford district of Essex, England, halfway between Chelmsford itself and Braintree.

  • Great and Little Leighs · 0.3 km

    Great and Little Leighs is a civil parish in the Chelmsford district of Essex, England. The main village in the parish is Great Leighs. The parish also includes Little Leighs and a number of small hamlets in the surro…

  • Sandylay and Moat Woods · 0.4 km

    Sandylay and Moat Woods is a 7.5-hectare (19-acre) nature reserve east of Great Leighs in Essex. It is owned and managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.

  • Phyllis Currie Nature Reserve · 1.0 km

    Phyllis Currie Nature Reserve is an 8.9-hectare (22-acre) nature reserve north-west of Great Leighs in Essex. It is owned and managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.

  • Little Leighs · 1.2 km

    Little Leighs is a village in the civil parish of Great and Little Leighs, in the Chelmsford district of Essex, England. Little Leighs lies beside the River Ter, just south of the village of Great Leighs and west of t…

  • Chelmsford City Racecourse · 1.4 km

    Chelmsford City Racecourse, originally known as Great Leighs Racecourse, was a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Great Leighs near Braintree, Essex, England. When it opened in April 2008, it was the first ent…

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)

Compare Chelmsford with nearby areas

Frequently asked questions

Where is Great Leighs?
Great Leighs is a town in Essex, England, in the Chelmsford local authority.
What is the population of Great Leighs?
Great Leighs has an approximate settlement population of 2,709.
How deprived is Great Leighs?
The Chelmsford local authority, which includes Great Leighs, is among the least deprived areas in England on the IoD2019.