Heckfordbridge

11°COvercast

• Today: 11° / 9° · 19% rain
• Tomorrow: 11° / 7° · Sunny

Source: WeatherAPI

Sunrise 06:56Sunset 16:23

9h 27m of daylight today

Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec

Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk

26US AQI · Good

Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)

Source: WAQI · Southend-on-Sea, United Kingdom

• 7.1 µg/m³ average fine-particle (PM2.5) concentration
• 5.3% of adult (30+) deaths estimated attributable to fine-particle pollution

Lower is better for both figures.

Source: OHID Fingertips · 2024

1 reported · August 2026▼ 67% YoY

• Violence & sexual offences1

Neighbourhood team: Colchester Rural North · Essex

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

321 reported road collisions (2025)

90 killed or seriously injured · 403 casualties · 16.7 collisions per 10,000 residents

Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)

133 food businesses within 2 miles

• 106 rated 4–5 ★ (101 top)
• 0 rated 0–2 (poor)

Source: Food Standards Agency

• Nearest station: Marks Tey (3.9 km)
• 5 bus stops within ~½ mile

Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail

£294,210 average▼ 1.4% YoY

Across Colchester · to 2026-08

Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)

£1,197 average monthly rent▲ 2.1% YoY

• 1 bed £820
• 2 bed £1,063
• 3 bed £1,301

Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-08

8.4× house price to earnings

A typical home costs 8.4 times median annual pay (9.0× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).

Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025

2,652 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

• Cheapest petrol: 168.9p · Asda (2.5 km)
• Cheapest diesel: 195.9p · Asda (2.5 km)

3 stations within ~8 miles

Source: CMA fuel price scheme

31 charging locations within ~8 km

• 7 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
• Fastest nearby: 150 kW
• Nearest: The Bannatyne Spa (2.4 km)

Source: Open Charge Map

• Swimming pools2
• Sports pitches1
• Playgrounds5

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

192,716 residents in Colchester · 587/km²

• Under 16: 19%
• 16–64: 63%
• 65+: 18%

Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)

• Moves in from elsewhere in the UK13,676
• Moves out to elsewhere in the UK14,062
• Net moves−386

Residential moves between local authorities (counts of moves, not people) · ONS Internal migration, YE Jun 2025

Around the average in England

Ranked 168 of 296 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)

2% of neighbourhoods are in England’s most deprived 10%

Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2025

£2,283 a year · Band D, 2026-27

Most homes here are Band B (27% of 86,510)

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

89 schools · 31,964 pupils

63 primary · 12 secondary · 14 other

Ofsted: 28 of 32 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (88%)

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

Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Colchester

1,574 CQC-registered services

• Care homes408
• GP practices229
• Dentists312
• Homecare agencies474
• Hospitals & hospices40

CQC ratings: 88% of rated services Good or Outstanding · 17 Inadequate

Source: Care Quality Commission · Essex

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

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

234 applications decided

84.2% granted · 197 granted, 37 refused

Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q2

Conservative / Liberal Democrat coalition

• Lab 9
• Con 18
• LD 12
• Grn 3
• Ref 5
• Oth 4

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

• Parks & greens3
• Restaurants & cafés5

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

8,710 active business enterprises in the area

Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2026)

1 jobs advertised

e.g. Operative

Source: Adzuna

£767 median full-time weekly pay

3.2% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits

£24,738 disposable income per head (2024)

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

53% of homes rated EPC C or above

Most common band: C · 96,867 certificates

9.1% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)

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

Life expectancy: 83.8 yrs women · 80.4 yrs men

Healthy life expectancy (Essex): 62.4 women · 62.7 men

64% of adults overweight or obese

Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025

• Life satisfaction7.8
• Feeling worthwhile7.7
• Happiness yesterday7.6
• Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.2

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

4 GP surgeries · 5 pharmacies in CO3

• Ambrose Avenue Group Practice
• Winstree Medical Practice
• Tollgate Health Centre

Source: NHS Organisation Data Service

Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Witham:

• Change surrogacy law to recognise intended parents from birth321 local signatures · 113,305 nationwide
• Protect legal right to support for children with SEND281 local signatures · 111,357 nationwide
• Launch a public inquiry into illegal migration in the UK186 local signatures · 78,478 nationwide
• Support the Ceramics Industry and protect British manufacturing jobs and skills178 local signatures · 111,154 nationwide
• End the mandatory fortification of white flour with folic acid immediately168 local signatures · 76,640 nationwide

Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-10-05

• 
  Colchester Zoo · 0.1 km

  Colchester Zoo is a zoological garden situated near Colchester, England. Open since June 1963, the zoo is home to many rare and endangered species, including big cats, primates and birds as well as many invertebrates…

• 
  Heckfordbridge · 0.5 km

  Heckfordbridge or Heckford is a hamlet in the civil parish of Birch, in the Colchester district, in the county of Essex, England.

• 
  St Michael and All Angels Church, Copford · 1.7 km

  The Church of St Michael and All Angels, Copford is a 12th-century parish church located near the small village of Copford, Essex. It most likely served as a chapel to nearby Copford Hall, once owned by the bishops of…

• 
  Copford Hall · 1.7 km

  Copford Hall is a manorial seat and Grade II listed country house, with gardens by Capability Brown, in the village of Copford, Essex, England, 46 miles (74 km) from London. The building was at one time owned by the b…

• 
  Birch, Essex · 1.9 km

  Birch is a village and civil parish in the City of Colchester district of Essex, England. It is located approximately 5 miles (8 km) south-west of Colchester and 17 miles (27 km) north-east of the county town of Chelm…

• 
  Copford Green · 2.2 km

  Copford Green is a hamlet within the civil parish of Copford and the district of Colchester in Essex, England. It is near the A12 and A120 roads, and is 3 kilometres (2 mi) south west of Colchester.

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)