South Woodham Ferrers
South Woodham Ferrers is a town in Essex, England, with a population of around 26,000. It has around 3 GP surgeries, 2 pharmacies, around 16 restaurants and cafés, 26 bus stops, and the nearest railway station is South Woodham Ferrers, 0.7 km away. There were around 71 recorded street crimes in June 2026, most commonly violence & sexual offences. This page gathers weather, crime, food hygiene, transport, flood risk, house prices, population, deprivation and your local MP for the South Woodham Ferrers area — all from official UK open data.
On deprivation, the Chelmsford area is less deprived than the average in England (IoD2025). The wider council area has around 181,523 residents at roughly 536 people per km².
- Council
- Chelmsford
- County
- Essex
- Constituency
- Maldon
- Police force
- Essex
My Area Score
Good
Ranked 133rd of 294 English council areas — better than 55% 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
11°COvercast
- Today: 12° / 10° · 25% rain
- Tomorrow: 11° / 10° · Patchy rain nearby
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:56Sunset 16:25
9h 28m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
26US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)
Source: WAQI · Southend-on-Sea, United Kingdom
Air pollution (PM2.5)
- 7.3 µg/m³ average fine-particle (PM2.5) concentration
- 5.4% of adult (30+) deaths estimated attributable to fine-particle pollution
Lower is better for both figures.
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2024
Crime
81 reported · August 2026▲ 31% YoY
- Shoplifting32
- Violence & sexual offences21
- Anti-social behaviour8
- Other theft8
9 stop & searches
Neighbourhood team: South Woodham Ferrers · 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
307 reported road collisions (2025)
86 killed or seriously injured · 378 casualties · 16.9 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
121 food businesses within 2 miles
- 98 rated 4–5 ★ (90 top)
- 3 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: South Woodham Ferrers (0.7 km)
- 26 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from South Woodham Ferrers (0.7 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£376,682 average▼ 2.4% YoY
Across Chelmsford · to 2026-08
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£1,439 average monthly rent▲ 2.4% YoY
- 1 bed £1,059
- 2 bed £1,291
- 3 bed £1,543
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-08
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
Property sales
2,400 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: 135.8p · AppleGreen (10.9 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 142.8p · AppleGreen (10.9 km)
7 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: 175 kW
- Nearest: ASDA (0.4 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Sports centres3
- Gyms1
- Sports pitches21
- Playgrounds9
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)
Internal migration
- Moves in from elsewhere in the UK12,861
- Moves out to elsewhere in the UK11,516
- Net moves+1,345
Residential moves between local authorities (counts of moves, not people) · ONS Internal migration, YE Jun 2025
Deprivation
Less deprived than the average in England
Ranked 233 of 296 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2025
Council tax
£2,300 a year · Band D, 2026-27
Most homes here are Band C (29% of 81,730)
Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27
Schools
87 schools · 31,575 pupils
55 primary · 10 secondary · 22 other
Ofsted: 27 of 31 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (87%)
72 inspected 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
1,574 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
Heritage & planning
- Not in the Green Belt
- 3 listed buildings within ~1.5 km
Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)
Planning decisions
291 applications decided
83.8% granted · 244 granted, 47 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q2
Your MP
Sir John Whittingdale
Conservative
Maldon
Recent votes:
- NoDraft Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications, Requests and Site Visits) (England) (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026
- NoWithdrawal Agreement (Windsor Framework and Governance) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
- NoDraft Code of Practice on Access and Unfair Practices During the Recognition and Derecognition Process
- NoDraft Railways (Interoperability in Northern Ireland) (Convention on International Carriage by Rail) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
Source: UK Parliament
Council control
Liberal Democrat majority
- Con 18
- LD 30
- Ref 2
- Oth 7
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Schools6
- GPs & clinics4
- Pharmacies3
- Supermarkets3
- Parks & greens8
- Restaurants & cafés17
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
9,495 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2026)
Jobs
29 jobs advertised · £32,940 avg
e.g. Visiting Angels Mid Essex - Level 2 Adult Care Worker Apprenticeship, Internal Sales Assistant, Retail Security Officer
Source: Adzuna
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
65% low-carbon electricity
Wind 36% · Gas 34% · Nuclear 15% · Solar 8%
141 gCO₂/kWh · moderate intensity
Latest estimate for East England · National Grid ESO
Health
Life expectancy: 85.2 yrs women · 81.5 yrs men
Healthy life expectancy (Essex): 62.4 women · 62.7 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
Health services
9 GP surgeries · 8 pharmacies in CM3
- Beacon Health Group-Danbury Medical Ctr
- Little Waltham & Gt Notley Surgery
- The Laurels Surgery
Source: NHS Organisation Data Service
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Maldon:
- Protect legal right to support for children with SEND287 local signatures · 111,357 nationwide
- Change surrogacy law to recognise intended parents from birth266 local signatures · 113,305 nationwide
- Launch a public inquiry into illegal migration in the UK196 local signatures · 78,478 nationwide
- Hold a UK-wide briefing on climate and nature risks183 local signatures · 127,144 nationwide
- Support the Ceramics Industry and protect British manufacturing jobs and skills180 local signatures · 111,154 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-10-05
Notable places nearby
William de Ferrers School · 0.5 kmWilliam de Ferrers School is a co-educational British secondary school in the town of South Woodham Ferrers, in the English county of Essex. It is an academy school and has 1,259 pupils on roll, aged between 11 and 18…
South Woodham Ferrers railway station · 0.7 kmSouth Woodham Ferrers railway station is a stop on the Crouch Valley Line in the East of England, serving the town of South Woodham Ferrers, Essex. It is 34 miles (55 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and…
South Woodham Ferrers · 0.7 kmSouth Woodham Ferrers is a town and civil parish in the City of Chelmsford district of Essex, England. It is approximately 35 miles (56 km) east of London and 8 miles (13 km) south-east of Chelmsford. At the 2021 cens…
Fenn Washland · 0.8 kmFenn Washland is a 4.9 hectare Local Nature Reserve in South Woodham Ferrers in Essex, England. It is owned by Essex County Council and managed by the council as a part of the nearby Marsh Farm Country Park.
Woodham Fen · 1.1 kmWoodham Fen is an 8.1-hectare (20-acre) nature reserve in South Woodham Ferrers in Essex. It is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. It is part of the Crouch and Roach Estuaries Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Kendal Park · 1.8 kmKendal Park or Hullbridge Foreshore is a 2.8 hectare Local Nature Reserve in Hullbridge in Essex. It is owned by Rochford District Council and managed by Hullbridge Parish Council.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Compare Chelmsford with nearby areas
Frequently asked questions
- Where is South Woodham Ferrers?
- South Woodham Ferrers is a town in Essex, England, in the Chelmsford local authority.
- How deprived is South Woodham Ferrers?
- The Chelmsford local authority, which includes South Woodham Ferrers, is less deprived than the average in England on the IoD2025.