West Mersea
West Mersea is a town in Essex, England, with a population of around 7,057. It has 1 restaurant or café and 15 bus stops. There were around 27 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 West Mersea area — all from official UK open data.
On deprivation, the Colchester area is around the average in England (IoD2019). The wider council area has around 192,716 residents at roughly 587 people per km².
- Council
- Colchester
- County
- Essex
- Constituency
- Harwich and North Essex
- Police force
- Essex
My Area Score
Good
Ranked 149th of 294 English council areas — better than 49% 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
22°CCloudy
- Today: 24° / 14° · 23% rain
- Tomorrow: 23° / 18° · Light rain shower
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:24Sunset 19:20
12h 56m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
23US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: ozone
Source: WAQI · Southend-on-Sea, United Kingdom
Crime
28 reported · July 2026▼ 22% YoY
- Violence & sexual offences13
- Other theft5
- Anti-social behaviour4
- Criminal damage & arson3
Neighbourhood team: Colchester Rural South · Essex
Local policing priorities
- Concerns about antisocial behaviour and visible harm across the Colchester district, with particular focus on key hotspot locations inclu…
- Concerns about vehicle related crime in identified hotspot locations across the district, including residential areas.
Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)
Road safety
322 reported road collisions (2024)
82 killed or seriously injured · 420 casualties · 16.7 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
50 food businesses within 2 miles
- 46 rated 4–5 ★ (42 top)
- 0 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- 15 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Wivenhoe (8.9 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£298,003 average▼ 0.3% YoY
Across Colchester · to 2026-06
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£1,196 average monthly rent▲ 2.3% YoY
- 1 bed £819
- 2 bed £1,062
- 3 bed £1,299
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-07
Affordability
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
Fuel prices
- Cheapest petrol: 173.9p · Asda (11.2 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 191.9p · Asda (11.2 km)
1 station within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
4 charging locations within ~8 km
- Fastest nearby: 22 kW
- Nearest: The White Hart Inn (0.7 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Sports centres1
- Swimming pools40
- Sports pitches13
- Playgrounds5
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Population
192,716 residents in Colchester · 587/km²
- Under 16: 19%
- 16–64: 63%
- 65+: 18%
Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)
Deprivation
Around the average in England
Ranked 181 of 317 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
1% of neighbourhoods are in England’s most deprived 10%
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019
Council tax
£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
Schools
88 schools · 31,964 pupils
63 primary · 12 secondary · 13 other
Ofsted: 28 of 32 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (88%)
80inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)
Secondary schools:
- Colchester County High School for GirlsOutstanding
- Colchester AcademyGood
- Paxman AcademyGood
- Philip Morant School and CollegeGood
- St Helena SchoolGood
- Colchester Royal Grammar SchoolInadequate
- St Benedict's Catholic College
- The Gilberd School
- The Stanway School
- The Thomas Lord Audley School
- The Trinity School
- Thurstable School
Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Colchester
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
- 37 listed buildings within ~1.5 km
Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)
Planning decisions
264 applications decided
87.9% granted · 232 granted, 32 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q1
Your MP
Sir Bernard Jenkin
Conservative
Harwich and North Essex
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
Conservative / Liberal Democrat coalition
- Lab 9
- Con 18
- LD 12
- Grn 3
- Ref 5
- Oth 4
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Schools1
- GPs & clinics1
- Supermarkets2
- Parks & greens4
- Restaurants & cafés11
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
8,590 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)
Jobs
8 jobs advertised · £22,888 avg
e.g. Female Personal Care Assistant, Become a Primary school Tutor in West Mersea – Flexible & Remote, Trainee Driving Instructor - West Mersea, Essex, England
Source: Adzuna
Local economy
£767 median full-time weekly pay
3.1% 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
Energy efficiency
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
Grid electricity
94% low-carbon electricity
Wind 47% · Solar 30% · Nuclear 16% · Gas 6%
25 gCO₂/kWh · low intensity
Latest estimate for East England · National Grid ESO
Health
Life expectancy: 83.8 yrs women · 80.4 yrs men
64% of adults overweight or obese
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025
Wellbeing
- 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
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Harwich and North Essex:
- Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership387 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
- Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office374 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide
- Review the evidence and fund the addition of SMA to the Newborn Screening Test356 local signatures · 151,287 nationwide
- Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership323 local signatures · 163,883 nationwide
- Do not ban social media for under 16s256 local signatures · 217,501 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06
Notable places nearby
West Mersea · 0.2 kmWest Mersea is a town and civil parish on Mersea Island in the City of Colchester district of Essex, England. It is one of two parishes on the island, the other being East Mersea. At the 2021 census the parish of West…
- West Mersea Priory · 0.5 km
West Mersea Priory was a Benedictine priory in West Mersea, Essex, England. It was founded in 1046 and granted by Edward the Confessor to the Abbey of Saint-Ouen in Rouen. As an alien priory it was taken by Henry V w…
West Mersea Yacht Club · 1.4 kmWest Mersea Yacht Club (WMYC) is a British yacht club that has its clubhouse in Coast Road, West Mersea, Mersea Island, Essex. It is on the estuary of the River Blackwater, approximately 12 km (7.5 mi) south of Col…
West Mersea Lifeboat Station · 1.4 kmWest Mersea Lifeboat Station is located on the Coast Road in West Mersea, at the western end of Mersea Island, situated between the Blackwater and Colne river estuaries, 10 miles (16 km) south of Colchester, in the co…
- Barrow Hill, Essex · 1.6 km
Barrow Hill is a hamlet in Essex, England. It is located on Mersea Island, approximately 2 km (1.2 mi) north-northeast of West Mersea near to where the Strood causeway meets the island. The hamlet is 33 km (21 mi) eas…
- Mersea Island · 2.4 km
Mersea Island is a tidal island in Essex, England, in the Blackwater and Colne estuaries to the south of Colchester. Its name comes from the Old English word meresig, meaning "island of the pool" and thus is tautologi…
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Compare Colchester with nearby areas
Frequently asked questions
- Where is West Mersea?
- West Mersea is a town in Essex, England, in the Colchester local authority.
- What is the population of West Mersea?
- West Mersea has an approximate settlement population of 7,057.
- How deprived is West Mersea?
- The Colchester local authority, which includes West Mersea, is around the average in England on the IoD2019.