Ruardean

21°CPartly Cloudy

• Today: 21° / 11° · 35% rain
• Tomorrow: 23° / 15° · Overcast

Source: WeatherAPI

Sunrise 06:38Sunset 19:34

12h 56m of daylight today

Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec

Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk

11US AQI · Good

Main pollutant: coarse particles (PM10)

Source: WAQI · Chepstow A48, United Kingdom

134 reported road collisions (2024)

34 killed or seriously injured · 185 casualties · 15.4 collisions per 10,000 residents

Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)

30 food businesses within 2 miles

• 25 rated 4–5 ★ (25 top)
• 0 rated 0–2 (poor)

Source: Food Standards Agency

• 25 bus stops within ~½ mile

Source: OpenStreetMap

£288,524 average▲ 1.9% YoY

Across Forest of Dean · to 2026-06

Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)

£826 average monthly rent▲ 0.3% YoY

• 1 bed £593
• 2 bed £797
• 3 bed £957

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

8.2× house price to earnings

A typical home costs 8.2 times median annual pay (7.9× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).

Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025

• Cheapest petrol: 164.9p · Asda (8.1 km)
• Cheapest diesel: 187.9p · Texaco (9 km)

3 stations within ~8 miles

Source: CMA fuel price scheme

12 charging locations within ~8 km

• 5 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
• Fastest nearby: 120 kW
• Nearest: Tesco Superstore-Cinderford (5 km)

Source: Open Charge Map

• Sports pitches4
• Playgrounds2

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

87,004 residents in Forest of Dean · 165/km²

• Under 16: 16%
• 16–64: 59%
• 65+: 25%

Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)

Around the average in England

Ranked 143 of 317 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)

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

Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019

£2,443 a year · Band D, 2026-27

Most homes here are Band B (25% of 40,980)

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

55 schools · 10,867 pupils

45 primary · 6 secondary · 4 other

Ofsted: 23 of 28 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (82%)

52inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)

Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Forest of Dean

684 CQC-registered services

• Care homes200
• GP practices94
• Dentists142
• Homecare agencies181
• Hospitals & hospices31

CQC ratings: 92% of rated services Good or Outstanding · 3 Inadequate

Source: Care Quality Commission · Gloucestershire

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

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

116 applications decided

93.1% granted · 108 granted, 8 refused

Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q1

Matt Bishop

Labour

Forest of Dean

Source: UK Parliament

Green (minority)

• Lab 4
• Con 6
• LD 1
• Grn 15
• Ref 1
• Oth 11

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

• Schools2
• Parks & greens3

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

4,160 active business enterprises in the area

Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)

4 jobs advertised · £29,055 avg

e.g. Teaching Assistant, SEN Teaching assistant, Teaching Role

Source: Adzuna

£833 median full-time weekly pay

2.5% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits

£22,925 disposable income per head (2024)

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

38% of homes rated EPC C or above

Most common band: D · 39,298 certificates

12.3% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)

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

95% low-carbon electricity

Wind 67% · Nuclear 15% · Solar 12% · Gas 5%

20 gCO₂/kWh · very low intensity

Latest estimate for West Midlands · National Grid ESO

Life expectancy: 83.7 yrs women · 81 yrs men

72% of adults overweight or obese

Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025

• Life satisfaction7.2
• Feeling worthwhile7.9
• Happiness yesterday7.0
• Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)4.1

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

Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Forest of Dean:

• Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership355 local signatures · 163,883 nationwide
• Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office330 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide
• Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership329 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
• Do not ban social media for under 16s282 local signatures · 217,501 nationwide
• Review the evidence and fund the addition of SMA to the Newborn Screening Test205 local signatures · 151,287 nationwide

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

• 
  Ruardean · 0.1 km

  Ruardean is a village in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, to the North West of Cinderford. It is situated on a hillside with views west towards the mountains of South Wales. Little now remains of the vill…

• Ruardyn Castle · 0.3 km

  Ruardyn Castle was a manor house in the village of Ruardean. Its ruins have been scheduled as an ancient monument.

• 
  Ruardean Woodside · 1.1 km

  Ruardean Woodside is a village in Gloucestershire, England, located in the Forest of Dean and tucked away behind Ruardean Hill and Brierley. There is a primary school and a village hall. The Roebuck was the last of th…

• 
  Ruardean Hill · 1.5 km

  Ruardean Hill is a prominent hill and a village in the English county of Gloucestershire, 20 km (12 mi) west of Gloucester. It lies in the Forest of Dean, in the parish of Drybrook.

• 
  The Pludds · 1.6 km

  The Pludds is a hamlet in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England. Lydbrook and Joys Green are to the west, Ruardean is to the north, and Ruardean Woodside is to the east. The Pludds has a village hall.

• 
  Drybrook Halt railway station · 2.0 km

  Drybrook Halt railway station served the village of Drybrook, Gloucestershire, England, from 1907 to 1930 on the Mitcheldean Road & Forest of Dean Junction Railway.

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)