Higher Folds
Higher Folds is a village in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of around 2,000. It has around 1 GP surgery, 2 pharmacies, 2 parks and greens, around 13 restaurants and cafés, 16 bus stops, and the nearest railway station is Trencherbone Platform, 2.7 km away. This page gathers weather, crime, food hygiene, transport, flood risk, house prices, population, deprivation and your local MP for the Higher Folds area — all from official UK open data.
On deprivation, the Wigan area is more deprived than the average in England (IoD2019). The wider council area has around 329,330 residents at roughly 1,750 people per km².
- Council
- Wigan
- County
- Greater Manchester
- Constituency
- Leigh
- Police force
- Greater Manchester
My Area Score
Good
Ranked 131st 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
18°CLight rain shower
- Today: 18° / 10° · 86% rain
- Tomorrow: 20° / 14° · Overcast
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:36Sunset 19:35
12h 59m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
20US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: ozone
Source: WAQI · Glazebury, United Kingdom
Crime
Road safety
275 reported road collisions (2024)
109 killed or seriously injured · 337 casualties · 8.4 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
500+ food businesses within 2 miles
- 323 rated 4–5 ★ (207 top)
- 60 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency · split of the nearest 500
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Trencherbone Platform (2.7 km)
- 16 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Atherton (2.7 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£195,557 average▲ 6.6% YoY
Across Wigan · to 2026-06
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£745 average monthly rent▲ 6.9% YoY
- 1 bed £541
- 2 bed £698
- 3 bed £836
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-07
Affordability
5.9× house price to earnings
A typical home costs 5.9 times median annual pay (5.8× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).
Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025
Fuel prices
- Cheapest petrol: 151.9p · BP (3 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 177.7p · Asda (2.9 km)
42 stations within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
39 charging locations within ~8 km
- 14 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 75 kW
- Nearest: Leigh Infirmary (1.9 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Gyms3
- Swimming pools1
- Sports pitches45
- Golf courses1
- Playgrounds10
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Population
329,330 residents in Wigan · 1,750/km²
- Under 16: 18%
- 16–64: 62%
- 65+: 19%
Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)
Deprivation
More deprived than the average in England
Ranked 97 of 317 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
16% of neighbourhoods are in England’s most deprived 10%
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019
Council tax
£2,153 a year · Band D, 2026-27
Most homes here are Band A (45% of 153,530)
Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27
Schools
144 schools · 48,372 pupils
99 primary · 19 secondary · 26 other
Ofsted: 51 of 53 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (96%)
127inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)
Secondary schools:
- Golborne High SchoolOutstanding
- Atherton High SchoolGood
- Bedford High SchoolGood
- Cansfield High SchoolGood
- Lowton Church of England High SchoolGood
- St Peter's Catholic High SchoolGood
- The Byrchall High SchoolGood
- The Westleigh SchoolGood
- Dean Trust WiganRequires improvement
- Dean Trust Rose Bridge
- Fred Longworth High School
- Hawkley Hall High School
- Outwood Academy Hindley
- Shevington High School
- St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield
- St John Fisher Catholic High School
- St Mary's Catholic High School
- Standish Community High School
- The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College
Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Wigan
Care & health services
257 CQC-registered services
- Care homes59
- GP practices62
- Dentists57
- Homecare agencies45
- Hospitals & hospices8
CQC ratings: 97% of rated services Good or Outstanding
Source: Care Quality Commission · Wigan
Heritage & planning
- Not in the Green Belt
- 13 listed buildings within ~1.5 km
Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)
Planning decisions
173 applications decided
76.3% granted · 132 granted, 41 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q1
Your MP
Jo Platt
Labour (Co-op)
Leigh and Atherton
Recent votes:
- AyeTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Second Reading
- AyeClosure motion
- NoSocial Housing Bill [Lords]: Reasoned Amendment to Second Reading
- AyeDraft Plant Health, Seeds, Seed Potatoes and Plant Propagating Material (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026
Source: UK Parliament
Council control
Labour majority
- Lab 42
- Ref 25
- Oth 8
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Schools7
- GPs & clinics2
- Pharmacies3
- Supermarkets2
- Parks & greens15
- Restaurants & cafés19
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
10,775 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)
Local economy
£727 median full-time weekly pay
3.6% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits
£20,587 disposable income per head (2024)
Source: ONS / Nomis (claimant count · ASHE) · ONS regional GDHI
Energy efficiency
43% of homes rated EPC C or above
Most common band: D · 148,093 certificates
11.6% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)
Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty
Grid electricity
86% low-carbon electricity
Wind 50% · Nuclear 32% · Imports 10% · Gas 4%
20 gCO₂/kWh · very low intensity
Latest estimate for North West England · National Grid ESO
Health
Life expectancy: 81.9 yrs women · 77.9 yrs men
Healthy life expectancy: 55.1 women · 54.6 men
74% of adults overweight or obese
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025
Wellbeing
- Life satisfaction7.6
- Feeling worthwhile7.8
- Happiness yesterday7.3
- Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.0
Average rating out of 10 · ONS personal well-being 2022-23
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Leigh and Atherton:
- Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office495 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide
- Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership388 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
- Do not ban social media for under 16s385 local signatures · 217,501 nationwide
- Change surrogacy law to recognise intended parents from birth328 local signatures · 112,809 nationwide
- Legislate to ban FPNs and prosecutions related to school attendance308 local signatures · 94,447 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06
Notable places nearby
Higher Folds · 0.1 kmHigher Folds is a housing estate to the north-east of Leigh, in the Wigan district of Greater Manchester, England. It lies about 15 miles west of Manchester. In 2018 it had an estimated population of 2,770. Shaun Keav…
Leigh East (ward) · 0.8 kmLeigh East is an electoral ward in Leigh, England. It forms part of Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council, as well as the parliamentary constituency of Leigh.
Bedford Colliery disaster · 0.9 kmThe Bedford Colliery disaster occurred on Friday 13 August 1886 when an explosion of firedamp caused the death of 38 miners at Bedford No.2 Pit, at Bedford, Leigh in what then was Lancashire. The colliery, sunk in 188…
- Bedford Colliery · 0.9 km
Bedford Colliery, also known as Wood End Pit, was a coal mine on the Manchester Coalfield in Bedford, Leigh, Lancashire, England. The colliery was owned by John Speakman, who started sinking two shafts on land at Wo…
- Gin Pit Colliery · 0.9 km
Gin Pit was a coal mine operating on the Lancashire Coalfield from the 1840s in Tyldesley, Greater Manchester then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. It exploited the Middle Coal Measures of the Manchest…
- Nook Colliery · 1.0 km
Nook Colliery was a coal mine operating on the Manchester Coalfield after 1866 in Tyldesley, Greater Manchester, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Compare Wigan with nearby areas
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Higher Folds?
- Higher Folds is a town in Greater Manchester, England, in the Wigan local authority.
- How deprived is Higher Folds?
- The Wigan local authority, which includes Higher Folds, is more deprived than the average in England on the IoD2019.