Sway
Sway is a village in Hampshire, England, with a population of around 2,421. It has one restaurant or café, with 11 bus stops and Sway railway station 0.3 km away. There were around 4 recorded street crimes in June 2026, most commonly bicycle theft. This page gathers weather, crime, food hygiene, transport, flood risk, house prices, population, deprivation and your local MP for the Sway area — all from official UK open data.
On deprivation, the New Forest area is less deprived than the average in England (IoD2019). The wider council area has around 175,785 residents at roughly 234 people per km².
- Council
- New Forest
- County
- Hampshire
- Constituency
- New Forest East
- Police force
- Hampshire
My Area Score
Excellent
Ranked 34th of 294 English council areas — better than 88% 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°CSunny
- Today: 20° / 13° · 15% rain
- Tomorrow: 22° / 17° · Overcast
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:35Sunset 19:29
12h 54m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
26US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: ozone
Source: WAQI · Christchurch Barrack Road, United Kingdom
Crime
5 reported · July 2026▼ 37% YoY
- Violence & sexual offences4
- Public order1
1 stop & searches · mostly offensive weapons
Neighbourhood team: Lymington · Hampshire
Local policing priorities
- Op Forestguard
Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)
Road safety
327 reported road collisions (2024)
99 killed or seriously injured · 399 casualties · 18.6 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
45 food businesses within 2 miles
- 38 rated 4–5 ★ (33 top)
- 0 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Sway (0.5 km)
- 13 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Sway (0.6 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£380,310 average▲ 1.2% YoY
Across New Forest · to 2026-06
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£1,241 average monthly rent▲ 1.4% YoY
- 1 bed £862
- 2 bed £1,130
- 3 bed £1,387
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-07
Affordability
10.3× house price to earnings
A typical home costs 10.3 times median annual pay (10.2× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).
Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025
Fuel prices
- Cheapest petrol: 171.9p · Asda (4 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 198.9p · Asda (4 km)
1 station within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
35 charging locations within ~8 km
- 5 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 50 kW
- Nearest: Gorse Close (3.7 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Swimming pools2
- Sports pitches11
- Playgrounds1
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Population
175,785 residents in New Forest · 234/km²
- Under 16: 15%
- 16–64: 55%
- 65+: 29%
Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)
Deprivation
Less deprived than the average in England
Ranked 241 of 317 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019
Council tax
£2,420 a year · Band D, 2026-27
Most homes here are Band D (23% of 83,530)
Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27
Schools
86 schools · 21,932 pupils
54 primary · 9 secondary · 23 other
Ofsted: 22 of 23 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (96%)
67inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)
Secondary schools:
- Hounsdown SchoolGood
- Lift New ForestGood
- The Arnewood SchoolInadequate
- Applemore College
- Noadswood School
- Priestlands School
- Ringwood School Academy
- Testwood School
- The Burgate School and Sixth Form
Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · New Forest
Care & health services
1,436 CQC-registered services
- Care homes482
- GP practices163
- Dentists325
- Homecare agencies362
- Hospitals & hospices35
CQC ratings: 90% of rated services Good or Outstanding
Source: Care Quality Commission · Hampshire
Heritage & planning
- Not in the Green Belt
- 9 listed buildings within ~1.5 km
Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)
Planning decisions
194 applications decided
89.2% granted · 173 granted, 21 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q1
Your MP
Sir Julian Lewis
Conservative
New Forest East
Recent votes:
- NoTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Second Reading
- AyeSocial Housing Bill [Lords]: Reasoned Amendment to Second Reading
- NoDraft Plant Health, Seeds, Seed Potatoes and Plant Propagating Material (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026
- AyeHealth Bill: Report Stage: Amendment 1
Source: UK Parliament
Council control
Conservative (minority)
- Lab 1
- Con 24
- LD 14
- Grn 2
- Ref 2
- Oth 5
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Schools1
- Pharmacies1
- Restaurants & cafés1
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
9,045 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)
Jobs
18 jobs advertised · £30,961 avg
e.g. Housekeeper, Sign Up as A Delivery Person - Earn With Uber Eats, Rental Property Cleaning Specialists
Source: Adzuna
Local economy
£733 median full-time weekly pay
2.4% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits
£30,441 disposable income per head (2024)
Source: ONS / Nomis (claimant count · ASHE) · ONS regional GDHI
Energy efficiency
41% of homes rated EPC C or above
Most common band: D · 81,051 certificates
9.6% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)
Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty
Grid electricity
64% low-carbon electricity
Wind 39% · Gas 19% · Imports 17% · Biomass 14%
101 gCO₂/kWh · moderate intensity
Latest estimate for South England · National Grid ESO
Health
Life expectancy: 86.2 yrs women · 81.1 yrs men
63% of adults overweight or obese
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025
Wellbeing
- Life satisfaction7.8
- Feeling worthwhile7.9
- Happiness yesterday7.5
- 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 New Forest East:
- Remove sentence reductions for guilty pleas in controlling and coercive cases509 local signatures · 104,741 nationwide
- Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership388 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
- Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership338 local signatures · 163,883 nationwide
- Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office316 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide
- Do not ban social media for under 16s294 local signatures · 217,501 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06
Notable places nearby
Sway, Hampshire · 0.5 kmSway is a village and civil parish in Hampshire in the New Forest national park in England. The civil parish was formed in 1879, when lands were taken from the extensive parish of Boldre. The village has shops and pub…
Sway railway station · 0.5 kmSway railway station serves the village of Sway in Hampshire, England. It is located on the South West Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth. It is 95 miles 45 chains (153.8 km) down the line from Waterloo.
Avon Water, Hampshire · 1.5 kmAvon Water is a small river draining some of the southwest of the New Forest in Hampshire to The Solent. West of the upper part of its archetypally dendritic drainage basin, which has formed due to the forest's heath…
- Shirley Holms Halt railway station · 2.4 km
Shirley Holms Halt was a railway halt in the New Forest district of Hampshire. Opened in 1860 it was closed in 1888 with opening of Sway on the South West Main Line. Said to be one of the first halts in the country,…
A337 road · 2.6 kmThe A337 road is a road in southern England that runs from the M27 motorway in Hampshire to Christchurch in Dorset.
Tiptoe, Hampshire · 2.6 kmTiptoe is a small village in the New Forest National Park in Hampshire, England. It lies mostly within the civil parish of Hordle and partly within the civil parish of Sway. It is 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) west of Sway vil…
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Sway?
- Sway is a town in Hampshire, England, in the New Forest local authority.
- What is the population of Sway?
- Sway has an approximate settlement population of 2,421.
- How deprived is Sway?
- The New Forest local authority, which includes Sway, is less deprived than the average in England on the IoD2019.