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 among the least deprived areas in England (IoD2025). 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 30th of 294 English council areas — better than 90% 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
10°CPatchy rain nearby
- Today: 13° / 8° · 17% rain
- Tomorrow: 11° / 8° · Sunny
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 07:01Sunset 16:38
9h 37m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
19US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: ozone
Source: WAQI · Christchurch Barrack Road, United Kingdom
Air pollution (PM2.5)
- 5.7 µg/m³ average fine-particle (PM2.5) concentration
- 4.3% of adult (30+) deaths estimated attributable to fine-particle pollution
Lower is better for both figures.
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2024
Crime
8 reported · August 2026▼ 11% YoY
- Violence & sexual offences5
- Anti-social behaviour1
- Other theft1
- Public order1
Neighbourhood team: Lymington · Hampshire
Local policing priorities
- Op Forestguard
Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)
Road safety
337 reported road collisions (2025)
96 killed or seriously injured · 440 casualties · 19.2 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
46 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
£384,564 average▼ 0.2% YoY
Across New Forest · to 2026-08
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£1,244 average monthly rent▲ 1.7% YoY
- 1 bed £864
- 2 bed £1,132
- 3 bed £1,391
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-08
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
Property sales
2,495 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: 173.9p · Asda (4 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 199.9p · 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)
Internal migration
- Moves in from elsewhere in the UK9,107
- Moves out to elsewhere in the UK7,608
- Net moves+1,499
Residential moves between local authorities (counts of moves, not people) · ONS Internal migration, YE Jun 2025
Deprivation
Among the least deprived areas in England
Ranked 239 of 296 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
2% of neighbourhoods are in England’s most deprived 10%
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2025
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
84 schools · 21,771 pupils
53 primary · 9 secondary · 22 other
Ofsted: 21 of 22 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (95%)
66 inspected 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
1,439 CQC-registered services
- Care homes483
- GP practices166
- Dentists324
- Homecare agencies359
- Hospitals & hospices35
CQC ratings: 89% 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
254 applications decided
90.6% granted · 230 granted, 24 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q2
Your MP
Sir Julian Lewis
Conservative
New Forest East
Recent votes:
- NoBudget Resolution No. 86: High value council tax surcharge
- NoBudget Resolution No. 76: Rates of alcohol duty
- NoBudget Resolution No. 15: Charges in connection with employment visas
- NoBudget Resolution No. 8: Capital gains tax (business asset disposal relief)
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
9,125 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2026)
Jobs
11 jobs advertised · £29,512 avg
e.g. Chef de Partie, Food & Beverage Team Member, Register your Interest to work for The Old Mill
Source: Adzuna
Local economy
£733 median full-time weekly pay
2.3% 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
25% low-carbon electricity
Gas 73% · Wind 14% · Biomass 6% · Nuclear 6%
295 gCO₂/kWh · very high intensity
Latest estimate for South England · National Grid ESO
Health
Life expectancy: 86.2 yrs women · 81.1 yrs men
Healthy life expectancy (Hampshire): 65.1 women · 64.2 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
Health services
5 GP surgeries · 8 pharmacies in SO41
- Chawton House Surgery
- Wistaria & Milford Surgeries
- Oakhaven Hospice Trust
Source: NHS Organisation Data Service
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in New Forest East:
- Remove sentence reductions for guilty pleas in controlling and coercive cases515 local signatures · 105,832 nationwide
- Ban on sale of disposable BBQs327 local signatures · 22,327 nationwide
- Hold a UK-wide briefing on climate and nature risks273 local signatures · 127,144 nationwide
- Support the Ceramics Industry and protect British manufacturing jobs and skills161 local signatures · 111,154 nationwide
- Change surrogacy law to recognise intended parents from birth160 local signatures · 113,305 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-10-05
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 among the least deprived areas in England on the IoD2025.