Rush Green

10°CPatchy rain nearby

• Today: 11° / 8° · 43% rain
• Tomorrow: 11° / 7° · Overcast

Source: WeatherAPI

Sunrise 06:59Sunset 16:29

9h 31m of daylight today

Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec

Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk

21US AQI · Good

Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)

Source: WAQI · Brent - Ikea, United Kingdom

• 7.2 µg/m³ average fine-particle (PM2.5) concentration
• 5.4% of adult (30+) deaths estimated attributable to fine-particle pollution

Lower is better for both figures.

Source: OHID Fingertips · 2024

158 reported road collisions (2025)

43 killed or seriously injured · 225 casualties · 11.9 collisions per 10,000 residents

Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)

249 food businesses within 2 miles

• 199 rated 4–5 ★ (185 top)
• 4 rated 0–2 (poor)

Source: Food Standards Agency

• Nearest station: Stevenage (2.5 km)
• 0 bus stops within ~½ mile

Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail

£422,835 average▲ 3.1% YoY

Across North Hertfordshire · to 2026-08

Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)

£1,434 average monthly rent▲ 5.4% YoY

• 1 bed £1,024
• 2 bed £1,284
• 3 bed £1,576

Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-08

10.0× house price to earnings

A typical home costs 10.0 times median annual pay (9.9× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).

Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025

1,767 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

• Cheapest petrol: 159.9p · Esso (8.3 km)
• Cheapest diesel: 192.7p · Asda (2.8 km)

9 stations within ~8 miles

Source: CMA fuel price scheme

42 charging locations within ~8 km

• 13 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
• Fastest nearby: 360 kW
• Nearest: Hertfordshire County Council - Farnham House Underground Car Park (2 km)

Source: Open Charge Map

• Swimming pools1
• Sports pitches4

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

133,210 residents in North Hertfordshire · 355/km²

• Under 16: 19%
• 16–64: 61%
• 65+: 19%

Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)

• Moves in from elsewhere in the UK9,446
• Moves out to elsewhere in the UK9,042
• Net moves+404

Residential moves between local authorities (counts of moves, not people) · ONS Internal migration, YE Jun 2025

Among the least deprived areas in England

Ranked 256 of 296 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)

Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2025

£2,449 a year · Band D, 2026-27

Most homes here are Band C (34% of 60,040)

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

69 schools · 19,871 pupils

53 primary · 6 secondary · 10 other

Ofsted: 26 of 30 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (87%)

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

Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · North Hertfordshire

1,176 CQC-registered services

• Care homes257
• GP practices171
• Dentists296
• Homecare agencies330
• Hospitals & hospices34

CQC ratings: 86% of rated services Good or Outstanding · 7 Inadequate

Source: Care Quality Commission · Hertfordshire

• Within the Green Belt
• 32 listed buildings within ~1.5 km

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

237 applications decided

90.3% granted · 214 granted, 23 refused

Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q2

Alistair Strathern

Labour

Hitchin

Source: UK Parliament

Labour (minority)

• Lab 23
• Con 7
• LD 20
• Oth 1

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

• Parks & greens1

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

7,125 active business enterprises in the area

Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2026)

112 jobs advertised · £54,825 avg

e.g. Aspiring Speech and Language Therapist, Band 7 Advanced Physiotherapist – Rotational Stroke/Neurosciences, Litigation Solicitor

Source: Adzuna

£983 median full-time weekly pay

2.4% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits

£31,048 disposable income per head (2024)

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

49% of homes rated EPC C or above

Most common band: C · 66,549 certificates

8.5% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)

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

74% low-carbon electricity

Wind 47% · Gas 25% · Nuclear 18% · Biomass 9%

108 gCO₂/kWh · moderate intensity

Latest estimate for East England · National Grid ESO

Life expectancy: 84 yrs women · 80.2 yrs men

Healthy life expectancy (Hertfordshire): 65.5 women · 65.4 men

66% of adults overweight or obese

Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025

• Life satisfaction7.6
• Feeling worthwhile7.8
• Happiness yesterday7.6
• Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.4

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

4 GP surgeries · 1 pharmacy in SG4

• The Portmill Surgery
• Whitwell Surgery
• Ramsay Pinehill Hospital

Source: NHS Organisation Data Service

Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Hitchin:

• Dedicated funding for Epidermolysis Bullosa and rare skin conditions research584 local signatures · 11,555 nationwide
• Remove sentence reductions for guilty pleas in controlling and coercive cases477 local signatures · 105,832 nationwide
• Hold a UK-wide briefing on climate and nature risks405 local signatures · 127,144 nationwide
• Protect legal right to support for children with SEND292 local signatures · 111,357 nationwide
• Change surrogacy law to recognise intended parents from birth264 local signatures · 113,305 nationwide

Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-10-05

• 
  Langley, Hertfordshire · 1.2 km

  Langley is a hamlet and civil parish in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is located four miles south of Hitchin, on the B656 road west of Stevenage. The ruined Minsden Chapel lies within…

• 
  Hill End Pit · 1.3 km

  Hill End Pit is a 0.7-hectare (1.7-acre) nature reserve on the site of a former chalk pit, in St Paul's Walden in North Hertfordshire. It was formerly managed by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust (HMWT). In Febru…

• 
  Minsden Chapel · 1.6 km

  Minsden Chapel is an isolated ruined chapel in the fields above the hamlet of Chapelfoot, near Preston, Hertfordshire. Today it is a roofless shell, partly surrounded by a small wood, and accessible only by footpath.…

• 
  Symonds Green · 2.1 km

  Symonds Green is a neighbourhood within the English new town of Stevenage in Hertfordshire. Although predominantly a residential area with a mixture of public-sector, charitable and private housing dating mostly from…

• 
  St Paul's Walden · 2.1 km

  St Paul's Walden is a village and civil parish in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. The village lies about 5 miles (8 km) south of Hitchin, its post town. The largest settlement in the parish…

• 
  Knebworth Woods · 2.2 km

  Knebworth Woods is a 120.8-hectare (299-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Knebworth, immediately south of Stevenage in Hertfordshire. The planning authority is North Hertfordshire District Council.

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)