Charing
Charing is a village in Kent, England, with a population of around 1,841. It has 13 bus stops, one pharmacy, and three restaurants or cafés, and the nearest railway station is Charing, 0.5 km away. There were around 8 recorded street crimes in June 2026, most commonly violence and sexual offences. This page gathers weather, crime, food hygiene, transport, flood risk, house prices, population, deprivation and your local MP for the Charing area — all from official UK open data.
On deprivation, the Ashford area is around the average in England (IoD2025). The wider council area has around 132,747 residents at roughly 229 people per km².
My Area Score
Good
Ranked 117th of 294 English council areas — better than 60% 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
7°CClear
- Today: 11° / 7° · 10% rain
- Tomorrow: 10° / 6° · Sunny
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:54Sunset 16:25
9h 31m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
27US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: ozone
Source: WAQI · Rochester Stoke, United Kingdom
Air pollution (PM2.5)
- 6.8 µg/m³ average fine-particle (PM2.5) concentration
- 5.1% of adult (30+) deaths estimated attributable to fine-particle pollution
Lower is better for both figures.
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2024
Crime
12 reported · August 2026
- Violence & sexual offences6
- Anti-social behaviour4
- Criminal damage & arson1
- Vehicle crime1
5 stop & searches · mostly stolen goods
Neighbourhood team: Charing · Kent
Local policing priorities
- Residential burglary.
- Wildlife crime.
Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)
Road safety
256 reported road collisions (2025)
78 killed or seriously injured · 356 casualties · 19.3 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
26 food businesses within 2 miles
- 23 rated 4–5 ★ (19 top)
- 0 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Charing (0.4 km)
- 12 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Charing (0.4 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£340,991 average▼ 0.8% YoY
Across Ashford · to 2026-08
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£1,248 average monthly rent▲ 3.1% YoY
- 1 bed £894
- 2 bed £1,143
- 3 bed £1,407
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-08
Affordability
10.2× house price to earnings
A typical home costs 10.2 times median annual pay (10.3× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).
Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025
Property sales
1,776 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: 139.8p · AppleGreen (9.1 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 147.8p · AppleGreen (9.1 km)
1 station within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
8 charging locations within ~8 km
- 3 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 180 kW
- Nearest: Q.N Hotels-Holiday Inn-Ashford (2.8 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Swimming pools4
- Sports pitches5
- Playgrounds3
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Population
132,747 residents in Ashford · 229/km²
- Under 16: 20%
- 16–64: 61%
- 65+: 20%
Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)
Internal migration
- Moves in from elsewhere in the UK7,767
- Moves out to elsewhere in the UK6,999
- Net moves+768
Residential moves between local authorities (counts of moves, not people) · ONS Internal migration, YE Jun 2025
Deprivation
Around the average in England
Ranked 133 of 296 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
4% of neighbourhoods are in England’s most deprived 10%
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2025
Council tax
£2,410 a year · Band D, 2026-27
Most homes here are Band B (23% of 59,330)
Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27
Schools
62 schools · 22,861 pupils
43 primary · 7 secondary · 12 other
Ofsted: 19 of 19 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (100%)
53 inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)
Secondary schools:
- Homewood School and Sixth Form CentreGood
- The Norton Knatchbull SchoolGood
- Chilmington Green School
- Highworth Grammar School
- The North School
- Towers School and Sixth Form Centre
- Wye School
Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Ashford
Care & health services
1,676 CQC-registered services
- Care homes503
- GP practices222
- Dentists360
- Homecare agencies415
- Hospitals & hospices47
CQC ratings: 87% of rated services Good or Outstanding · 20 Inadequate
Source: Care Quality Commission · Kent
Heritage & planning
- In a conservation area (Charing)
- Not in the Green Belt
- 79 listed buildings within ~1.5 km
Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)
Planning decisions
251 applications decided
92% granted · 231 granted, 20 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q2
Your MP
Katie Lam
Conservative
Weald of Kent
Recent votes:
- NoMotion 3
- NoDraft Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications, Requests and Site Visits) (England) (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026
- NoWithdrawal Agreement (Windsor Framework and Governance) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
- NoDraft Code of Practice on Access and Unfair Practices During the Recognition and Derecognition Process
Source: UK Parliament
Council control
Independent / Green coalition
- Lab 7
- Con 17
- Grn 12
- Oth 11
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Schools1
- GPs & clinics1
- Pharmacies1
- Parks & greens18
- Restaurants & cafés3
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
7,540 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2026)
Jobs
2 jobs advertised · £27,102 avg
e.g. Support Worker, Senior Support Worker
Source: Adzuna
Local economy
£743 median full-time weekly pay
3% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits
£26,868 disposable income per head (2024)
Source: ONS / Nomis (claimant count · ASHE) · ONS regional GDHI
Energy efficiency
52% of homes rated EPC C or above
Most common band: C · 62,944 certificates
9.9% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)
Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty
Grid electricity
66% low-carbon electricity
Wind 51% · Gas 33% · Nuclear 9% · Biomass 6%
138 gCO₂/kWh · moderate intensity
Latest estimate for South East England · National Grid ESO
Health
Life expectancy: 83.9 yrs women · 81.6 yrs men
Healthy life expectancy (Kent): 63.9 women · 62.5 men
61% of adults overweight or obese
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025
Wellbeing
- Life satisfaction7.3
- Feeling worthwhile8.0
- Happiness yesterday7.6
- Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.5
Average rating out of 10 · ONS personal well-being 2022-23
Health services
5 GP surgeries · 2 pharmacies in TN27
- Charing Surgery
- Charing Urology
- Apcos Headcorn Eye Centre
Source: NHS Organisation Data Service
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Weald of Kent:
- Mandatory suicide risk assessment for adolescents in hospital who express intent354 local signatures · 18,972 nationwide
- Permanent driving ban on intoxicated drivers guilty of causing death318 local signatures · 29,985 nationwide
- Hold a UK-wide briefing on climate and nature risks252 local signatures · 127,144 nationwide
- Protect legal right to support for children with SEND233 local signatures · 111,357 nationwide
- Make catapult attacks against animals a standalone criminal offence203 local signatures · 55,084 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-10-05
Notable places nearby
Charing · 0.0 kmCharing is a village and civil parish in the Ashford district of Kent, in south-east England. It includes the settlements of Charing Heath and Westwell Leacon. It is located at the foot of the North Downs and reaches…
Archbishop's Palace, Charing · 0.2 kmArchbishop's Palace, Charing, is a scheduled monument in Charing, Kent, England. The palace is an important heritage site dating back to the eighth century, and one of the earliest to be owned by the see of Canterbury…
Charing railway station · 0.4 kmCharing railway station serves the village of Charing in Kent, England. It is 53 miles 11 chains (85.5 km) down the line from London Victoria. The station, and all trains serving it, is operated by Southeastern.
Charing Windmill · 0.9 kmCharing Windmill is a Grade II listed smock windmill, now converted to a house, on Charing Hill in Kent in southeast England. It is sometimes known as Field Mill, but that name was also used by a watermill in Charing.
Hart Hill, Kent · 1.6 kmHart Hill is a 1.4-hectare (3.5-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Charing Kent. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.
Westwell Leacon · 2.0 kmWestwell Leacon is a hamlet in the civil parish of Charing near Ashford in Kent, England. Its most famous resident is international Cyclocross star Ian Field.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Compare Ashford with nearby areas
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Charing?
- Charing is a town in Kent, England, in the Ashford local authority.
- What is the population of Charing?
- Charing has an approximate settlement population of 1,841.
- How deprived is Charing?
- The Ashford local authority, which includes Charing, is around the average in England on the IoD2025.