Forstal

9°COvercast

• Today: 10° / 6° · 15% rain
• Tomorrow: 11° / 5° · Overcast

Source: WeatherAPI

Sunrise 06:58Sunset 16:25

9h 27m of daylight today

Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec

Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk

25US AQI · Good

Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)

Source: WAQI · Chatham Roadside, United Kingdom

• 7.3 µg/m³ average fine-particle (PM2.5) concentration
• 5.5% of adult (30+) deaths estimated attributable to fine-particle pollution

Lower is better for both figures.

Source: OHID Fingertips · 2024

70 reported · August 2026▲ 25% YoY

• Anti-social behaviour32
• Criminal damage & arson11
• Violence & sexual offences11
• Vehicle crime4

4 stop & searches · mostly controlled drugs

Neighbourhood team: Aylesford North & North Downs · Kent

Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)

312 reported road collisions (2025)

97 killed or seriously injured · 399 casualties · 17.7 collisions per 10,000 residents

Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)

181 food businesses within 2 miles

• 160 rated 4–5 ★ (141 top)
• 4 rated 0–2 (poor)

Source: Food Standards Agency

• Nearest station: Aylesford (1.8 km)
• 8 bus stops within ~½ mile

Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail

£352,878 average▼ 1.1% YoY

Across Maidstone · to 2026-08

Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)

£1,297 average monthly rent▲ 3% YoY

• 1 bed £919
• 2 bed £1,193
• 3 bed £1,461

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

10.1× house price to earnings

A typical home costs 10.1 times median annual pay (10.4× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).

Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025

2,292 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: 157.9p · Esso (9.1 km)
• Cheapest diesel: 189.9p · Esso (9.3 km)

15 stations within ~8 miles

Source: CMA fuel price scheme

42 charging locations within ~8 km

• 13 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
• Fastest nearby: 150 kW
• Nearest: Bailey Bridge East 1 (0.6 km)

Source: Open Charge Map

• Swimming pools3
• Sports pitches13
• Golf courses1
• Playgrounds7

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

175,782 residents in Maidstone · 447/km²

• Under 16: 19%
• 16–64: 62%
• 65+: 19%

Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)

• Moves in from elsewhere in the UK11,828
• Moves out to elsewhere in the UK10,023
• Net moves+1,805

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

Around the average in England

Ranked 155 of 296 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)

3% of neighbourhoods are in England’s most deprived 10%

Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2025

£2,503 a year · Band D, 2026-27

Most homes here are Band C (27% of 78,560)

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

73 schools · 31,220 pupils

49 primary · 12 secondary · 12 other

Ofsted: 26 of 27 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (96%)

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

Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Maidstone

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

• Not in the Green Belt
• 76 listed buildings within ~1.5 km

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

261 applications decided

83.1% granted · 217 granted, 44 refused

Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q2

Tristan Osborne

Labour

Chatham and Aylesford

Source: UK Parliament

Green / Liberal Democrat / Independent coalition

• Lab 6
• Con 13
• LD 11
• Grn 12
• Ref 3
• Oth 4

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

• Schools2
• GPs & clinics2
• Pharmacies1
• Supermarkets2
• Parks & greens14
• Restaurants & cafés10

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

9,355 active business enterprises in the area

Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2026)

£774 median full-time weekly pay

3.5% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits

£27,404 disposable income per head (2024)

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

52% of homes rated EPC C or above

Most common band: C · 85,101 certificates

9.3% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)

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

58% low-carbon electricity

Gas 41% · Wind 41% · Nuclear 10% · Biomass 7%

171 gCO₂/kWh · high intensity

Latest estimate for South East England · National Grid ESO

Life expectancy: 84.6 yrs women · 80.2 yrs men

Healthy life expectancy (Kent): 63.9 women · 62.5 men

64% of adults overweight or obese

Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025

• Life satisfaction7.9
• Feeling worthwhile8.0
• Happiness yesterday7.6
• Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.0

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

7 GP surgeries · 3 pharmacies in ME20

• Aylesford Medical Centre
• Thornhills Medical Practice
• Heart Of Kent Hospice

Source: NHS Organisation Data Service

Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Chatham and Aylesford:

• Mandatory suicide risk assessment for adolescents in hospital who express intent695 local signatures · 18,972 nationwide
• Permanent driving ban on intoxicated drivers guilty of causing death374 local signatures · 29,985 nationwide
• Remove sentence reductions for guilty pleas in controlling and coercive cases362 local signatures · 105,832 nationwide
• Change surrogacy law to recognise intended parents from birth283 local signatures · 113,305 nationwide
• Protect legal right to support for children with SEND211 local signatures · 111,357 nationwide

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

• 
  Forstal · 0.2 km

  Forstal is a settlement in Aylesford parish in Kent, England.

• 
  Aylesford · 0.9 km

  Aylesford is a village and civil parish on the River Medway in Kent, England, 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Maidstone.

• 
  Allington Quarry Waste Management Facility · 1.0 km

  The Allington Quarry Waste Management Facility is an integrated waste management centre in Allington, Kent. It is the site of the Allington Energy from Waste (EfW) Incinerator. The incinerator is owned by FCC Environm…

• 
  Aylesford Pit · 1.1 km

  Aylesford Pit is a 1.5-hectare (3.7-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Maidstone in Kent. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.

• 
  Sandling, Maidstone · 1.1 km

  Sandling is a hamlet to the north of the town of Maidstone, Kent, England, at the foot of the North Downs. It falls within the parish of Boxley.

• 
  Kent Life · 1.1 km

  Kent Life is a farm park located at Sandling near Maidstone, next to Allington Locks on the east bank of the River Medway. It once operated as an open-air museum, before rebranding as a heritage farm park. It was rena…

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)