Highsted

12°COvercast

• Today: 12° / 7° · 21% rain
• Tomorrow: 13° / 9° · Patchy rain nearby

Source: WeatherAPI

Sunrise 06:50Sunset 16:31

9h 41m of daylight today

Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec

Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk

54US AQI · Moderate

Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)

Source: WAQI · Rochester Stoke, United Kingdom

• 7.1 µg/m³ average fine-particle (PM2.5) concentration
• 5.3% of adult (30+) deaths estimated attributable to fine-particle pollution

Lower is better for both figures.

Source: OHID Fingertips · 2024

24 reported · August 2026▲ 41% YoY

• Anti-social behaviour7
• Violence & sexual offences6
• Criminal damage & arson4
• Other theft2

8 stop & searches · mostly offensive weapons

Neighbourhood team: West Downs · Kent

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

277 reported road collisions (2025)

76 killed or seriously injured · 379 casualties · 18.3 collisions per 10,000 residents

Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)

222 food businesses within 2 miles

• 203 rated 4–5 ★ (171 top)
• 4 rated 0–2 (poor)

Source: Food Standards Agency

• Nearest station: Sittingbourne (2.6 km)
• 5 bus stops within ~½ mile

Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail

£296,578 average▲ 0.6% YoY

Across Swale · to 2026-08

Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)

£1,114 average monthly rent▲ 0.8% YoY

• 1 bed £779
• 2 bed £1,029
• 3 bed £1,244

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

8.8× house price to earnings

A typical home costs 8.8 times median annual pay (9.4× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).

Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025

2,057 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: 172.9p · Asda (3.5 km)
• Cheapest diesel: 198.7p · Asda (3.5 km)

5 stations within ~8 miles

Source: CMA fuel price scheme

16 charging locations within ~8 km

• 3 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
• Fastest nearby: 75 kW
• Nearest: EVC Kent Science Park - Building 1000 (1.1 km)

Source: Open Charge Map

• Sports centres1
• Swimming pools2
• Sports pitches12
• Playgrounds2

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

151,677 residents in Swale · 406/km²

• Under 16: 20%
• 16–64: 61%
• 65+: 19%

Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)

• Moves in from elsewhere in the UK8,640
• Moves out to elsewhere in the UK6,950
• Net moves+1,690

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

Among the most deprived areas in England

Ranked 59 of 296 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)

14% of neighbourhoods are in England’s most deprived 10%

Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2025

£2,406 a year · Band D, 2026-27

Most homes here are Band C (27% of 67,440)

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

71 schools · 24,238 pupils

49 primary · 9 secondary · 13 other

Ofsted: 18 of 23 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (78%)

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

Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Swale

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
• 24 listed buildings within ~1.5 km

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

155 applications decided

89% granted · 138 granted, 17 refused

Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q2

Helen Whately

Conservative

Faversham and Mid Kent

Source: UK Parliament

Labour (minority)

• Lab 15
• Con 10
• LD 5
• Grn 2
• Ref 4
• Oth 11

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

• Schools6
• GPs & clinics1
• Supermarkets1
• Parks & greens16
• Restaurants & cafés3

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

6,185 active business enterprises in the area

Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2026)

£761 median full-time weekly pay

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

£24,338 disposable income per head (2024)

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

46% of homes rated EPC C or above

Most common band: D · 68,235 certificates

11.3% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)

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

12% low-carbon electricity

Imports 56% · Gas 32% · Solar 9% · Wind 2%

183 gCO₂/kWh · high intensity

Latest estimate for South East England · National Grid ESO

Life expectancy: 82.8 yrs women · 79.9 yrs men

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

71% of adults overweight or obese

Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025

• Life satisfaction7.4
• Feeling worthwhile7.7
• Happiness yesterday7.8
• Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)2.8

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

0 GP surgeries · 3 pharmacies in ME9

Source: NHS Organisation Data Service

Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Faversham and Mid Kent:

• Mandatory suicide risk assessment for adolescents in hospital who express intent904 local signatures · 18,972 nationwide
• Protect legal right to support for children with SEND282 local signatures · 111,357 nationwide
• Hold a UK-wide briefing on climate and nature risks236 local signatures · 127,144 nationwide
• Remove sentence reductions for guilty pleas in controlling and coercive cases216 local signatures · 105,832 nationwide
• Change surrogacy law to recognise intended parents from birth211 local signatures · 113,305 nationwide

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

• 
  Highsted · 0.3 km

  Highsted is a village near Sittingbourne in Kent, England. It is in the civil parish of Rodmersham.

• 
  Rodmersham Green Windmill · 0.6 km

  Rodmersham Green Windmill was a tower mill at Rodmersham, Kent, United Kingdom. It was built in 1835 and worked by wind until 1917. The mill was listed as Grade III. It was demolished in 1969 amidst much local protest.

• 
  Sittingbourne Community F.C. · 0.9 km

  Sittingbourne Community F.C. was an English football club located near Sittingbourne, Kent. They were founded in 2002 as Woodstock Park F.C. and played nine seasons in the Kent County Football League, then two seasons…

• 
  Woodstock Sports F.C. · 0.9 km

  Woodstock Sports Football Club was an English football team based near Sittingbourne, Kent. The club was founded in 1961 as Teynham and Lynsted and following an amalgamation in 1998 were renamed Norton Sports. In 2011…

• 
  Sittingbourne F.C. · 0.9 km

  Sittingbourne Football Club are an English football club based in Sittingbourne, Kent. The club colours are black and red, they play home matches at The Staxson Stadium, Woodstock Park, and are nicknamed 'the Brickies…

• 
  Cromers Wood · 1.0 km

  Cromers Wood is a 28-hectare (69-acre) nature reserve between Milstead and Sittingbourne in Kent. It is managed by Kent Wildlife Trust.

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)