Lower Higham
Lower Higham is a village in Kent, England. It has 1 pharmacy, 4 restaurants or cafés, 3 bus stops, and Higham railway station is 0.1 km away. There were around 10 recorded street crimes in June 2026, most commonly violence & sexual offences. This page gathers weather, crime, food hygiene, transport, flood risk, house prices, population, deprivation and your local MP for the Lower Higham area — all from official UK open data.
On deprivation, the Gravesham area is more deprived than the average in England (IoD2025). The wider council area has around 106,900 residents at roughly 1,080 people per km².
My Area Score
Mixed
Ranked 189th of 294 English council areas — better than 36% of them.
A percentile blend of eight open measures (100 = best in England); bars show this area’s England-wide percentile on each. Scored on 80% of the full weighting — some data isn't available here. See the rankings · methodology
Weather
10°CPatchy rain nearby
- Today: 11° / 9° · 32% rain
- Tomorrow: 12° / 7° · Overcast
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:58Sunset 16:24
9h 26m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
38US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)
Source: WAQI · Stanford-le-Hope Roadside, United Kingdom
Air pollution (PM2.5)
- 7.7 µg/m³ average fine-particle (PM2.5) concentration
- 5.8% of adult (30+) deaths estimated attributable to fine-particle pollution
Lower is better for both figures.
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2024
Crime
13 reported · August 2026▲ 86% YoY
- Violence & sexual offences5
- Criminal damage & arson4
- Anti-social behaviour1
- Burglary1
Neighbourhood team: Higham & Shorne · Kent
Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)
Road safety
173 reported road collisions (2025)
40 killed or seriously injured · 227 casualties · 16.2 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
46 food businesses within 2 miles
- 42 rated 4–5 ★ (39 top)
- 0 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Higham (0.1 km)
- 3 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Higham (0.1 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£342,498 average▲ 0.3% YoY
Across Gravesham · to 2026-08
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£1,336 average monthly rent▲ 5.3% YoY
- 1 bed £910
- 2 bed £1,201
- 3 bed £1,465
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-08
Affordability
8.9× house price to earnings
A typical home costs 8.9 times median annual pay (9.3× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).
Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025
Property sales
1,124 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: 154.9p · Esso (10.9 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 186.9p · Esso (10.9 km)
14 stations within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
21 charging locations within ~8 km
- 8 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 350 kW
- Nearest: Tesco Superstore-Strood (4 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Swimming pools12
- Sports pitches3
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local news
- Gravesend Borough Market leasehold opportunity· 21 Oct 2026
- Harbourside contamination statement· 19 Oct 2026
- Greener gateway completed at Gravesend Station· 1 Oct 2026
- There's no place like The Woodville this Christmas as The Wizard of Oz follows the yellow brick road to Gravesend· 23 Sept 2026
- More projects receive Pride in Place funding· 15 Sept 2026
Source: Gravesham Council
Population
106,900 residents in Gravesham · 1,080/km²
- Under 16: 21%
- 16–64: 62%
- 65+: 17%
Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)
Internal migration
- Moves in from elsewhere in the UK7,056
- Moves out to elsewhere in the UK7,424
- Net moves−368
Residential moves between local authorities (counts of moves, not people) · ONS Internal migration, YE Jun 2025
Deprivation
More deprived than the average in England
Ranked 94 of 296 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
9% of neighbourhoods are in England’s most deprived 10%
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2025
Council tax
£2,408 a year · Band D, 2026-27
Most homes here are Band C (34% of 45,060)
Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27
Schools
44 schools · 21,357 pupils
27 primary · 7 secondary · 10 other
Ofsted: 14 of 15 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (93%)
38 inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)
Secondary schools:
- Mayfield Grammar School, GravesendOutstanding
- Meopham SchoolGood
- Northfleet Technology CollegeGood
- Thamesview SchoolGood
- Gravesend Grammar School
- Northfleet School for Girls
- St John's Catholic Comprehensive
Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Gravesham
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
- Within the Green Belt
- 15 listed buildings within ~1.5 km
Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)
Planning decisions
137 applications decided
78.8% granted · 108 granted, 29 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q2
Your MP
Dr Lauren Sullivan
Labour
Gravesham
Recent votes:
- AyeRailways Bill: Carry-over extension (Motion)
- NoSporting Events Bill [Lords] Report: Amendment 8
- NoSporting Events Bill [Lords] Report: Amendment 6
- NoSporting Events Bill [Lords] Report: New Clause 1
Source: UK Parliament
Council control
Labour majority
- Lab 22
- Con 12
- Ref 5
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Schools1
- GPs & clinics1
- Pharmacies1
- Parks & greens216
- Restaurants & cafés5
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
4,670 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2026)
Local economy
£859 median full-time weekly pay
4.3% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits
£24,984 disposable income per head (2024)
Source: ONS / Nomis (claimant count · ASHE) · ONS regional GDHI
Energy efficiency
45% of homes rated EPC C or above
Most common band: D · 47,366 certificates
11.4% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)
Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty
Grid electricity
45% low-carbon electricity
Gas 55% · Wind 34% · Nuclear 7% · Biomass 4%
221 gCO₂/kWh · high intensity
Latest estimate for South East England · National Grid ESO
Health
Life expectancy: 83.5 yrs women · 78.7 yrs men
Healthy life expectancy (Kent): 63.9 women · 62.5 men
70% of adults overweight or obese
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025
Wellbeing
- Life satisfaction7.5
- Feeling worthwhile8.1
- Happiness yesterday7.4
- Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.0
Average rating out of 10 · ONS personal well-being 2022-23
Health services
4 GP surgeries · 4 pharmacies in ME3
- The Elms Medical Centre
- Highparks Medical Practice
- St. Werburgh Med.Practice
Source: NHS Organisation Data Service
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Gravesham:
- Mandatory suicide risk assessment for adolescents in hospital who express intent260 local signatures · 18,972 nationwide
- Remove sentence reductions for guilty pleas in controlling and coercive cases228 local signatures · 105,832 nationwide
- Stop a single Minister having the final say on national infrastructure projects223 local signatures · 15,667 nationwide
- Protect legal right to support for children with SEND215 local signatures · 111,357 nationwide
- Make catapult attacks against animals a standalone criminal offence193 local signatures · 55,084 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-10-05
Notable places nearby
Higham railway station (Kent) · 0.1 kmHigham railway station is in the hamlet of Lower Higham in north Kent. The village of Higham is about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south.
Higham, Kent · 1.3 kmHigham is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the borough of Gravesham in Kent, England. The village lies south-east of Gravesend and just north-west of Strood, in Medway. The civil parish had a population o…
St Mary's Church, Higham · 1.6 kmSt Mary's Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Higham, Kent, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the C…
Hoo Junction · 1.7 kmHoo Junction is a rail yard on the North Kent Line, near the village of Higham, Kent and Shorne Marshes, operated by DB Cargo UK; formerly the English, Welsh and Scottish Railway. It is between Gravesend and Higham st…
Thames and Medway Canal · 1.7 kmThe Thames and Medway Canal is a disused canal in Kent, south east England, also known as the Gravesend and Rochester Canal. It was originally some 11 km (6.8 mi) long and cut across the neck of the Hoo peninsula, lin…
Gads Hill Place · 1.8 kmGad's Hill Place in Higham, Kent, sometimes spelt Gadshill Place and Gads Hill Place, was the country home of Charles Dickens. Today the building is the independent Gad's Hill School.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Compare Gravesham with nearby areas
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Lower Higham?
- Lower Higham is a town in Kent, England, in the Gravesham local authority.
- How deprived is Lower Higham?
- The Gravesham local authority, which includes Lower Higham, is more deprived than the average in England on the IoD2025.