Minster (Swale)
Minster (Swale) is a town or village in Kent, England, with a population of around 3,000. It has around 1 GP surgery, 1 pharmacy, and 5 restaurants and cafés, along with 32 bus stops and the nearest railway station is Sheerness-on-Sea, 3.8 km away. There were around 89 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 Minster (Swale) area — all from official UK open data.
On deprivation, the Swale area is among the most deprived areas in England (IoD2025). The wider council area has around 151,677 residents at roughly 406 people per km².
My Area Score
Challenged
Ranked 265th of 294 English council areas — better than 10% 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
12°CPatchy rain nearby
- Today: 13° / 9° · 66% rain
- Tomorrow: 13° / 10° · Patchy rain nearby
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:51Sunset 16:28
9h 37m 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)
- 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
Crime
93 reported · August 2026▼ 11% YoY
- Violence & sexual offences31
- Anti-social behaviour19
- Other theft11
- Criminal damage & arson7
9 stop & searches · mostly controlled drugs
Neighbourhood team: Minster Cliffs · Kent
Local policing priorities
- Nuisance bikes.
- Speeding - traffic offences.
Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)
Road safety
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)
Food hygiene
102 food businesses within 2 miles
- 93 rated 4–5 ★ (78 top)
- 4 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Sheerness-on-Sea (3.8 km)
- 32 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Queenborough (3.8 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£296,578 average▲ 0.6% YoY
Across Swale · to 2026-08
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£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
Affordability
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
Property sales
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
Fuel prices
- Cheapest petrol: 172.9p · Asda (9.1 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 198.7p · Asda (9.1 km)
2 stations within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
3 charging locations within ~8 km
- Fastest nearby: 22 kW
- Nearest: Morrisons (3.4 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Swimming pools25
- Sports pitches8
- Golf courses1
- Playgrounds10
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Population
151,677 residents in Swale · 406/km²
- Under 16: 20%
- 16–64: 61%
- 65+: 19%
Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)
Internal migration
- 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
Deprivation
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
Council tax
£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
Schools
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)
Secondary schools:
- Highsted Grammar SchoolGood
- Queen Elizabeth's Grammar SchoolGood
- The Sittingbourne SchoolGood
- Fulston Manor SchoolRequires improvement
- The Abbey SchoolInadequate
- Borden Grammar School
- EKC Sheppey Secondary
- Leigh Academy Minster
- Westlands School
Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Swale
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
- Not in the Green Belt
- 6 listed buildings within ~1.5 km
Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)
Planning decisions
155 applications decided
89% granted · 138 granted, 17 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q2
Your MP
Kevin McKenna
Labour
Sittingbourne and Sheppey
Recent votes:
- AyeDraft Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications, Requests and Site Visits) (England) (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026
- NoOpposition day motion: Support for British farmers
- AyeWithdrawal Agreement (Windsor Framework and Governance) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
- AyeDraft Code of Practice on Access and Unfair Practices During the Recognition and Derecognition Process
Source: UK Parliament
Council control
Labour (minority)
- Lab 15
- Con 10
- LD 5
- Grn 2
- Ref 4
- Oth 11
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Schools6
- GPs & clinics2
- Pharmacies1
- Supermarkets1
- Parks & greens10
- Restaurants & cafés7
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
6,185 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2026)
Local economy
£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
Energy efficiency
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
Grid electricity
61% low-carbon electricity
Wind 37% · Gas 27% · Solar 14% · Imports 12%
117 gCO₂/kWh · moderate intensity
Latest estimate for South East England · National Grid ESO
Health
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
Wellbeing
- 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
Health services
11 GP surgeries · 9 pharmacies in ME12
- Sheerness Health Centre
- St Georges Medical Centre
- The Om Medical Centre
Source: NHS Organisation Data Service
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Sittingbourne and Sheppey:
- Mandatory suicide risk assessment for adolescents in hospital who express intent2,678 local signatures · 18,972 nationwide
- Change surrogacy law to recognise intended parents from birth313 local signatures · 113,305 nationwide
- Remove sentence reductions for guilty pleas in controlling and coercive cases311 local signatures · 105,832 nationwide
- Protect legal right to support for children with SEND256 local signatures · 111,357 nationwide
- Make catapult attacks against animals a standalone criminal offence184 local signatures · 55,084 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-10-05
Notable places nearby
- Minster, Swale · 0.4 km
Minster is a town on the north coast of the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, south-east England. It is in the Swale administrative district, and within that, in the parish of Minster-on-Sea. According to the 2021 Census, the…
East Minster railway station · 0.4 kmEast Minster is a disused railway station serving Minster on the Isle of Sheppey. It opened in 1902 and closed in 1950.
- Minster on Sea railway station · 0.6 km
Minster on Sea is a disused railway station that served Minster on the Isle of Sheppey. It opened in 1901 and closed in 1950.
Oasis Academy Isle of Sheppey · 1.3 kmOasis Academy Isle of Sheppey was a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located over two sites in Minster-on-Sea on the Isle of Sheppey in the English county of Kent. It is currently man…
Minster-on-Sea · 1.3 kmMinster-on-Sea is a civil parish in the English county of Kent. It is on the Isle of Sheppey and thus forms part of the borough of Swale. It was created on 1 April 2003. In 2021 it had a population of 17,392.
- Leigh Academy Minster · 1.4 km
Leigh Academy Minster is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Minster-on‑Sea, Kent, England. Opened 1 September 2024, it replaced Oasis Academy Isle of Sheppey and is sponsored by the Leigh Academies Trust.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Compare Swale with nearby areas
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Minster (Swale)?
- Minster (Swale) is a town in Kent, England, in the Swale local authority.
- How deprived is Minster (Swale)?
- The Swale local authority, which includes Minster (Swale), is among the most deprived areas in England on the IoD2025.