Sheerness
Sheerness is a town in Kent, England, with a population of around 13,249. It has around 1 GP surgery or clinic, around 4 pharmacies, around 33 restaurants and cafés, 27 bus stops, and the nearest railway station is Sheerness-on-Sea, 0.7 km away. The average sold house price is around £287,521, and there were around 223 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 Sheerness 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
11°CPatchy rain nearby
- Today: 11° / 10° · 25% rain
- Tomorrow: 11° / 9° · Overcast
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:57Sunset 16:23
9h 26m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
28US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)
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
258 reported · August 2026▲ 11% YoY
- Anti-social behaviour91
- Violence & sexual offences62
- Shoplifting33
- Criminal damage & arson14
14 stop & searches · mostly controlled drugs
Neighbourhood team: Sheerness · Kent
Local policing priorities
- Road safety issues.
- Nuisance bikes.
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
171 food businesses within 2 miles
- 148 rated 4–5 ★ (121 top)
- 8 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Sheerness-on-Sea (0.3 km)
- 24 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Sheerness-On-Sea (0.3 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: 169.7p · Asda (11 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 198.7p · Asda (11 km)
4 stations within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
3 charging locations within ~8 km
- Fastest nearby: 22 kW
- Nearest: Rose Street Car Park (0.1 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Sports centres3
- Swimming pools1
- Sports pitches6
- 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
- 53 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:
- 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 (minority)
- Lab 15
- Con 10
- LD 5
- Grn 2
- Ref 4
- Oth 11
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Schools5
- GPs & clinics3
- Pharmacies4
- Supermarkets1
- Parks & greens87
- Restaurants & cafés41
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
6,185 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2026)
Jobs
71 jobs advertised · £36,786 avg
e.g. Prisons Services Clinical Pharmacist, SEN Tutor, Retail Customer Service
Source: Adzuna
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
54% low-carbon electricity
Gas 45% · Wind 37% · Nuclear 10% · Biomass 7%
184 gCO₂/kWh · high 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
- Sheppey FM 92.2 · 0.2 km
Sheppey FM 92.2 is an English community radio station and training centre on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.
Sheerness · 0.2 kmSheerness is a port town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 13,249, it is the second largest town on the…
Great Mill, Sheerness · 0.2 kmGreat Mill or Ride's Mill is a Grade II listed smock mill just off the High Street in Sheerness, Kent, England, that was demolished in 1924, leaving the brick base standing. It now has a new smock tower built on it as…
Sheerness-on-Sea railway station · 0.3 kmSheerness-on-Sea railway station is on the Sheerness Line in north Kent, England, and serves the town of Sheerness. It is 51 miles 19 chains (82.5 km) down the line from London Victoria.
Sheerness Dockyard · 0.7 kmSheerness Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the Sheerness peninsula, at the mouth of the River Medway in Kent. It was opened in the 1660s and closed in 1960.
Sheerness Steelworks · 0.7 kmSheerness Steelworks was a steel plant located at Sheerness, on the Isle of Sheppey, in Kent, England. The plant opened in 1971 and produced steel via the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) method rather than as a primary met…
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Compare Swale with nearby areas
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Sheerness?
- Sheerness is a town in Kent, England, in the Swale local authority.
- What is the population of Sheerness?
- Sheerness has an approximate settlement population of 13,249.
- How deprived is Sheerness?
- The Swale local authority, which includes Sheerness, is among the most deprived areas in England on the IoD2025.