Smarden

17°CClear

• Today: 23° / 14° · 12% rain
• Tomorrow: 23° / 16° · Light rain shower

Source: WeatherAPI

Sunrise 06:26Sunset 19:20

12h 55m of daylight today

Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec

Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk

25US AQI · Good

Main pollutant: ozone

Source: WAQI · Chatham Roadside, United Kingdom

7 reported · July 2026▲ 40% YoY

• Anti-social behaviour3
• Violence & sexual offences3
• Other theft1

Neighbourhood team: Weald North · Kent

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

261 reported road collisions (2024)

77 killed or seriously injured · 348 casualties · 19.7 collisions per 10,000 residents

Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)

13 food businesses within 2 miles

• 12 rated 4–5 ★ (11 top)
• 0 rated 0–2 (poor)

Source: Food Standards Agency

• Nearest station: Pluckley (4.2 km)
• 4 bus stops within ~½ mile

Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail

£344,332 average▲ 0.3% YoY

Across Ashford · to 2026-06

Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)

£1,246 average monthly rent▲ 3.4% YoY

• 1 bed £893
• 2 bed £1,140
• 3 bed £1,404

Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-07

10.2× house price to earnings

A typical home costs 10.2 times median annual pay (10.3× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).

Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025

• Cheapest petrol: 158.9p · Esso (7.4 km)
• Cheapest diesel: 192.9p · Esso (7.4 km)

3 stations within ~8 miles

Source: CMA fuel price scheme

2 charging locations within ~8 km

• Fastest nearby: 22 kW
• Nearest: Bloomsburys Biddenden (5.7 km)

Source: Open Charge Map

• Swimming pools11
• Sports pitches10
• Playgrounds2

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

132,747 residents in Ashford · 229/km²

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

Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)

Around the average in England

Ranked 152 of 317 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)

1% of neighbourhoods are in England’s most deprived 10%

Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019

£2,410 a year · Band D, 2026-27

Most homes here are Band B (23% of 59,330)

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

62 schools · 23,045 pupils

43 primary · 7 secondary · 12 other

Ofsted: 20 of 20 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (100%)

54inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)

Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Ashford

1,672 CQC-registered services

• Care homes501
• GP practices221
• Dentists362
• Homecare agencies415
• Hospitals & hospices47

CQC ratings: 87% of rated services Good or Outstanding · 25 Inadequate

Source: Care Quality Commission · Kent

• In a conservation area (Smarden)
• Not in the Green Belt
• 96 listed buildings within ~1.5 km

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

207 applications decided

89.4% granted · 185 granted, 22 refused

Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q1

Katie Lam

Conservative

Weald of Kent

Source: UK Parliament

Independent / Green coalition

• Lab 7
• Con 17
• Grn 12
• Oth 11

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

• Schools1
• Parks & greens14

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

7,500 active business enterprises in the area

Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)

6 jobs advertised · £67,500 avg

e.g. Delivery Opportunities Near Me? - Deliver with Uber Eats, Deliver with Uber Eats - Sign Up and Start Earning, Looking For Part-Time Opportunities? - Deliver with Uber Eats

Source: Adzuna

£743 median full-time weekly pay

3% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits

£26,868 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 · 62,944 certificates

9.9% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)

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

48% low-carbon electricity

Wind 37% · Imports 37% · Gas 16% · Nuclear 7%

84 gCO₂/kWh · low intensity

Latest estimate for South East England · National Grid ESO

Life expectancy: 83.9 yrs women · 81.6 yrs men

61% of adults overweight or obese

Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025

• Life satisfaction7.3
• Feeling worthwhile8.0
• Happiness yesterday7.6
• Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.5

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

Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Weald of Kent:

• Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership553 local signatures · 163,883 nationwide
• Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership371 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
• Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office337 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide
• Review the evidence and fund the addition of SMA to the Newborn Screening Test290 local signatures · 151,287 nationwide
• Do not ban social media for under 16s278 local signatures · 217,501 nationwide

Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06

• Lashenden Air Warfare Museum · 2.9 km

  Lashenden Air Warfare Museum is an aviation museum at Lashenden (Headcorn) Airfield in Kent in southeast England.

• 
  Chart Hills Golf Club · 3.2 km

  Chart Hills Golf Club is a championship golf club in England, located in Biddenden, Kent.

• 
  Headcorn Aerodrome · 3.2 km

  Headcorn Aerodrome is a private airfield in Kent, England. The airfield is located 8 NM south of Maidstone; about 32 miles (51 km) southeast of London.

• 
  RAF High Halden · 3.3 km

  Royal Air Force High Halden or more simply RAF High Halden is a former Royal Air Force Advanced landing ground in Kent, England. The airfield is located approximately 8 miles (13 km) west-southwest of Ashford.

• 
  RAF Headcorn · 3.7 km

  Royal Air Force Headcorn or more commonly known as RAF Headcorn is a former Royal Air Force Advanced landing ground located 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of Headcorn, Kent, England.

• 
  Frittenden Road railway station · 4.1 km

  Frittenden Road was a railway station on the Kent and East Sussex Railway which closed in January 1954. The wooden station building lay derelict for years and was destroyed by fire in October 2003.

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)