Upchurch
Upchurch is a village in Kent, England, with a population of around 1,340. It has around 1 restaurant or café, 10 bus stops, and the nearest railway station is Rainham, 2.3 km away. In June 2026, there were around 7 recorded street crimes, most commonly other theft. This page gathers weather, crime, food hygiene, transport, flood risk, house prices, population, deprivation and your local MP for the Upchurch 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°COvercast
- Today: 12° / 8° · 64% rain
- Tomorrow: 12° / 9° · Patchy rain nearby
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:52Sunset 16:29
9h 37m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
25US 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
11 reported · August 2026
- Anti-social behaviour5
- Violence & sexual offences5
- Public order1
Neighbourhood team: Hartlip, Newington and Upchurch · Kent
Local policing priorities
- Fly tipping.
- Road safety issues.
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
96 food businesses within 2 miles
- 85 rated 4–5 ★ (70 top)
- 2 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Rainham (2.8 km)
- 6 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Newington (2.7 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: 157.9p · Esso (6.1 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 189.9p · Esso (11.7 km)
12 stations within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
26 charging locations within ~8 km
- 9 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 350 kW
- Nearest: Medway-Hyundai (2.3 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Sports pitches6
- Golf courses4
- Playgrounds2
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
- In a conservation area (Upchurch)
- Not in the Green Belt
- 8 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
- Schools1
- Parks & greens20
- Restaurants & cafés4
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
52% low-carbon electricity
Gas 48% · Wind 41% · Nuclear 6% · Biomass 4%
193 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
0 GP surgeries · 3 pharmacies in ME9
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
Upchurch · 0.2 kmUpchurch is a village and civil parish in the Swale district of Kent, England. It is situated about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of the A2 road, between Rainham and Sittingbourne.
Lower Halstow · 1.5 kmLower Halstow is a village and civil parish in the Swale district of Kent, England. The village is northwest of Sittingbourne on the banks of the Medway Estuary. It lies north of Newington on the A2 Roman road.
Leigh Academy Rainham · 2.3 kmLeigh Academy Rainham is an 11–18 mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Rainham, Kent, England. It has 48 dedicated classrooms with yellow walls. Established in September 2021, it is a free school, and part…
Berengrave Chalk Pit · 2.4 kmBerengrave Chalk Pit is a 12.77-hectare (31.6-acre) Local Nature Reserve in Rainham in Kent. It is owned and managed by Medway Council.
Rainham railway station (Kent) · 2.8 kmRainham railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in South East England, serving the town of Rainham, Kent. It is 38 miles 74 chains (62.6 km) down the line from London Victoria and is situated between Gillingham an…
Newington railway station · 2.9 kmNewington railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in England, serving the village of Newington, Kent. It is 41 miles 44 chains (66.9 km) down the line from London Victoria and is situated between Rainham and Sitti…
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Compare Swale with nearby areas
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Upchurch?
- Upchurch is a town in Kent, England, in the Swale local authority.
- What is the population of Upchurch?
- Upchurch has an approximate settlement population of 1,340.
- How deprived is Upchurch?
- The Swale local authority, which includes Upchurch, is among the most deprived areas in England on the IoD2025.