Woolpack Corner

9°COvercast

• Today: 10° / 6° · 12% rain
• Tomorrow: 10° / 5° · Overcast

Source: WeatherAPI

Sunrise 06:56Sunset 16:25

9h 28m of daylight today

Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec

Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk

34US AQI · Good

Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)

Source: WAQI · Chatham Roadside, United Kingdom

• 6.8 µg/m³ average fine-particle (PM2.5) concentration
• 5.1% of adult (30+) deaths estimated attributable to fine-particle pollution

Lower is better for both figures.

Source: OHID Fingertips · 2024

8 reported · August 2026▼ 33% YoY

• Violence & sexual offences3
• Anti-social behaviour1
• Burglary1
• Criminal damage & arson1

Neighbourhood team: Biddenden · Kent

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

256 reported road collisions (2025)

78 killed or seriously injured · 356 casualties · 19.3 collisions per 10,000 residents

Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)

23 food businesses within 2 miles

• 23 rated 4–5 ★ (22 top)
• 0 rated 0–2 (poor)

Source: Food Standards Agency

• Nearest station: Rolvenden (4.8 km)
• 0 bus stops within ~½ mile

Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail

£340,991 average▼ 0.8% YoY

Across Ashford · to 2026-08

Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)

£1,248 average monthly rent▲ 3.1% YoY

• 1 bed £894
• 2 bed £1,143
• 3 bed £1,407

Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-08

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

1,776 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

• Cheapest petrol: 158.9p · Esso (4.3 km)
• Cheapest diesel: 192.9p · Esso (4.3 km)

2 stations within ~8 miles

Source: CMA fuel price scheme

8 charging locations within ~8 km

• Fastest nearby: 22 kW
• Nearest: Bloomsburys Biddenden (1.6 km)

Source: Open Charge Map

• Swimming pools8
• Sports pitches9
• 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)

• Moves in from elsewhere in the UK7,767
• Moves out to elsewhere in the UK6,999
• Net moves+768

Residential moves between local authorities (counts of moves, not people) · ONS Internal migration, YE Jun 2025

Around the average in England

Ranked 133 of 296 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)

4% of neighbourhoods are in England’s most deprived 10%

Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2025

£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 · 22,861 pupils

43 primary · 7 secondary · 12 other

Ofsted: 19 of 19 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (100%)

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

Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Ashford

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

• Not in the Green Belt
• 62 listed buildings within ~1.5 km

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

251 applications decided

92% granted · 231 granted, 20 refused

Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q2

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)

• Schools2
• Parks & greens18
• Restaurants & cafés2

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

7,540 active business enterprises in the area

Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2026)

£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

57% low-carbon electricity

Gas 42% · Wind 40% · Nuclear 10% · Biomass 7%

173 gCO₂/kWh · high intensity

Latest estimate for South East England · National Grid ESO

Life expectancy: 83.9 yrs women · 81.6 yrs men

Healthy life expectancy (Kent): 63.9 women · 62.5 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

5 GP surgeries · 2 pharmacies in TN27

• Charing Surgery
• Charing Urology
• Apcos Headcorn Eye Centre

Source: NHS Organisation Data Service

Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Weald of Kent:

• Mandatory suicide risk assessment for adolescents in hospital who express intent354 local signatures · 18,972 nationwide
• Permanent driving ban on intoxicated drivers guilty of causing death318 local signatures · 29,985 nationwide
• Hold a UK-wide briefing on climate and nature risks252 local signatures · 127,144 nationwide
• Protect legal right to support for children with SEND233 local signatures · 111,357 nationwide
• Make catapult attacks against animals a standalone criminal offence203 local signatures · 55,084 nationwide

Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-10-05

• 
  Biddenden · 0.9 km

  Biddenden is a large, mostly agricultural and wooded village and civil parish in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. The village lies on the Weald of Kent, 5 miles (8 km) north of Tenterden. It was a centre for t…

• 
  The West House · 1.1 km

  The West House is a family restaurant located in Biddenden, Kent, England. The restaurant was founded in 2002, and is operated by chef Graham Garrett. It is housed in a 16th century Flemish weaver's cottage, alongside…

• 
  Biddenden railway station · 1.9 km

  Biddenden was a railway station on the Kent and East Sussex Railway which closed in January 1954.

• 
  High Halden Road railway station · 2.6 km

  High Halden Road is a disused railway station on the defunct Kent and East Sussex Railway which closed in 1954. The station building and platform still survives as farm offices beside the A262 road.

• 
  Wattle Wood · 2.9 km

  Wattle Wood is a 1-hectare (2.5-acre) nature reserve north-west of Tenterden in Kent. It is managed by Kent Wildlife Trust.

• 
  Chart Hills Golf Club · 3.2 km

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

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)