Ashton-in-Makerfield
Ashton-in-Makerfield is a town in Merseyside, England, with a population of around 26,380. It has 1 park and green and around 1 restaurant and café, along with 28 bus stops and the nearest railway station at Garswood, 0.5 km away. There were around 30 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 Ashton-in-Makerfield area — all from official UK open data.
On deprivation, the St. Helens area is more deprived than the average in England (IoD2025). The wider council area has around 183,247 residents at roughly 1,344 people per km².
- Council
- St. Helens
- County
- Merseyside
- Constituency
- St Helens North
- Police force
- Merseyside
My Area Score
Challenged
Ranked 255th of 294 English council areas — better than 13% 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
9°COvercast
- Today: 11° / 7° · 25% rain
- Tomorrow: 12° / 7° · Patchy rain nearby
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 07:13Sunset 16:34
9h 21m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
17US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)
Source: WAQI · Wigan Centre, United Kingdom
Air pollution (PM2.5)
- 6.7 µg/m³ average fine-particle (PM2.5) concentration
- 5.0% of adult (30+) deaths estimated attributable to fine-particle pollution
Lower is better for both figures.
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2024
Crime
28 reported · August 2026▼ 39% YoY
- Violence & sexual offences14
- Anti-social behaviour3
- Burglary3
- Public order3
2 stop & searches · mostly offensive weapons
Neighbourhood team: Haydock · Merseyside
Local policing priorities
- Car crime and anti-social behaviour, primarily involving youths, in the Kings George playing fields area.
- Vehicle crime on Haydock Industrial estates and Hotel car parks
Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)
Road safety
244 reported road collisions (2025)
46 killed or seriously injured · 301 casualties · 13.3 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
268 food businesses within 2 miles
- 197 rated 4–5 ★ (143 top)
- 20 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Garswood (1.5 km)
- 34 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Garswood (1.6 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£186,445 average▲ 5.1% YoY
Across St. Helens · to 2026-08
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£807 average monthly rent▲ 6.6% YoY
- 1 bed £593
- 2 bed £737
- 3 bed £901
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-08
Affordability
5.7× house price to earnings
A typical home costs 5.7 times median annual pay (5.5× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).
Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025
Property sales
2,267 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: 151.9p · BP (10 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 183.9p · BP (10 km)
22 stations within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
57 charging locations within ~8 km
- 22 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 300 kW
- Nearest: Holiday Inn Haydock (1.2 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Sports centres2
- Gyms2
- Swimming pools1
- Sports pitches15
- Golf courses1
- Playgrounds2
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Population
183,247 residents in St. Helens · 1,344/km²
- Under 16: 18%
- 16–64: 62%
- 65+: 21%
Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)
Internal migration
- Moves in from elsewhere in the UK8,728
- Moves out to elsewhere in the UK7,418
- Net moves+1,310
Residential moves between local authorities (counts of moves, not people) · ONS Internal migration, YE Jun 2025
Deprivation
More deprived than the average in England
Ranked 68 of 296 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
23% of neighbourhoods are in England’s most deprived 10%
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2025
Council tax
£2,403 a year · Band D, 2026-27
Most homes here are Band A (44% of 86,150)
Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27
Schools
79 schools · 25,931 pupils
54 primary · 9 secondary · 16 other
Ofsted: 22 of 29 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (76%)
69 inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)
Secondary schools:
- Rainhill High SchoolGood
- The Sutton AcademyGood
- De La Salle SchoolRequires improvement
- Cowley International College
- Hope Academy
- Outwood Academy Haydock
- Rainford High School
- St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy
- St Cuthbert's Catholic Academy
Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · St. Helens
Care & health services
164 CQC-registered services
- Care homes41
- GP practices31
- Dentists27
- Homecare agencies40
- Hospitals & hospices6
CQC ratings: 94% of rated services Good or Outstanding · 6 Inadequate
Source: Care Quality Commission · St. Helens
Heritage & planning
- Within the Green Belt
- 9 listed buildings within ~1.5 km
Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)
Planning decisions
109 applications decided
92.7% granted · 101 granted, 8 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q2
Council control
Reform UK majority
- Lab 4
- Con 1
- LD 3
- Ref 34
- Oth 6
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Schools7
- GPs & clinics7
- Pharmacies1
- Supermarkets4
- Parks & greens7
- Restaurants & cafés39
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
5,695 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2026)
Jobs
68 jobs advertised · £39,395 avg
e.g. Senior Hire Desk Controller, Bid Manager, Key Account Manager - Bakery ingredients
Source: Adzuna
Local economy
£748 median full-time weekly pay
3.7% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits
£21,753 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 · 92,695 certificates
12% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)
Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty
Health
Life expectancy: 81 yrs women · 77 yrs men
Healthy life expectancy: 56 women · 55.7 men
69% of adults overweight or obese
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025
Wellbeing
- Life satisfaction7.3
- Feeling worthwhile7.7
- Happiness yesterday7.1
- Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.5
Average rating out of 10 · ONS personal well-being 2022-23
Health services
7 GP surgeries · 4 pharmacies in WN4
- Medicentre
- Bryn Cross Surgery
- Ashton Medical Centre
Source: NHS Organisation Data Service
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Makerfield:
- Stop megasheds being built & operated 24/7 close to homes and communities 481 local signatures · 11,425 nationwide
- Change surrogacy law to recognise intended parents from birth276 local signatures · 113,305 nationwide
- Launch a public inquiry into illegal migration in the UK197 local signatures · 78,478 nationwide
- Provide lifelong vet care and financial support for retired service animals175 local signatures · 55,079 nationwide
- Protect legal right to support for children with SEND172 local signatures · 111,357 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-10-05
Notable places nearby
Catholic Church of St Oswald and St Edmund Arrowsmith · 0.6 kmThe Catholic Church of St Oswald and St Edmund Arrowsmith is a Roman Catholic parish church located on Liverpool Road in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester, England, which is a Grade II-listed building and inclu…
Byrchall High School · 0.6 kmByrchall High School is a secondary school and specialist mathematics and English school with academy status, in Ashton-in-Makerfield within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester.
- St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield · 0.7 km
St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School is a centre of secondary education in Ashton-in-Makerfield in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It has around 1200 pupils and is a Leading Edge s…
Ashton-in-Makerfield · 0.7 kmAshton-in-Makerfield is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Wigan. As of the 2021 census, there was a population of 26,380.
St Thomas' Church, Ashton-in-Makerfield · 0.8 kmSt Thomas' Church is in Warrington Road, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Wigan, the archdeaconry of Warrington, and the diocese of Liverpool.…
- Ashton-in-Makerfield railway station · 0.8 km
Ashton-in-Makerfield railway station was a railway station serving the town of Ashton-in-Makerfield, although it was located in the neighbouring village of Haydock, formerly in Lancashire, England.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Compare St. Helens with nearby areas
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Ashton-in-Makerfield?
- Ashton-in-Makerfield is a town in Merseyside, England, in the St. Helens local authority.
- What is the population of Ashton-in-Makerfield?
- Ashton-in-Makerfield has an approximate settlement population of 26,380.
- How deprived is Ashton-in-Makerfield?
- The St. Helens local authority, which includes Ashton-in-Makerfield, is more deprived than the average in England on the IoD2025.