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 among the most deprived areas in England (IoD2019). 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 258th of 294 English council areas — better than 12% 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
15°CFog
- Today: 20° / 15° · 53% rain
- Tomorrow: 22° / 15° · Patchy rain nearby
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:39Sunset 19:33
12h 55m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
23US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)
Source: WAQI · Wigan Centre, United Kingdom
Crime
19 reported · July 2026▼ 55% YoY
- Violence & sexual offences7
- Anti-social behaviour4
- Vehicle crime3
- Criminal damage & arson2
3 stop & searches · mostly controlled drugs
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
237 reported road collisions (2024)
57 killed or seriously injured · 292 casualties · 12.9 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
266 food businesses within 2 miles
- 194 rated 4–5 ★ (142 top)
- 22 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
£186,435 average▲ 11.1% YoY
Across St. Helens · to 2026-06
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£802 average monthly rent▲ 6.1% YoY
- 1 bed £590
- 2 bed £732
- 3 bed £895
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-07
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
Fuel prices
- Cheapest petrol: 151.9p · BP (10 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 177.7p · Asda (8.5 km)
30 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)
Deprivation
Among the most deprived areas in England
Ranked 40 of 317 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
24% of neighbourhoods are in England’s most deprived 10%
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019
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 · 26,828 pupils
54 primary · 9 secondary · 16 other
Ofsted: 22 of 29 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (76%)
70inspected 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 High School
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 · 4 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
117 applications decided
96.6% granted · 113 granted, 4 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q1
Council control
Reform UK majority
- Lab 3
- 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
5,510 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)
Jobs
76 jobs advertised · £34,380 avg
e.g. Welder/Fabricator, Sous Chef, Residential End of Lease Cleaners
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 480 local signatures · 10,809 nationwide
- Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office465 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide
- Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership338 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
- Do not ban social media for under 16s330 local signatures · 217,501 nationwide
- Review the evidence and fund the addition of SMA to the Newborn Screening Test291 local signatures · 151,287 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06
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 among the most deprived areas in England on the IoD2019.