Birtley
Birtley is a town in Tyne & Wear, England, with a population of around 10,000. It has 1 pharmacy, around 29 restaurants and cafés, 68 bus stops, and the nearest railway station is Chester-le-Street, 4.6 km away. There were around 58 recorded street crimes in June 2026, most commonly anti-social behaviour. This page gathers weather, crime, food hygiene, transport, flood risk, house prices, population, deprivation and your local MP for the Birtley area — all from official UK open data.
On deprivation, the Gateshead area is among the most deprived areas in England (IoD2019). The wider council area has around 196,151 residents at roughly 1,378 people per km².
- Council
- Gateshead
- County
- Tyne & Wear
- Constituency
- Blaydon
- Police force
- Northumbria
My Area Score
Mixed
Ranked 189th of 294 English council areas — better than 36% 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
14°COvercast
- Today: 23° / 14° · 11% rain
- Tomorrow: 18° / 13° · Sunny
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:35Sunset 19:28
12h 53m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
59US AQI · Moderate
Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)
Source: WAQI · Newcastle Centre, United Kingdom
Crime
71 reported · July 2026▼ 33% YoY
- Violence & sexual offences26
- Anti-social behaviour18
- Other theft6
- Criminal damage & arson4
3 stop & searches · mostly controlled drugs
Neighbourhood team: Low Fell and Allerdene · Northumbria
Local policing priorities
- Wrekenton - Reducing crime and disorder around Wrekenton High Street as a result of recent thefts from local shops and ASB on Wrekenton H…
- Harlow Green / Low Fell - Anti-social behaviour and motorcycle/Suron disorder in the community
Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)
Road safety
253 reported road collisions (2024)
50 killed or seriously injured · 320 casualties · 12.9 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
277 food businesses within 2 miles
- 231 rated 4–5 ★ (195 top)
- 4 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Chester-le-Street (3.3 km)
- 58 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Chester-Le-Street (3.2 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£158,254 average▲ 7.8% YoY
Across Gateshead · to 2026-06
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£798 average monthly rent▲ 5.3% YoY
- 1 bed £587
- 2 bed £718
- 3 bed £838
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-07
Affordability
4.9× house price to earnings
A typical home costs 4.9 times median annual pay (4.7× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).
Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025
Fuel prices
- Cheapest petrol: 152.9p · BP (10.4 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 182.9p · Asda (9.8 km)
31 stations within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
80 charging locations within ~8 km
- 15 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 350 kW
- Nearest: Holiday Inn Washington (0.7 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Sports centres4
- Sports pitches30
- Golf courses1
- Playgrounds9
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Population
196,151 residents in Gateshead · 1,378/km²
- Under 16: 18%
- 16–64: 62%
- 65+: 20%
Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)
Deprivation
Among the most deprived areas in England
Ranked 54 of 317 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
17% of neighbourhoods are in England’s most deprived 10%
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019
Council tax
£2,716 a year · Band D, 2026-27
Most homes here are Band A (59% of 95,470)
Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27
Schools
93 schools · 30,087 pupils
66 primary · 9 secondary · 18 other
Ofsted: 31 of 32 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (97%)
84inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)
Secondary schools:
- Cardinal Hume Catholic School, GatesheadOutstanding
- Kingsmeadow Community SchoolGood
- Lord Lawson of Beamish AcademyGood
- St Thomas More Catholic School, BlaydonGood
- Grace CollegeRequires improvement
- Heworth Grange School
- Thorp Academy
- Whickham School
- XP Gateshead
Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Gateshead
Care & health services
190 CQC-registered services
- Care homes50
- GP practices37
- Dentists40
- Homecare agencies43
- Hospitals & hospices2
CQC ratings: 97% of rated services Good or Outstanding · 2 Inadequate
Source: Care Quality Commission · Gateshead
Heritage & planning
- Not in the Green Belt
- 6 listed buildings within ~1.5 km
Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)
Planning decisions
109 applications decided
84.4% granted · 92 granted, 17 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q1
Your MP
Mrs Sharon Hodgson
Labour
Washington and Gateshead South
Recent votes:
- NoSocial Housing Bill [Lords]: Reasoned Amendment to Second Reading
- AyeDraft Plant Health, Seeds, Seed Potatoes and Plant Propagating Material (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026
- NoHealth Bill: Report Stage: Amendment 1
- NoHealth Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 143
Source: UK Parliament
Council control
Reform UK majority
- Lab 12
- LD 13
- Grn 3
- Ref 38
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Schools9
- GPs & clinics4
- Pharmacies1
- Supermarkets1
- Parks & greens6
- Restaurants & cafés28
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
7,035 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)
Jobs
33 jobs advertised · £38,967 avg
e.g. Delivery Opportunities Near Me? - Deliver with Uber Eats, Sign Up as A Delivery Person - Earn With Uber Eats, Become a Primary school Tutor in Birtley – Flexible & Remote
Source: Adzuna
Local economy
£675 median full-time weekly pay
4% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits
£19,745 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 · 97,223 certificates
10% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)
Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty
Grid electricity
58% low-carbon electricity
Imports 43% · Wind 27% · Nuclear 20% · Biomass 11%
14 gCO₂/kWh · very low intensity
Latest estimate for North East England · National Grid ESO
Health
Life expectancy: 81.5 yrs women · 77.8 yrs men
Healthy life expectancy: 58.4 women · 58 men
70% of adults overweight or obese
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025
Wellbeing
- Life satisfaction7.3
- Feeling worthwhile7.7
- Happiness yesterday7.4
- Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.4
Average rating out of 10 · ONS personal well-being 2022-23
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Washington and Gateshead South:
- Mandate standardised cancer training for all GPs in England864 local signatures · 17,297 nationwide
- Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office428 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide
- Do not ban social media for under 16s373 local signatures · 217,501 nationwide
- Change surrogacy law to recognise intended parents from birth321 local signatures · 112,809 nationwide
- Review the evidence and fund the addition of SMA to the Newborn Screening Test263 local signatures · 151,287 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06
Notable places nearby
Vigo railway station (England) · 0.4 kmVigo railway station served the Barley Mow and Vigo areas of the town of Birtley in Tyne and Wear in England. The station, on the Stanhope and Tyne Railway, was opened in 1835 and closed in 1853. It reopened in 1862 a…
Durham Turnpike railway station · 1.0 kmDurham Turnpike railway station served the towns of Birtley and Chester-le-Street as well as the village of South Pelaw in County Durham, England. The station was on the Stanhope and Tyne Railway and opened in 1835, o…
Birtley Town F.C. · 1.0 kmBirtley Town Football Club is a football club based in Birtley, Tyne and Wear, England. They are currently members of the Northern League Division One and play at the Birtley Sports Complex.
North Lodge · 1.0 kmNorth Lodge is a civil parish in County Durham, England. The parish covers an area lying to the north of the town of Chester-le-Street, and includes Lambton Castle.
Pelaw Grange · 1.0 kmPelaw Grange Stadium is a Greyhound Board of Great Britain regulated greyhound racing track located at North Lodge in the English county of Durham, between Chester-le-Street and Gateshead. The stadium has a restaurant…
- Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy · 1.1 km
Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in the town of Birtley in the Gateshead area of Tyne and Wear, England. It was first opened to pupils in the early 1970s and wa…
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Compare Gateshead with nearby areas
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Birtley?
- Birtley is a town in Tyne & Wear, England, in the Gateshead local authority.
- How deprived is Birtley?
- The Gateshead local authority, which includes Birtley, is among the most deprived areas in England on the IoD2019.