High Spen
High Spen is a village in Tyne & Wear, England, with a population of around 2,500. It has around 3 restaurants and cafés, 23 bus stops, and the nearest railway station is Wylam, 5.2 km away. There were around 13 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 High Spen 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
12°COvercast
- Today: 19° / 12° · 17% rain
- Tomorrow: 20° / 12° · Sunny
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:34Sunset 19:31
12h 57m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
30US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)
Source: WAQI · Newcastle Centre, United Kingdom
Crime
5 reported · July 2026▼ 17% YoY
- Violence & sexual offences4
- Anti-social behaviour1
Neighbourhood team: Blaydon, Winlaton, Ryton, Rowlands Gill and Chopwell (Gateshead Outer West) · Northumbria
Local policing priorities
- Motorcycle disorder in Winlaton, Chopwell, Ryton
- Acquisitive crime including shoplifting
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
55 food businesses within 2 miles
- 51 rated 4–5 ★ (44 top)
- 0 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
1 active warning/alert
- Flood alert: Tyne estuary
Source: Environment Agency
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Wylam (4.8 km)
- 23 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Wylam (4.8 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: 155.9p · Esso (9.7 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 185.9p · Morrisons (10.2 km)
17 stations within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
31 charging locations within ~8 km
- 13 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 350 kW
- Nearest: Northern Gas Networks Thornley Lane (3.5 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Sports pitches9
- Golf courses1
- Playgrounds3
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
- 2 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
Liz Twist
Labour
Blaydon and Consett
Recent votes:
- NoTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Second Reading
- NoClosure motion
- NoSocial Housing Bill [Lords]: Reasoned Amendment to Second Reading
- AyeDraft Plant Health, Seeds, Seed Potatoes and Plant Propagating Material (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026
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
- Schools1
- Parks & greens2
- Restaurants & cafés3
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
7,035 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)
Jobs
10 jobs advertised
e.g. Online Physics Tutoring Job in High Spen – Flexible Schedule, Online Physics Tutor - Part Time, Become a Physics Tutor in High Spen – 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
37% low-carbon electricity
Imports 63% · Biomass 15% · Nuclear 14% · Wind 9%
19 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 Blaydon and Consett:
- Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office419 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide
- Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership286 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
- Change surrogacy law to recognise intended parents from birth279 local signatures · 112,809 nationwide
- Do not ban social media for under 16s275 local signatures · 217,501 nationwide
- Legislate to ban FPNs and prosecutions related to school attendance255 local signatures · 94,447 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06
Notable places nearby
- High Spen · 0.5 km
High Spen is an old mining village in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, historically part of County Durham, England. First recorded in 1379 as a small hamlet called ‘Spen’, the settlement grew in the latter half…
- Hookergate School · 1.1 km
Hookergate School was a secondary school and sixth form located in High Spen in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, England.
Greenside, Tyne and Wear · 2.1 kmGreenside is a village in the extreme west of the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. Once an independent village in County Durham, it became incorporated into Tyne and Wear in 1974 and then the Metropolita…
Whinfield coke works · 2.6 kmWhinfield coke works was a large industrial complex located near Rowlands Gill in Tyne and Wear, North East England. The complex comprised a coking plant, alloy factory and power station. Waste heat from the plant pro…
Chopwell · 2.7 kmChopwell is a village in the Gateshead district, in the county of Tyne and Wear, England, 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Rowlands Gill and 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Hamsterley. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 9,395.
Leadgate, Northumberland · 2.8 kmLeadgate is a hamlet just outside Chopwell in southern Northumberland, England. It is 4.5 miles (7.3 km) southeast of Stocksfield and 1 mile (1.8 km) northwest of Chopwell. The hamlet borders onto the Metropolitan bor…
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Compare Gateshead with nearby areas
Frequently asked questions
- Where is High Spen?
- High Spen is a town in Tyne & Wear, England, in the Gateshead local authority.
- How deprived is High Spen?
- The Gateshead local authority, which includes High Spen, is among the most deprived areas in England on the IoD2019.