Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury is a town in Wiltshire, England, with a population of around 7,314. It has around 1 restaurant and café. The average sold house price is around £367,534, and there were around 63 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 Shaftesbury area — all from official UK open data.
On deprivation, the Wiltshire area is less deprived than the average in England (IoD2019). The wider council area has around 510,333 residents at roughly 157 people per km².
My Area Score
Good
Ranked 55th of 294 English council areas — better than 81% 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
20°CPatchy rain nearby
- Today: 24° / 18° · 68% rain
- Tomorrow: 20° / 12° · Sunny
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:41Sunset 19:27
12h 47m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
16US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: ozone
Source: WAQI · Bournemouth, United Kingdom
Crime
88 reported · July 2026▲ 5% YoY
- Anti-social behaviour38
- Violence & sexual offences20
- Vehicle crime7
- Other theft5
2 stop & searches · mostly controlled drugs
Neighbourhood team: Gillingham and Shaftesbury · Dorset
Local policing priorities
- Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Location: Trinity Road Issue: Drug related ASB in the area at all times of day and night, blighting the lives…
- ASB Driving Location: Car Parks High Street Gillingham Issue: Young people with car driving in an anti-social manner and causing damage t…
Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)
Road safety
880 reported road collisions (2024)
172 killed or seriously injured · 1,180 casualties · 17.2 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
85 food businesses within 2 miles
- 83 rated 4–5 ★ (78 top)
- 1 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Gillingham (6.4 km)
- 4 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Gillingham (Dorset) (6.4 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£328,908 average▲ 2.7% YoY
Across Wiltshire · to 2026-06
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£1,072 average monthly rent▲ 5.9% YoY
- 1 bed £743
- 2 bed £964
- 3 bed £1,209
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-07
Affordability
8.8× house price to earnings
A typical home costs 8.8 times median annual pay (8.6× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).
Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025
Fuel prices
- Cheapest petrol: 158.9p · Esso (6.7 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 188.9p · Asda (0.6 km)
4 stations within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
7 charging locations within ~8 km
- 3 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 120 kW
- Nearest: Tesco Superstore-Shaftesbury (0.2 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Swimming pools1
- Sports pitches20
- Playgrounds11
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Population
510,333 residents in Wiltshire · 157/km²
- Under 16: 18%
- 16–64: 60%
- 65+: 22%
Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)
Deprivation
Less deprived than the average in England
Ranked 231 of 317 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019
Council tax
£2,572 a year · Band D, 2026-27
Most homes here are Band C (25% of 233,060)
Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27
Schools
268 schools · 74,579 pupils
201 primary · 28 secondary · 39 other
Ofsted: 106 of 128 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (83%)
235inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)
Secondary schools:
- Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar SchoolOutstanding
- Malmesbury SchoolOutstanding
- Abbeyfield SchoolGood
- Bradon Forest SchoolGood
- Kingsbury Green AcademyGood
- Matravers SchoolGood
- Melksham Oak Community SchoolGood
- Sheldon SchoolGood
- South Wilts Grammar SchoolGood
- St Augustine's Catholic CollegeGood
- The Corsham SchoolGood
- The Trafalgar School at DowntonGood
- The Wellington AcademyGood
- Pewsey Vale SchoolRequires improvement
- St Joseph's Catholic SchoolRequires improvement
- Avon Valley Academy
- Devizes School
- Hardenhuish School
- Kingdown School
- Lavington School
- Royal Wootton Bassett Academy
- Sarum Academy
- St John's Marlborough
- St Laurence School
- The Clarendon Academy
- The John of Gaunt School
- The Stonehenge School
- Wyvern St Edmund's Academy
Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · Wiltshire
Care & health services
514 CQC-registered services
- Care homes163
- GP practices61
- Dentists98
- Homecare agencies152
- Hospitals & hospices8
CQC ratings: 91% of rated services Good or Outstanding · 6 Inadequate
Source: Care Quality Commission · Wiltshire
Heritage & planning
- In a conservation area (Shaftesbury Conservation Area 1)
- Not in the Green Belt
- 279 listed buildings within ~1.5 km
Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)
Planning decisions
832 applications decided
92.2% granted · 767 granted, 65 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q1
Your MP
Simon Hoare
Conservative
North Dorset
Recent votes:
- NoTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Second Reading
- NoClosure motion
- AyeSocial Housing Bill [Lords]: Reasoned Amendment to Second Reading
- AyeHealth Bill: Report Stage: Amendment 1
Source: UK Parliament
Council control
Liberal Democrat / Independent coalition
- Lab 1
- Con 38
- LD 43
- Ref 10
- Oth 6
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Schools4
- GPs & clinics1
- Pharmacies2
- Supermarkets2
- Parks & greens9
- Restaurants & cafés13
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
24,755 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)
Jobs
257 jobs advertised · £45,162 avg
e.g. Senior Staff Nurse - Theatre, Deliver with Uber Eats - Sign Up and Start Earning, Looking For Part-Time Opportunities? - Deliver with Uber Eats
Source: Adzuna
Local economy
£751 median full-time weekly pay
2.2% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits
£27,404 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 · 241,404 certificates
9.5% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)
Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty
Grid electricity
27% low-carbon electricity
Gas 54% · Imports 20% · Wind 9% · Solar 7%
229 gCO₂/kWh · high intensity
Latest estimate for South England · National Grid ESO
Health
Life expectancy: 85.4 yrs women · 82 yrs men
Healthy life expectancy: 63.7 women · 63.8 men
64% of adults overweight or obese
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025
Wellbeing
- Life satisfaction7.4
- Feeling worthwhile7.7
- Happiness yesterday7.3
- Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.5
Average rating out of 10 · ONS personal well-being 2022-23
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in North Dorset:
- Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership353 local signatures · 163,883 nationwide
- Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership341 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
- Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office306 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide
- Do not ban social media for under 16s286 local signatures · 217,501 nationwide
- Remove sentence reductions for guilty pleas in controlling and coercive cases260 local signatures · 104,741 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06
Notable places nearby
Shaftesbury · 0.3 kmShaftesbury is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is on the A30 road, 20 miles west of Salisbury and 23 miles north-northeast of Dorchester, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hillt…
Gold Hill, Shaftesbury · 0.3 kmGold Hill is a steep cobbled street in the town of Shaftesbury in the English county of Dorset. The view looking down from the top of the street has been described as "one of the most romantic sights in England."
Shaftesbury Town Hall · 0.3 kmShaftesbury Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street, Shaftesbury, Dorset, England. The town hall, which is the meeting place of Shaftsbury Town Council, is a Grade II listed building.
Shaftesbury F.C. · 0.3 kmShaftesbury Football Club are a football club based in Shaftesbury, Dorset, England. The club is affiliated to the Dorset County Football Association and is a FA chartered Standard club. They are currently members of…
North Dorset (constituency) · 0.3 kmNorth Dorset is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Simon Hoare of the Conservative Party.
Shaftesbury Abbey · 0.4 kmShaftesbury Abbey was an abbey that housed nuns in Shaftesbury, Dorset. It was founded in about 888, and dissolved in 1539 during the English Reformation by the order of Thomas Cromwell, minister to King Henry VIII. A…
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Compare Wiltshire with nearby areas
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Shaftesbury?
- Shaftesbury is a town in Wiltshire, England, in the Wiltshire local authority.
- What is the population of Shaftesbury?
- Shaftesbury has an approximate settlement population of 7,314.
- How deprived is Shaftesbury?
- The Wiltshire local authority, which includes Shaftesbury, is less deprived than the average in England on the IoD2019.