Crap Towns / North Ayrshire / Ardrossan
Ardrossan
46/100Crap Score
535th crappest of 984 towns, and 5th in North Ayrshire. Higher scores are crapper.
Have your say
Crap Town of the Year 2026/27
See the raceThe public vote. It's separate from the Crap Score, and it closes on 31 December 2027.
Letters from the locals
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agree it's crap have defended it
Still waiting on the harbour.
The ferry port for Arran, with a harbour nobody's fixed and new ferries that don't fit it.
Ardrossan's whole reason for being is the ferry to Arran, and it's spent years arguing over who pays to fix a harbour the new ferries are too big for. Meanwhile the sailings get moved to Troon, and Troon's not complaining. You can stand on the South Beach and look at Arran all day. Getting there's the hard bit.
The bins go up in flames here like it's a local sport, and deliberate fires overall run at more than twice the typical Scottish town's rate. Every premises in town can get superfast broadband, so at least you can check which ferry's been cancelled.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Ardrossan's 97 for rain means it's crapper than 97% of towns.
- Rain97/100179 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Deliberate fires92/10050.0 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Broadband71/1009.5% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 16.3% across the North Ayrshire council area
- Food hygiene69/1007.7% told to improve, of the 52 food businesses inspected
- Fly-tipping50/100
- Serious road collisions39/1001.6 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Anti-social behaviour38/1007.0 per 1,000 people a year, January 2023 to December 2025
- Sewage spills26/10072.8 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2025
- Criminal damage and arson25/1005.3 per 1,000 people a year, January 2023 to December 2025
- Air pollution0/1003.1 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 4.2 of fine particles, 2024 average
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saltcoats | 87 |
| 2 | Irvine | 77 |
| 3 | Kilwinning | 58 |
| 4 | Largs | 46 |
| 5 | Ardrossan | 46 |
Ardrossan by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 35.6 crimes per 1,000 people a year (January 2023 to December 2025) Better: 35% lower than the typical Scottish town's 54.4
- Good Saltcoats/Ardrossan's bathing water rating, 2025
What's left on the high street
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 11.38pm last bus out on a Wednesday Worse: Earlier than the typical town's 12.14am
- 0.0% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Better: Against the typical town's 0.5%
- 25.4% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Worse: 1.6x the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,414 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Worse: 8% lower than the typical town's 1,532
North Ayrshire council
- £1,686 Band D council tax (2026-27) About the same: £33 more than the Scottish average
- 31% of North Ayrshire council's unclassified roads should have been considered for maintenance (2025-26) Better: 14% lower than Scotland's 36%
- 50 ombudsman complaints decided in 2025-26, none upheld Worse: 37.4 per 100,000 residents, 8% higher than Scotland's 34.7
- 89.6% of the streets checked passed as clean (2025-26) About the same: About the same as Scotland's 92.2%
- More on the council
Have a crap-off
Ardrossan against your mate's town, and a match ticket to rub it in.
- ?Fly-tippingper 1,000, council area?
- ?Anti-social behaviourper 1,000 people?
- ?Serious road crashesper 10,000 people?
- ?Sewage spillshours per 10,000 people?
- ?Food hygienerated poor?
- ?Criminal damageper 1,000 people?
- ?Dirty airµg/m³?
- ?No gigabitof premises can't get it?
- ?Deliberate firesper 10,000 people?
- ?Raindays a year?
Ten ingredients. One verdict. Who's crapper? The higher Crap Score takes it.