Crap Towns / Derbyshire / Bolsover
Bolsover
76/100Crap Score
Locals call it Boza.
237th crappest of 984 towns, and 2nd in Derbyshire. 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
Boarded up underneath a castle.
A lovely castle on the hill and a boarded-up town centre underneath it.
Bolsover's got a castle on the hill. Lovely. Don't point the camera down. The town centre is boarded-up shops and sod all to do, and the vandals have had a go at whatever's left. Boza has 1 hairdresser and no swimming pool.
The castle's fine, by the way. It's the town underneath that's ended up on the at-risk register, the whole conservation area of it. The storm overflows nearby go off for four times the typical town's hours, and the council's got a bigger share of homes standing empty than England's average. Go for the castle, then leave.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Bolsover's 84 for sewage spills means it's crapper than 84% of towns.
- Sewage spills84/1001,102 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Criminal damage and arson82/10010.1 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Food hygiene73/1005.3% rated 0 to 2, of the 57 food businesses with a rating
- Fly-tipping72/10015.7 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Bolsover council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Anti-social behaviour69/10018.1 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Air pollution57/1007.7 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 7.2 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Rain51/100128 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Deliberate fires45/1005.6 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Serious road collisions34/1001.9 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Broadband15/1002.1% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 6.7% across the Bolsover council area
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Derby | 87 |
| 2 | Bolsover | 76 |
| 3 | Chesterfield | 74 |
| 4 | Heanor | 64 |
| 5 | Shirebrook | 62 |
| 6 | Staveley | 61 |
| 7 | Matlock | 59 |
| 8 | South Normanton and Pinxton | 50 |
| 9 | Ripley | 47 |
Bolsover by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 88.7 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 16% higher than the typical town's 76.2
- 1 reports of fly-tipping on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Better: 0.9 per 10,000 people, 18% lower than the typical town's 1.1
What's left on the high street
- 6 pubs, 1 hairdresser, 1 bookmaker, 1 bank on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 3 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Better: 2.7 per 10,000 people, 1.7x the typical town's 1.6
- None public swimming pools open Worse: Against the typical English town's 0.7 per 10,000 people
- 1 place on England's Heritage at Risk register
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.16am last bus out on a Wednesday About the same: About the same as the typical town's 12.14am
- 0.2% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Better: 60% lower than the typical town's 0.5%
- 19.1% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Worse: 23% higher than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,521 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 1,532
Bolsover council
Have a crap-off
Bolsover 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.