Crap Towns / Worcestershire / Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove
26/100Crap Score
724th crappest of 984 towns, and 7th in Worcestershire. 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
Bromsgrove. Nails, then nail bars.
Bromsgrove made the gates for Buckingham Palace. It can't keep a shop open on its own High Street.
Bromsgrove used to make nails, and its ironwork went on Buckingham Palace. Now the High Street is barbers, nail bars, vape shops and empty units, and Barclays, Halifax, Lloyds and NatWest have all announced they're off. The trains struggle up the Lickey Incline. So does anyone trying to think of a reason to go into town.
There are 2 public toilets mapped in the whole town, so you can get your nails done but you'll be crossing your legs while they dry. The kitchens are spotless, to be fair: 1 of the 168 food places with a rating scores 0 to 2. The fly-tippers are less tidy. Bromsgrove council cleared up 296 tipper-lorry loads or bigger in one year.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Bromsgrove's 76 for broadband means it's crapper than 76% of towns.
- Broadband76/10011.8% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 14.9% across the Bromsgrove council area
- Fly-tipping75/10016.1 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Bromsgrove council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Air pollution51/1008.0 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 6.8 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Rain47/100126 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Serious road collisions42/1002.2 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Anti-social behaviour34/10012.7 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Deliberate fires30/1004.4 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Criminal damage and arson21/1005.0 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Sewage spills14/10016.9 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Food hygiene6/1000.6% rated 0 to 2, of the 168 food businesses with a rating
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evesham | 47 |
| 2 | Kidderminster | 47 |
| 3 | Stourport-on-Severn | 40 |
| In danger of becoming nice from here down.4 | Redditch | 35 |
| 5 | Worcester | 29 |
| 6 | Great Malvern | 27 |
| 7 | Bromsgrove | 26 |
| 8 | Catshill | 19 |
| 9 | Droitwich Spa | 2 |
Below the dashed line: in danger of becoming nice.
Bromsgrove by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 61.9 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Better: 19% lower than the typical town's 76.2
- 6 reports of fly-tipping on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Worse: 1.7 per 10,000 people, 1.5x the typical town's 1.1
- 2 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2018
What's left on the high street
- 19 pubs, 13 hairdressers, 8 charity shops, 4 bookmakers, 1 vape shop, 7 banks, 2 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 0.0% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (0 of 32) Better: Against the typical town's 4.0%
- 4 bank branch closures announced since 2022 Worse: 11.5 per 100,000 people, 3.4x the typical town's 3.4
- 2 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Worse: 0.6 per 10,000 people, 63% lower than the typical town's 1.6
- 5 public swimming pools open; 3 closed for good since 2010 Better: 1.4 per 10,000 people, 2x the typical English town's 0.7
- 2 places on England's Heritage at Risk register
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 9.08pm last bus out on a Wednesday Worse: Earlier than the typical town's 12.14am
- 0.1% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Better: 80% lower than the typical town's 0.5%
- 15.9% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space About the same: About the same as the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,534 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 1,532
Bromsgrove council
- £2,479 Band D council tax (2026-27) About the same: £87 more than the English average
- 18% of Worcestershire County Council's unclassified roads should have been considered for maintenance (2025-26) Worse: 13% higher than England's 16%
- None ombudsman complaints upheld against the council in 2025-26
- More on the council
Have a crap-off
Bromsgrove 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.