Crap Towns / West Midlands / Brownhills
Brownhills
82/100Crap Score
181st crappest of 984 towns, and 5th in the West Midlands. Higher scores are crapper.
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Crap Town of the Year 2026/27
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Letters from the locals
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agree it's crap have defended it
Dead precinct, big steel bloke
A giant steel miner on a roundabout and a precinct that's been dead for years.
Brownhills has a massive steel miner on a roundabout and a shopping precinct that's been falling down for as long as anyone can remember. Every year they announce regeneration. Every year, nothing. Empty shops, derelict bits full of fly-tipping, and an artist's impression on a hoarding. The miner's been stood there waiting longest.
The vandals haven't waited. Criminal damage runs at one and a half times the typical town's rate, and deliberate fires at nearly twice it and climbing. There's 1 public park on the map, and 3 public pools have shut for good since 2010. Walsall still charges £2,627 on a Band D home. There are 14 pubs, which is where everyone's gone.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Brownhills's 87 for air pollution means it's crapper than 87% of towns.
- Air pollution87/10011.0 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 7.8 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Criminal damage and arson86/10010.6 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Fly-tipping77/10017.9 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Walsall council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Deliberate fires72/10010.0 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Food hygiene67/1003.6% rated 0 to 2, of the 139 food businesses with a rating
- Anti-social behaviour62/10011.3 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Serious road collisions61/1002.7 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Rain59/100133 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Sewage spills41/100183 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Broadband22/1003.9% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 5.8% across the Walsall council area
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walsall | 92 |
| 2 | Wednesbury | 90 |
| 3 | Birmingham | 86 |
| 4 | Bloxwich | 84 |
| 5 | Brownhills | 82 |
| 6 | West Bromwich | 81 |
| 7 | Cradley Heath | 77 |
| 8 | Dudley | 76 |
| 9 | Willenhall | 74 |
Brownhills by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 99.6 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 31% higher than the typical town's 76.2
- 6 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Better: 2.8 per 10,000 people, 18% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 13 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2026
What's left on the high street
- 14 pubs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 7.1% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (2 of 28) Worse: 1.8x the typical town's 4.0%
- 1 library shut for good since 2010: Walsall Wood Library (2017)
- 1 public toilet on the map (October 2026) Worse: 0.5 per 10,000 people, 69% lower than the typical town's 1.6
- 3 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
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.09am last bus out on a Wednesday About the same: About the same as the typical town's 12.14am
- 0.9% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Worse: 1.8x the typical town's 0.5%
- 20.8% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Worse: 34% higher than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,459 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 1,532
Walsall council
Have a crap-off
Brownhills 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.