Crap Towns / Staffordshire / Cannock
Cannock
4/100Crap Score
People from here are Cannockians.
944th crappest of 984 towns, and 17th in Staffordshire. 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
Got something to say about Cannock? Write in.
agree it's crap have defended it
Werewolves on the Chase. Drunks in town.
Cannock Chase is gorgeous. The town centre is empty shops and people drinking on benches.
Cannock has the Chase on its doorstep, all heath and woods and bike trails, and a werewolf if you believe the stories. Then there's the town. Empty shops, a centre that looks knackered, lights that barely work and people drinking on the benches. The Chase is doing most of the work.
Even the Chase can't cover up the 16 serious pollution incidents in and around Cannock since 2016, 4 of them major, with landfill stink in 7. And on a Sunday the buses barely run, so the lads on the benches aren't going anywhere either.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Cannock's 63 for rain means it's crapper than 63% of towns.
- Rain63/100135 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Air pollution62/1008.8 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 7.1 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Deliberate fires53/1005.9 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Anti-social behaviour27/10011.5 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Sewage spills26/10074.9 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Serious road collisions25/1001.8 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Criminal damage and arson24/1005.2 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Broadband14/1003.6% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 3.2% across the Cannock Chase council area
- Fly-tipping6/1004.0 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Cannock Chase council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Food hygiene3/1000.8% rated 0 to 2, of the 374 food businesses with a rating
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Wombourne | 17 |
| 11 | Uttoxeter | 16 |
| 12 | Tamworth | 15 |
| 13 | Cheadle | 14 |
| 14 | Stone | 13 |
| 15 | Lichfield | 10 |
| 16 | Burntwood | 6 |
| 17 | Cannock | 4 |
| 18 | Rugeley | 2 |
Cannock by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 73.9 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 76.2
- 14 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Better: 2.2 per 10,000 people, 35% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 16 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2024
What's left on the high street
- 23 pubs, 14 hairdressers, 10 charity shops, 5 bookmakers, 5 banks, 2 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 0.0% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (0 of 64) Better: Against the typical town's 4.0%
- 3 bank branch closures announced since 2022 Worse: 4.8 per 100,000 people, 41% higher than the typical town's 3.4
- 5 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Worse: 0.8 per 10,000 people, 50% lower than the typical town's 1.6
- 4 public swimming pools open; 1 closed for good since 2010 Worse: 0.6 per 10,000 people, 14% lower than the typical English town's 0.7
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- midnight last bus out on a Wednesday About the same: About the same as the typical town's 12.14am
- 0.5% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 0.5%
- 12.0% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Better: 23% lower than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,420 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Worse: 7% lower than the typical town's 1,532
Cannock Chase council
- £2,376 Band D council tax (2026-27) About the same: £16 less than the English average
- 10% of Staffordshire County Council's unclassified roads should have been considered for maintenance (2025-26) Better: 38% lower than England's 16%
- 2 ombudsman complaints upheld against the council in 2025-26
- More on the council
Have a crap-off
Cannock 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.