Crap Towns / Essex / Chelmsford
Chelmsford
9/100Crap Score
898th crappest of 984 towns, and 29th in Essex. 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
Chelmsford. Sat at a red light.
Says it invented radio. Today's bulletin: the ring road's jammed. Again.
Chelmsford invented radio, or says it did, then got made a city and has been unbearable ever since. Annoyingly, it's mostly fine. The fly-tippers can't be bothered, the arsonists can't either, and it barely rains. Out of town they call it Chumpsfud, which is about the worst anyone can manage.
So Chelmsfordians moan about the one thing they've got. A ring road that somehow goes through the middle, and traffic lights that turn red the moment they see you. The buses run through the night and nobody's grateful. They'd rather sit at the lights and tell you it's a city now.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Chelmsford's 76 for air pollution means it's crapper than 76% of towns.
- Air pollution76/1009.6 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 7.4 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Serious road collisions60/1002.7 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Broadband47/1005.7% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 12.1% across the Chelmsford council area
- Criminal damage and arson41/1006.5 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Anti-social behaviour38/1008.9 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Sewage spills17/10031.6 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Food hygiene15/1001.5% rated 0 to 2, of the 681 food businesses with a rating
- Fly-tipping5/1003.9 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Chelmsford council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Rain1/100106 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Deliberate fires1/1001.6 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | Brentwood | 17 |
| 26 | Great Dunmow | 13 |
| 27 | Halstead | 12 |
| 28 | Rayleigh | 11 |
| 29 | Chelmsford | 9 |
| 30 | Hockley and Hawkwell | 7 |
| 31 | Maldon | 6 |
| 32 | Saffron Walden | 1 |
| 33 | South Woodham Ferrers | 0 |
Chelmsford by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 94.9 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 25% higher than the typical town's 76.2
- 16 reports of fly-tipping on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Worse: 1.4 per 10,000 people, 27% higher than the typical town's 1.1
- 3 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2022
What's left on the high street
- 48 pubs, 67 hairdressers, 17 charity shops, 12 bookmakers, 2 vape shops, 10 banks, 4 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 2.3% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (2 of 87) Better: 43% lower than the typical town's 4.0%
- 3 bank branch closures announced since 2022 Better: 2.7 per 100,000 people, 21% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 10 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Worse: 0.9 per 10,000 people, 44% lower than the typical town's 1.6
- 10 public swimming pools open; 3 closed for good since 2010 Better: 0.9 per 10,000 people, 29% higher than the typical English town's 0.7
- 1 place on England's Heritage at Risk register
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- All night buses on a Wednesday Better: The typical town's last bus goes at 12.14am
- 0.7% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Worse: 40% higher than the typical town's 0.5%
- 13.8% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Better: 11% lower than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,658 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Better: 8% higher than the typical town's 1,532
Chelmsford council
- £2,300 Band D council tax (2026-27) About the same: £92 less than the English average
- 10% of Essex 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
Chelmsford 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.