Crap Towns / Derbyshire / Clowne

Welcome to

Clowne

It used to be spelt Clown. They added an e.
Twinned with a planning application for more houses

36/100Crap Score

Too small for the table, which starts at 10,000 people, but it still scores 36. Higher scores are crapper.

How the score works

Have your say

Crap Town of the Year 2026/27

See the race

The 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 Clowne? Write in.

Clowne. Spelt like that. Honestly.

Pit's gone. The council moved in. Now they want to stick a Garden Village on it.

Clowne used to be spelt Clown, and Bolsover council put its offices here, which is a gift to anyone writing a page like this. The pit shut, and now there's a Garden Village planned: a lot of new houses, in a district that already has well over England's share of homes standing empty.

Calling it a Garden Village is cheeky when more than a quarter of Clowne already lives a fair walk from a park. It's got 2 swimming pools, mind, which for a place this size is showing off. Markland Grips is a nice gorge to hide in while they argue about it.

What the score is made of

Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.

Clowne's 72 for fly-tipping means it's crapper than 72% of towns.

  • Fly-tipping72/10015.7 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Bolsover council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
  • Air pollution59/1008.0 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 7.2 of fine particles, 2024 average
  • Serious road collisions49/1002.4 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
  • Food hygiene47/1002.2% rated 0 to 2, of the 45 food businesses with a rating
  • Criminal damage and arson47/1006.8 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
  • Rain42/100124 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
  • Sewage spills38/100152 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
  • Anti-social behaviour25/10011.0 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
  • Broadband19/1002.8% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 6.7% across the Bolsover council area
  • Deliberate fires11/1002.1 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
Your patch: DerbyshireTowns in the same county. Top of the table is crappest.
PosTownNationalScore
9Ripley523rd47
10Somercotes and Swanwick526th47
11Ilkeston557th43
12Buxton572nd42
In danger of becoming nice from here down.–Clowne–36
13Hadfield634th36
14Long Eaton661st33
15Brimington767th22
16Glossop831st16

Below the dashed line: in danger of becoming nice.

Clowne by numbers

Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.

Crime, muck and dodgy water

What's left on the high street

Getting about, getting online, getting rained on

Bolsover council

Have a crap-off

Clowne against your mate's town, and a match ticket to rub it in.

ClowneCrap Score 36
v
CreswellCrap Score 80

Ten ingredients. One verdict. Who's crapper? The higher Crap Score takes it.