Crap Towns / Clwyd / Colwyn Bay
Colwyn Bay
78/100Crap Score
217th crappest of 984 towns, and 3rd in Clwyd. 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
The pier's a diving board now.
They did up the prom and forgot about the town behind it.
Colwyn Bay spent its money on a smart new prom and a replacement pier so short it's basically a diving board. Walk up into town and it's like nobody told it about the makeover. Street drinkers have the benches, cars drive through the bits meant for walking, and something's always getting smashed.
Anti-social behaviour sits at nearly twice the typical town's rate and the banks have announced 4 branch closures. The sea's lovely, both bathing waters came out Excellent, so the bit they spent the money on is fine. It's everything behind it. Llandudno thinks it's hilarious.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Colwyn Bay's 90 for anti-social behaviour means it's crapper than 90% of towns.
- Anti-social behaviour90/10026.8 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Criminal damage and arson81/10010.0 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Rain72/100147 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Sewage spills71/100628 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Fly-tipping68/10014.6 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Conwy council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Food hygiene50/1002.4% rated 0 to 2, of the 206 food businesses with a rating
- Deliberate fires50/100
- Broadband48/1006.3% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 11.7% across the Conwy council area
- Serious road collisions47/1002.3 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Air pollution6/1004.1 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 4.9 of fine particles, 2024 average
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhyl | 94 |
| 2 | Llandudno | 87 |
| 3 | Colwyn Bay | 78 |
| 4 | Prestatyn | 71 |
| 5 | Wrexham | 66 |
| 6 | Flint | 63 |
| 7 | Rhosllannerchrugog | 54 |
| 8 | Connah's Quay | 52 |
| 9 | Hawarden | 43 |
Colwyn Bay by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 106 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 39% higher than the typical town's 76.2
- 18 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Worse: 6.1 per 10,000 people, 1.8x the typical town's 3.4
- 2 of 2 bathing waters here or within 2 km rated Excellent in 2025
What's left on the high street
- 16 pubs, 10 hairdressers, 6 charity shops, 3 bookmakers, 2 vape shops, 6 banks on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 0.0% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (0 of 37) Better: Against the typical town's 4.0%
- 4 bank branch closures announced since 2022 Worse: 13.7 per 100,000 people, 4x the typical town's 3.4
- 4 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Worse: 1.4 per 10,000 people, 13% lower than the typical town's 1.6
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.07am last bus out on a Wednesday About the same: About the same as 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%
- 22.6% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Worse: 46% higher than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,535 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 1,532
Conwy council
Have a crap-off
Colwyn Bay 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.