Crap Towns / Falkirk / Denny
Denny
35/100Crap Score
Too small for the table, which starts at 10,000 people, but it still scores 35. 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
Denny. Ugly on purpose.
The town that campaigned to be named Scotland's ugliest, so the council in Falkirk would finally notice it.
Denny made paper on the Carron, and the mills went. What was left in the middle was a shopping block so grim that locals campaigned for it to win Scotland's ugly-town award, just to shame the council into doing something. That's how far you have to go to get noticed when the council lives in Falkirk.
Denny's soaked: 177 wet days and 1,287 mm a year, 1.7 times the typical town's rain. Not one of the 51 food businesses inspected was told to improve, so at least you get a decent feed while you wait for the council.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Denny's 96 for rain means it's crapper than 96% of towns.
- Rain96/100177 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Sewage spills76/100753 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Fly-tipping50/100
- Criminal damage and arson45/1006.6 per 1,000 people a year, January 2023 to December 2025
- Broadband41/1007.5% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 5.7% across the Falkirk council area
- Deliberate fires39/10015.8 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Serious road collisions39/1001.5 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Anti-social behaviour29/1006.6 per 1,000 people a year, January 2023 to December 2025
- Air pollution15/1006.6 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 4.7 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Food hygiene12/1000.0% told to improve, of the 51 food businesses inspected
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Falkirk | 82 |
| 2 | Grangemouth | 76 |
| In danger of becoming nice from here down.3 | Larbert | 38 |
| – | Denny | 35 |
| 4 | Bo'ness | 23 |
Below the dashed line: in danger of becoming nice.
Denny by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 35.4 crimes per 1,000 people a year (January 2023 to December 2025) Better: 35% lower than the typical Scottish town's 54.4
- 1 reports of litter and bins on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Worse: 1.1 per 10,000 people, 1.6x the typical Scottish town's 0.7
What's left on the high street
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 10.20pm last bus out on a Wednesday Worse: Earlier than the typical town's 12.14am
- 1.2% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Worse: 2.4x the typical town's 0.5%
- 6.1% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Better: 61% lower than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,347 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Worse: 12% lower than the typical town's 1,532
Falkirk council
- £1,715 Band D council tax (2026-27) About the same: £62 more than the Scottish average
- 34% of Falkirk council's unclassified roads should have been considered for maintenance (2025-26) Better: 6% lower than Scotland's 36%
- 90 ombudsman complaints decided in 2025-26, 1 upheld Worse: 56.8 per 100,000 residents, 1.6x Scotland's 34.7
- 90.3% of the streets checked passed as clean (2025-26) About the same: About the same as Scotland's 92.2%
- More on the council
Have a crap-off
Denny 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.