Crap Towns / West Yorkshire / Elland
Elland
94/100Crap Score
62nd crappest of 984 towns, and 8th in West Yorkshire. 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
Elland. Still no bloody station.
They've been promising Elland a railway station for years. Keep waiting.
Elland's paving slabs are all over the country. The railway station they keep promising is nowhere. Greetland's library has shut, the high street is vape shops and pubs, and the lads hanging about outside them aren't helping. The bad crashes happen at nearly twice the typical town's rate, and people park on the double yellows.
It's wet on 161 days a year. The storm drains nearby chuck out sewage for nearly twelve times as long as the typical town's, and detergent has turned up in 9 serious pollution incidents round here since 2016, so the Calder gets the shit and the washing-up. The whole town centre has ended up on the at-risk register. Still no station.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Elland's 98 for sewage spills means it's crapper than 98% of towns.
- Sewage spills98/1003,172 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Anti-social behaviour93/10019.7 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Serious road collisions92/1004.3 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Rain85/100161 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Deliberate fires79/10012.5 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Air pollution67/1009.7 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 7.0 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Criminal damage and arson67/1008.3 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Food hygiene58/1003.1% rated 0 to 2, of the 96 food businesses with a rating
- Broadband53/1007.1% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 12.1% across the Calderdale council area
- Fly-tipping20/1006.3 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Calderdale council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Shipley | 97 |
| 5 | Halifax | 97 |
| 6 | Heckmondwike | 95 |
| 7 | Huddersfield | 95 |
| 8 | Elland | 94 |
| 9 | Batley | 94 |
| 10 | Wakefield | 93 |
| 11 | Pontefract | 92 |
| 12 | South Elmsall | 91 |
Elland by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 93.6 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 23% higher than the typical town's 76.2
- 3 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Better: 1.9 per 10,000 people, 44% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 13 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2026
What's left on the high street
- 13 pubs, 15 hairdressers, 4 charity shops, 2 bookmakers, 2 vape shops, 1 bank on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 5.9% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (1 of 17) Worse: 48% higher than the typical town's 4.0%
- 1 banking hub opened here
- 1 library shut for good since 2010: Greetland (2021)
- 2 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Worse: 1.3 per 10,000 people, 19% lower than the typical town's 1.6
- None public swimming pools open; 1 closed for good since 2010 Worse: Against the typical English town's 0.7 per 10,000 people
- 1 place on England's Heritage at Risk register
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.21am last bus out on a Wednesday About the same: About the same as the typical town's 12.14am
- 0.3% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Better: 40% lower than the typical town's 0.5%
- 18.9% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Worse: 22% higher than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,354 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Worse: 12% lower than the typical town's 1,532
Calderdale council
- £2,420 Band D council tax (2026-27) About the same: £28 more than the English average
- 23% of Calderdale council's unclassified roads should have been considered for maintenance (2025-26) Worse: 44% higher than England's 16%
- 8 ombudsman complaints upheld against the council in 2025-26
- More on the council
Have a crap-off
Elland 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.