Crap Towns / Greater Manchester / Farnworth
Farnworth
98/100Crap Score
21st crappest of 984 towns, and 4th in Greater Manchester. 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
Farnworth. Bolton looks down on it.
The council narrowed Market Street and planted flowers in the road. The precinct's still shite.
Farnworth's had the council's Streets for All treatment, which means narrower roads, cycle lanes nobody rides and rain gardens where you used to park. The precinct's been waiting for its regeneration for donkey's years. Moses Gate's nice. That's about it.
A bin gets set alight about fourteen times as often as in the typical town. More than one in ten food businesses with a rating comes in at 0 to 2 for hygiene, nearly five times the typical town's share, and one in six takeaways does. It pisses down on 170 days a year. Bolton looks down on Farnworth, and Bolton's kitchens aren't much better.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Farnworth's 97 for food hygiene means it's crapper than 97% of towns.
- Food hygiene97/10011.6% rated 0 to 2, of the 173 food businesses with a rating
- Deliberate fires94/10030.9 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Rain92/100170 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Fly-tipping90/10023.1 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Bolton council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Serious road collisions89/1004.1 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Air pollution81/10013.0 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 7.1 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Sewage spills81/100905 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Criminal damage and arson65/1008.1 per 1,000 people a year, July 2023 to June 2026
- Anti-social behaviour52/10015.5 per 1,000 people a year, July 2023 to June 2026
- Broadband14/1002.6% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 5.0% across the Bolton council area
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester | 99 |
| 2 | Salford | 99 |
| 3 | Clifton | 98 |
| 4 | Farnworth | 98 |
| 5 | Eccles | 98 |
| 6 | Heywood | 97 |
| 7 | Kearsley | 96 |
| 8 | Walkden | 95 |
| 9 | Bolton | 94 |
Farnworth 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
- 13 pubs, 30 hairdressers, 4 charity shops, 5 bookmakers, 3 vape shops, 1 bank on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 16.7% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (5 of 30) Worse: 4.2x the typical town's 4.0%
- 2 bank branch closures announced since 2022 Worse: 7.0 per 100,000 people, 2.1x the typical town's 3.4
- 1 library shut for good since 2010: Highfield (2012)
- 3 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Worse: 1.0 per 10,000 people, 38% lower than the typical town's 1.6
- 2 public swimming pools open; 1 closed for good since 2010 About the same: 0.7 per 10,000 people, about the same as the typical English town's 0.7
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 1.51am last bus out on a Wednesday Better: Later than the typical town's 12.14am
- 0.7% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Worse: 40% higher than the typical town's 0.5%
- 32.9% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Worse: 2.1x the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,376 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Worse: 10% lower than the typical town's 1,532
Bolton council
Have a crap-off
Farnworth 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.