Crap Towns / Essex / Harlow
Harlow
48/100Crap Score
513th crappest of 984 towns, and 11th in Essex. 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
Concrete with sculptures on
Harlow put sculptures on every corner. Shame the shops behind them are empty.
Harlow was a post-war new town and it's still got the concrete to prove it. They stuck sculptures all over the place, so there's plenty of art to look at while you walk past the empty shops. The precincts are knackered and the regeneration is taking forever.
The fly-tippers love it, at more than twice the typical council's rate, and most of it gets dumped on the council's own land, which is handy for everyone. Some idiot keeps setting the grass on fire as well. Since 2010 the town has lost 4 public pools, and in a place planned from scratch, 442 premises still can't get the legal minimum broadband.
The cycle paths are good, fair play. Use them to leave.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Harlow's 89 for fly-tipping means it's crapper than 89% of towns.
- Fly-tipping89/10026.0 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Harlow council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Air pollution80/10010.0 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 7.5 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Deliberate fires71/1009.6 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Criminal damage and arson71/1008.7 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Broadband58/1009.6% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 9.1% across the Harlow council area
- Anti-social behaviour50/10010.3 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Serious road collisions45/1002.3 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Sewage spills16/10027.8 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Rain11/100114 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Food hygiene2/1000.7% rated 0 to 2, of the 460 food businesses with a rating
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Southend-on-Sea | 55 |
| 8 | Colchester | 55 |
| 9 | Wickford | 52 |
| 10 | Canvey Island | 51 |
| 11 | Harlow | 48 |
| 12 | Epping | 47 |
| 13 | Grays | 46 |
| 14 | Chigwell | 43 |
| 15 | Loughton | 41 |
Harlow by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 101 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 33% higher than the typical town's 76.2
- 10 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Better: 1.1 per 10,000 people, 68% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 7 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2025
What's left on the high street
- 30 pubs, 12 hairdressers, 5 charity shops, 5 bookmakers, 8 banks, 3 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 0.0% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (0 of 51) Better: Against the typical town's 4.0%
- 1 bank branch closure announced since 2022 Better: 1.1 per 100,000 people, 68% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 9 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Worse: 1.0 per 10,000 people, 38% lower than the typical town's 1.6
- 5 public swimming pools open; 4 closed for good since 2010 Worse: 0.5 per 10,000 people, 29% lower than the typical English town's 0.7
- 1 place on England's Heritage at Risk register
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.38am last bus out on a Wednesday Better: Later than the typical town's 12.14am
- 2.6% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Worse: 5.2x the typical town's 0.5%
- 4.0% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Better: 74% lower than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,613 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Better: 5% higher than the typical town's 1,532
Harlow council
- £2,299 Band D council tax (2026-27) About the same: £93 less than the English average
- 10% of Essex County Council's unclassified roads should have been considered for maintenance (2025-26) Better: 38% lower than England's 16%
- None ombudsman complaints upheld against the council in 2025-26
- More on the council
Have a crap-off
Harlow 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.