Crap Towns / Lancashire / Haslingden
Haslingden
96/100Crap Score
37th crappest of 984 towns, and 14th in Lancashire. 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
Haslingden. Roadworks, still.
The roadworks on Deardengate went on so long the shops nearly didn't make it.
Hassy's got a Big Lamp and a giant loom shuttle on a plinth. Then the council dug up Deardengate and the works went on and on, and when they finally finished there was nowhere to park. The swimming pool's gone too.
It chucks it down on 177 days a year, more than 1,400 mm of it, and the sun manages 1,314 hours. A 0 to 2 hygiene rating is nearly four times as common here as in the typical town, and 4 of the 22 takeaways with a rating have one. The storm drains chuck out sewage for five times as long as the typical town's. Cheers, Hassy.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Haslingden'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
- Food hygiene94/1008.9% rated 0 to 2, of the 124 food businesses with a rating
- Sewage spills89/1001,404 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Serious road collisions86/1003.8 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Anti-social behaviour77/10020.6 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Deliberate fires72/10010.1 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Fly-tipping69/10015.2 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Rossendale council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Air pollution48/1008.4 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 6.4 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Broadband43/1007.2% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 7.1% across the Rossendale council area
- Criminal damage and arson29/1005.6 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Nelson | 98 |
| 11 | Rawtenstall | 97 |
| 12 | Brierfield | 97 |
| 13 | Morecambe | 97 |
| 14 | Haslingden | 96 |
| 15 | Great Harwood | 96 |
| 16 | Oswaldtwistle | 95 |
| 17 | Blackpool | 92 |
| 18 | Fleetwood | 91 |
Haslingden by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 57.5 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Better: 25% lower than the typical town's 76.2
- 7 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Worse: 4.4 per 10,000 people, 29% higher than the typical town's 3.4
- 3 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2020
What's left on the high street
- 11 pubs, 3 hairdressers, 1 charity shop, 1 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 18.2% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (4 of 22) Worse: 4.6x the typical town's 4.0%
- 1 public toilet on the map (October 2026) Worse: 0.6 per 10,000 people, 63% 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
- 3 places on England's Heritage at Risk register
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 11.46pm last bus out on a Wednesday Worse: Earlier than the typical town's 12.14am
- 0.9% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Worse: 1.8x the typical town's 0.5%
- 15.7% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space About the same: About the same as the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,314 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Worse: 14% lower than the typical town's 1,532
Rossendale council
Have a crap-off
Haslingden 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.