Crap Towns / Clwyd / Holywell
Holywell
85/100Crap Score
Too small for the table, which starts at 10,000 people, but it still scores 85. 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
Empty shops and rows.
The Greenfield Valley had mills and factories. The High Street has vape shops and bookies.
Holywell has a valley full of old mills and a nice Georgian High Street, which is now vape shops, bookies, pubs and empty units. The streets are dirty, the windows get smashed, and the lads in town make a nuisance of themselves.
Anti-social behaviour and criminal damage both run at over twice the typical town's rate, and the storm drains chuck out sewage for nine times as long as the typical town's. There are nearly four times the typical town's bookies per head. Everyone's been arguing about pedestrianising the High Street for years. Flint thinks it's hilarious.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Holywell's 96 for criminal damage and arson means it's crapper than 96% of towns.
- Criminal damage and arson96/10015.1 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Sewage spills96/1002,496 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Anti-social behaviour96/10032.3 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Food hygiene75/1005.9% rated 0 to 2, of the 51 food businesses with a rating
- Rain73/100149 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Broadband55/1008.7% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 9.2% across the Flintshire council area
- Deliberate fires50/100
- Fly-tipping44/10010.1 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Flintshire council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Serious road collisions43/1002.2 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Air pollution8/1004.3 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 5.2 of fine particles, 2024 average
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhyl | 94 |
| 2 | Llandudno | 87 |
| – | Holywell | 85 |
| 3 | Colwyn Bay | 78 |
| 4 | Prestatyn | 71 |
| 5 | Wrexham | 66 |
| 6 | Flint | 63 |
| 7 | Rhosllannerchrugog | 54 |
| 8 | Connah's Quay | 52 |
Holywell by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 105 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 38% higher than the typical town's 76.2
- 9 reports of abandoned vehicles on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Worse: 11.6 per 10,000 people, 12.9x the typical town's 0.9
What's left on the high street
- 9 pubs, 7 hairdressers, 2 charity shops, 2 bookmakers, 1 vape shop on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 1 bank branch closure announced since 2022 Worse: 12.9 per 100,000 people, 3.8x the typical town's 3.4
- 1 public toilet on the map (October 2026) Worse: 1.3 per 10,000 people, 19% lower than the typical town's 1.6
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 11.33pm last bus out on a Wednesday Worse: Earlier than 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%
- 3.8% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Better: 75% lower than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,489 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 1,532
Flintshire council
Have a crap-off
Holywell 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.