Crap Towns / County Durham / Newton Aycliffe
Newton Aycliffe
58/100Crap Score
415th crappest of 984 towns, and 12th in County Durham. 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
Got something to say about Newton Aycliffe? Write in.
agree it's crap have defended it
Built trains. Lost banks.
Newton Aycliffe builds trains. Its town centre is shutters, a Greggs and a big Tesco.
Newton Aycliffe was planned after the war, and you can tell. The shopping precinct's tired and shuttered, the banks have mostly gone and what's left is bakeries and bookies. Locals blame Tesco for nicking all the trade, then go to Tesco.
Anti-social behaviour and vandalism both run at more than twice the typical town's rate. Landfill odour has turned up in 11 serious pollution incidents round here since 2016, so the place smells as well. Even the old Locomotion One pub is officially at risk. They do make trains, fair play. Get on one.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Newton Aycliffe's 96 for criminal damage and arson means it's crapper than 96% of towns.
- Criminal damage and arson96/10014.9 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Anti-social behaviour95/10031.1 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Deliberate fires93/10025.7 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Broadband72/10010.7% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 14.6% across the County Durham council area
- Fly-tipping56/10010.5 incidents per 1,000 people a year, County Durham council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Sewage spills48/100255 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Rain41/100124 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Air pollution19/1006.1 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 5.5 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Serious road collisions18/1001.6 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Food hygiene8/1000.0% rated 0 to 2, of the 86 food businesses with a rating
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Spennymoor | 74 |
| 7 | Stockton-on-Tees | 73 |
| 8 | Peterlee | 71 |
| 9 | Durham | 70 |
| 10 | Consett | 63 |
| 11 | Seaham | 60 |
| 12 | Newton Aycliffe | 58 |
| 13 | Billingham | 52 |
| In danger of becoming nice from here down.14 | Egglescliffe | 24 |
Below the dashed line: in danger of becoming nice.
Newton Aycliffe by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 108 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 42% higher than the typical town's 76.2
- 2 reports of abandoned vehicles on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Better: 0.8 per 10,000 people, 11% lower than the typical town's 0.9
- 14 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2025
What's left on the high street
- 11 pubs, 4 hairdressers, 1 bookmaker, 1 vape shop, 1 bank, 1 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 0.0% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (0 of 21) Better: Against the typical town's 4.0%
- 1 bank branch closure announced since 2022 Worse: 3.9 per 100,000 people, 15% higher than the typical town's 3.4
- 2 public swimming pools open; 1 closed for good since 2010 Better: 0.8 per 10,000 people, 14% higher than the typical English town's 0.7
- 1 place on England's Heritage at Risk register
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.12am last bus out on a Wednesday About the same: About the same as the typical town's 12.14am
- 0.4% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Better: 20% lower than the typical town's 0.5%
- 12.1% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Better: 22% lower than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,484 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 1,532
County Durham council
Have a crap-off
Newton Aycliffe 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.