Crap Towns / West Midlands / Oldbury
Oldbury
72/100Crap Score
273rd crappest of 984 towns, and 11th in the West Midlands. 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
Who drives like that?
The council's here, the roadworks are here, and so are some of the worst drivers going.
Oldbury has Sandwell Council's headquarters, and the station's called Sandwell and Dudley, so even the trains won't say its name. Having the council on the doorstep has done bugger all. Sandwell logged fly-tipping at 3.3 times the typical council's rate, most of it dumped straight on the highway, and prosecuted nobody.
The air's filthy, with nitrogen dioxide at 1.7 times the typical town's, and the driving is as bad as everyone says. Serious crashes come in at nearly twice the typical town's rate, and cars get nicked or done over far more than most. Over half the town lives more than 400 metres from a park or a swing. The town-centre car parks are where the action is, with lads blasting music out of their cars at midnight.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Oldbury's 94 for fly-tipping means it's crapper than 94% of towns.
- Fly-tipping94/10035.9 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Sandwell council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Air pollution94/10014.2 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 7.9 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Serious road collisions93/1004.3 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Food hygiene63/1003.1% rated 0 to 2, of the 223 food businesses with a rating
- Rain60/100134 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Criminal damage and arson58/1007.6 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Deliberate fires37/1005.0 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Sewage spills31/100100 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Anti-social behaviour24/1007.3 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Broadband10/1002.6% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 3.8% across the Sandwell council area
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Cradley Heath | 77 |
| 8 | Dudley | 76 |
| 9 | Willenhall | 74 |
| 10 | Rushall and Shelfield | 73 |
| 11 | Oldbury | 72 |
| 12 | Tipton | 72 |
| 13 | Darlaston | 71 |
| 14 | Smethwick | 70 |
| 15 | Bilston | 68 |
Oldbury 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
- 12 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Better: 2.7 per 10,000 people, 21% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 4 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2022
What's left on the high street
- 19 pubs, 34 hairdressers, 4 charity shops, 5 bookmakers, 2 vape shops, 3 banks, 2 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 3.6% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (2 of 56) Better: 10% lower than the typical town's 4.0%
- 7 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Worse: 1.5 per 10,000 people, 6% lower than the typical town's 1.6
- 2 public swimming pools open; 2 closed for good since 2010 Worse: 0.4 per 10,000 people, 43% lower than the typical English town's 0.7
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 1.38am last bus out on a Wednesday Better: Later than the typical town's 12.14am
- 0.1% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Better: 80% lower than the typical town's 0.5%
- 52.5% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Worse: 3.4x the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,482 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 1,532
Sandwell council
Have a crap-off
Oldbury 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.