Crap Towns / Clwyd / Prestatyn
Prestatyn
71/100Crap Score
287th crappest of 984 towns, and 4th in Clwyd. 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
Prestatyn. Which way is it this week?
Big sandy beach, rows of caravans, and a council that can't stop fiddling with the roads.
Prestatyn has a great sandy beach and a lot of caravans. The town behind it is bookies and charity shops, over three times the typical town's charity shops per head, and the council keeps trying out new layouts on the High Street until nobody knows where to go.
The yobs and the fly-tippers are busier than they should be. Offa's Dyke Path finishes here, which is a long walk to end up in a charity shop. There's an old Roman bath house. It's in better nick than the high street.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Prestatyn's 84 for anti-social behaviour means it's crapper than 84% of towns.
- Anti-social behaviour84/10023.3 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Fly-tipping82/10019.4 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Denbighshire council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Criminal damage and arson70/1008.6 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Rain59/100133 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Broadband52/1003.8% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 18.2% across the Denbighshire council area
- Food hygiene52/1002.5% rated 0 to 2, of the 118 food businesses with a rating
- Deliberate fires50/100
- Sewage spills49/100277 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Serious road collisions43/1002.2 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Air pollution4/1003.4 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 4.9 of fine particles, 2024 average
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhyl | 94 |
| 2 | Llandudno | 87 |
| 3 | Colwyn Bay | 78 |
| 4 | Prestatyn | 71 |
| 5 | Wrexham | 66 |
| 6 | Flint | 63 |
| 7 | Rhosllannerchrugog | 54 |
| 8 | Connah's Quay | 52 |
| 9 | Hawarden | 43 |
Prestatyn by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 80.8 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 6% higher than the typical town's 76.2
- 8 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Worse: 4.8 per 10,000 people, 41% higher than the typical town's 3.4
- Good Prestatyn Central's bathing water rating, 2025
What's left on the high street
- 9 pubs, 11 hairdressers, 8 charity shops, 3 bookmakers, 1 vape shop, 3 banks, 1 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 0.0% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (0 of 18) Better: Against the typical town's 4.0%
- 1 banking hub opened here
- 5 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Better: 3.0 per 10,000 people, 1.9x the typical town's 1.6
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.17am last bus out on a Wednesday About the same: About the same as 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%
- 11.1% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Better: 28% lower than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,516 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 1,532
Denbighshire council
Have a crap-off
Prestatyn 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.