Crap Towns / Gwent / Risca
Risca
96/100Crap Score
36th crappest of 984 towns, and 3rd in Gwent. 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 Risca? Write in.
agree it's crap have defended it
The cuckoo had the right idea.
The town that tried to fence in a cuckoo. The bird left. Can't blame it.
Risca's famous story is that the locals built a fence round a cuckoo to keep spring going, and it flew off. They're still called Cuckoos for it. They've even put up a sculpture, so nobody forgets.
Since then the town's managed criminal damage at 1.8 times the typical town's rate, food places failing hygiene at three times the typical town's, and storm overflows spilling for nearly 14 times as long per head. The buses off the main road barely exist. The cuckoo knew.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Risca's 99 for sewage spills means it's crapper than 99% of towns.
- Sewage spills99/1003,807 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Criminal damage and arson93/10012.3 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Food hygiene89/1007.6% rated 0 to 2, of the 106 food businesses with a rating
- Anti-social behaviour89/10026.6 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Rain81/100157 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Fly-tipping67/10014.3 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Caerphilly council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Serious road collisions65/1002.9 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Deliberate fires50/100
- Broadband37/1004.6% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 10.3% across the Caerphilly council area
- Air pollution33/1007.7 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 5.6 of fine particles, 2024 average
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tredegar | 98 |
| 2 | Newport | 97 |
| 3 | Risca | 96 |
| 4 | Ebbw Vale | 96 |
| 5 | Abertillery | 95 |
| 6 | Blackwood | 92 |
| 7 | Caerphilly | 88 |
| 8 | Pontypool | 86 |
| 9 | Ystrad Mynach | 85 |
Risca by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 88.3 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 16% higher than the typical town's 76.2
- 9 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Worse: 5.9 per 10,000 people, 1.7x the typical town's 3.4
What's left on the high street
- 9 pubs, 5 hairdressers, 1 bookmaker, 1 vape shop, 1 bank on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 12.0% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (3 of 25) Worse: 3x the typical town's 4.0%
- 1 bank branch closure announced since 2022 Worse: 6.6 per 100,000 people, 1.9x the typical town's 3.4
- 4 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Better: 2.6 per 10,000 people, 1.6x the typical town's 1.6
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 11.24pm last bus out on a Wednesday Worse: Earlier than the typical town's 12.14am
- 0.7% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Worse: 40% higher than the typical town's 0.5%
- 18.5% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Worse: 19% higher than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,545 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 1,532
Caerphilly council
Have a crap-off
Risca 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.