Crap Towns / Tyne and Wear / Rowlands Gill
Rowlands Gill
64/100Crap Score
Too small for the table, which starts at 10,000 people, but it still scores 64. 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 Rowlands Gill? Write in.
agree it's crap have defended it
Bus cancelled. Again. Lovely view, mind.
Lovely valley, red kites and a bus to Newcastle that's been cancelled again.
Rowlands Gill has Gibside, the Derwent Walk, viaducts and red kites, and it's a lovely spot right up until you need to go anywhere. The buses to Newcastle are slow, late or cancelled without warning, and the roads are jammed at rush hour.
The local yobs are setting the grass and woods alight at about fourteen times the typical town's rate, and the overflows nearby dump sewage for over seven times the typical town's hours. The latest serious pollution incident was contaminated building rubble dumped on the land. There's 1 pub, no swimming pool and a vape shop for the wait. Gateshead wants £2,716 for a Band D.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Rowlands Gill's 95 for deliberate fires means it's crapper than 95% of towns.
- Deliberate fires95/10038.8 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Sewage spills93/1002,003 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Fly-tipping89/10027.0 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Gateshead council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Anti-social behaviour56/10016.1 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Rain51/100128 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Criminal damage and arson45/1006.7 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Food hygiene35/1000.0% rated 0 to 2, of the 21 food businesses with a rating
- Broadband29/1002.7% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 10.6% across the Gateshead council area
- Serious road collisions25/1001.5 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Air pollution13/1005.2 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 5.3 of fine particles, 2024 average
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Jarrow | 82 |
| 9 | Hebburn | 75 |
| 10 | Houghton-le-Spring | 73 |
| 11 | Birtley | 69 |
| – | Rowlands Gill | 64 |
| 12 | Longbenton | 61 |
| 13 | Washington | 57 |
| 14 | Whickham | 53 |
| 15 | Killingworth | 50 |
Rowlands Gill by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 52.8 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Better: 31% lower than the typical town's 76.2
- 3 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2024
What's left on the high street
- 1 pub, 2 hairdressers, 1 vape shop on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 2 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Better: 3.8 per 10,000 people, 2.4x the typical town's 1.6
- None public swimming pools open Worse: Against the typical English town's 0.7 per 10,000 people
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.10am 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%
- 27.5% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Worse: 1.8x the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,508 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 1,532
Gateshead council
Have a crap-off
Rowlands Gill 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.