Crap Towns / Isle of Wight / Shanklin
Shanklin
11/100Crap Score
Too small for the table, which starts at 10,000 people, but it still scores 11. 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
Shanklin. Take the stairs. Oh.
Thatched cottages, a waterfall, and a cliff lift that may or may not be working.
Shanklin has thatched cottages in the Old Village, a waterfall in the chine, and a lift down the cliff to the beach that's broken more often than not. Then they shut the steps as well, so good luck. The pier went in the Great Storm and never came back. Locals call it Shankvegas. It isn't.
The High Street has empty shops, charity shops and 3 vape shops, which for a place this size is 11 times the typical town's per head. The deliberate fires come in at twice the typical town's rate, and there's no public pool. The sunshine adds up to 1,944 hours a year, and the lift's still broken.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Shanklin's 75 for deliberate fires means it's crapper than 75% of towns.
- Deliberate fires75/10011.3 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Criminal damage and arson67/1008.2 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Broadband66/1009.4% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 13.0% across the Isle of Wight council area
- Rain38/100123 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Serious road collisions37/1002.0 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Sewage spills32/100107 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2024 to 2025
- Fly-tipping20/1006.4 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Isle of Wight council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Air pollution13/1004.8 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 5.5 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Anti-social behaviour9/1008.1 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Food hygiene7/1000.6% rated 0 to 2, of the 164 food businesses with a rating
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newport | 65 |
| 2 | Sandown | 65 |
| In danger of becoming nice from here down.3 | Ryde | 37 |
| 4 | Cowes | 20 |
| – | Shanklin | 11 |
Below the dashed line: in danger of becoming nice.
Shanklin by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 77.2 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 76.2
- 158 reports of dog fouling on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026
- 1 serious pollution incident within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2026
- 1 of 2 bathing waters here or within 2 km rated Excellent in 2025
What's left on the high street
- 9 pubs, 10 hairdressers, 8 charity shops, 1 bookmaker, 3 vape shops, 1 bank on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 0.0% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (0 of 13) Better: Against the typical town's 4.0%
- 1 bank branch closure announced since 2022 Worse: 11.0 per 100,000 people, 3.2x the typical town's 3.4
- 7 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Better: 7.7 per 10,000 people, 4.8x the typical town's 1.6
- None public swimming pools open Worse: Against the typical English town's 0.7 per 10,000 people
- 2 places on England's Heritage at Risk register
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.14am last bus out on a Wednesday About the same: About the same as the typical town's 12.14am
- 1.1% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Worse: 2.2x the typical town's 0.5%
- 52.9% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Worse: 3.4x the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,944 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Better: 27% higher than the typical town's 1,532
Isle of Wight council
Have a crap-off
Shanklin 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.