Crap Towns / Lancashire / Skelmersdale
Skelmersdale
85/100Crap Score
Locals call it Skem.
147th crappest of 984 towns, and 19th in Lancashire. 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
Which exit? Doesn't matter.
A New Town built out of roundabouts, with no railway station. You get a bus to a train.
Skelmersdale was built from scratch as a New Town, and the planners must have loved a roundabout, because that's all it is. Visitors go round and round looking for the exit. There's no railway station, despite them promising one for years, so you get a bus to a train somewhere else.
Anti-social behaviour comes in at nearly twice the typical town's rate and the local firebugs set a fire more than two and a half times as often. Nearly a fifth of premises can't get gigabit broadband, in a town that was planned on paper and still got that wrong. There's one bank left. Old Skem was here first and has watched the lot.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Skelmersdale's 90 for anti-social behaviour means it's crapper than 90% of towns.
- Anti-social behaviour90/10026.8 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Broadband88/10019.0% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 14.4% across the West Lancashire council area
- Deliberate fires83/10015.2 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Rain82/100159 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Fly-tipping76/10017.1 incidents per 1,000 people a year, West Lancashire council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Criminal damage and arson74/1008.9 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Serious road collisions58/1002.6 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Air pollution53/1009.2 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 6.4 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Food hygiene39/1002.0% rated 0 to 2, of the 151 food businesses with a rating
- Sewage spills29/10092.5 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | Great Harwood | 96 |
| 16 | Oswaldtwistle | 95 |
| 17 | Blackpool | 92 |
| 18 | Fleetwood | 91 |
| 19 | Skelmersdale | 85 |
| 20 | Fulwood | 82 |
| 21 | Chorley | 81 |
| 22 | Clitheroe | 77 |
| 23 | Bamber Bridge | 72 |
Skelmersdale by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 79.8 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
- 12 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 About the same: 3.4 per 10,000 people, about the same as the typical town's 3.4
- 3 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2026
What's left on the high street
- 11 pubs, 8 hairdressers, 4 charity shops, 2 bookmakers, 2 vape shops, 1 bank, 1 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 0.0% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (0 of 28) Better: Against the typical town's 4.0%
- 1 bank branch closure announced since 2022 Better: 2.9 per 100,000 people, 15% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 5 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Worse: 1.4 per 10,000 people, 13% lower than the typical town's 1.6
- 3 public swimming pools open; 1 closed for good since 2010 Better: 0.9 per 10,000 people, 29% higher than the typical English town's 0.7
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.07am last bus out on a Wednesday About the same: About the same as the typical town's 12.14am
- 0.2% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Better: 60% lower than the typical town's 0.5%
- 7.5% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Better: 52% lower than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,456 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 1,532
West Lancashire council
Have a crap-off
Skelmersdale 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.