Crap Towns / Merseyside / West Kirby
West Kirby
29/100Crap Score
700th crappest of 984 towns, and 16th in Merseyside. 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
Walk to Hilbre. Don't come back.
A marine lake, a walk to Hilbre at low tide and a big ugly building in the middle.
West Kirby has a marine lake you can walk round, sailing, a beach and a walk out to Hilbre at low tide. It's lovely. Then there's the Concourse, which everyone agrees is a bloody eyesore. The lake is silting up, the flood wall caused a row and you can't park anywhere. Crime's low. The only thing vandalised is the view.
The buses stop at 6.05pm on a Wednesday and there's none on a Sunday, so of an evening the walk to Hilbre is about the only way out.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
West Kirby's 75 for rain means it's crapper than 75% of towns.
- Rain75/100151 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Fly-tipping73/10015.9 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Wirral council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Deliberate fires63/1007.7 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Sewage spills55/100341 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Anti-social behaviour43/1009.5 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Food hygiene29/1001.2% rated 0 to 2, of the 82 food businesses with a rating
- Broadband26/1005.8% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 3.6% across the Wirral council area
- Criminal damage and arson12/1004.2 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Air pollution11/1004.9 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 5.3 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Serious road collisions10/1001.2 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Haydock | 63 |
| 11 | Litherland | 59 |
| 12 | Bebington | 50 |
| 13 | Crosby | 48 |
| In danger of becoming nice from here down.14 | Maghull | 36 |
| 15 | Southport | 34 |
| 16 | West Kirby | 29 |
| 17 | Formby | 27 |
| 18 | Heswall | 16 |
Below the dashed line: in danger of becoming nice.
West Kirby by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 37.6 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Better: 51% lower than the typical town's 76.2
- 1 problem reported on FixMyStreet in the year to October 2026 Better: 0.7 per 10,000 people, 97% lower than the typical town's 20.4
- Sufficient West Kirby's bathing water rating, 2025
What's left on the high street
- 7 pubs, 7 hairdressers, 4 charity shops, 3 banks on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 1 bank branch closure announced since 2022 Worse: 7.5 per 100,000 people, 2.2x the typical town's 3.4
- 5 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Better: 3.7 per 10,000 people, 2.3x the typical town's 1.6
- 2 public swimming pools open Better: 1.5 per 10,000 people, 2.1x the typical English town's 0.7
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 6.05pm last bus out on a Wednesday, and none on a Sunday Worse: Earlier than the typical town's 12.14am
- 0.4% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Better: 20% lower than the typical town's 0.5%
- 37.2% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Worse: 2.4x the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,566 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 1,532
Wirral council
- £2,501 Band D council tax (2026-27) About the same: £109 more than the English average
- 11% of Wirral council's unclassified roads should have been considered for maintenance (2025-26) Better: 31% lower than England's 16%
- 24 ombudsman complaints upheld against the council in 2025-26
- More on the council
Have a crap-off
West Kirby 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.