Crap Towns / Tyne and Wear / Whitley Bay
Whitley Bay
26/100Crap Score
Known as the Bay of Dreams.
733rd crappest of 984 towns, and 17th in Tyne and Wear. 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 Whitley Bay? Write in.
agree it's crap have defended it
Shitley Bay, some say.
The old stag-do capital has gone posh. The wind off the North Sea hasn't.
Whitley Bay used to be where stag dos went to get wrecked. Now the Spanish City dome's done up and the town's all coffee shops, estate agents and prices that make locals wince. The wind off the sea will still take your face off. Some sod keeps dumping rubbish, and someone else keeps trashing the community garden.
Banks have announced 6 branch closures since 2022, nearly five times the typical town's rate for a place this size. Cullercoats down the road was rated Poor for bathing in 2025. There's hardly a play space for the kids. The Bay of Dreams. Somebody's having one.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Whitley Bay's 81 for fly-tipping means it's crapper than 81% of towns.
- Fly-tipping81/10019.1 incidents per 1,000 people a year, North Tyneside council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Deliberate fires71/1009.4 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Air pollution49/1009.7 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 6.0 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Anti-social behaviour44/10014.4 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Sewage spills32/100105 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Food hygiene26/1001.6% rated 0 to 2, of the 254 food businesses with a rating
- Rain24/100119 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Criminal damage and arson19/1004.9 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Serious road collisions16/1001.5 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Broadband9/1001.4% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 5.9% across the North Tyneside council area
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Hebburn | 75 |
| 10 | Houghton-le-Spring | 73 |
| 11 | Birtley | 69 |
| 12 | Longbenton | 61 |
| 13 | Washington | 57 |
| 14 | Whickham | 53 |
| 15 | Killingworth | 50 |
| 16 | Shiney Row and Penshaw | 47 |
| In danger of becoming nice from here down.17 | Whitley Bay | 26 |
Below the dashed line: in danger of becoming nice.
Whitley Bay by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 58.3 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Better: 23% lower than the typical town's 76.2
- 38 reports of litter and bins on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Worse: 10.3 per 10,000 people, 11.4x the typical town's 0.9
- 3 of 4 bathing waters here or within 2 km rated Excellent in 2025; 1 rated Poor
What's left on the high street
- 29 pubs, 58 hairdressers, 10 charity shops, 3 bookmakers, 5 vape shops, 3 banks, 1 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 5.9% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (2 of 34) Worse: 48% higher than the typical town's 4.0%
- 6 bank branch closures announced since 2022 Worse: 16.3 per 100,000 people, 4.8x the typical town's 3.4
- 14 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Better: 3.8 per 10,000 people, 2.4x the typical town's 1.6
- 2 public swimming pools open Worse: 0.5 per 10,000 people, 29% lower than the typical English town's 0.7
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.26am 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%
- 32.8% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Worse: 2.1x the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,610 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Better: 5% higher than the typical town's 1,532
North Tyneside council
- £2,462 Band D council tax (2026-27) About the same: £70 more than the English average
- 8% of North Tyneside council's unclassified roads should have been considered for maintenance (2025-26) Better: 50% lower than England's 16%
- 16 ombudsman complaints upheld against the council in 2025-26
- More on the council
Have a crap-off
Whitley Bay 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.