Skip to content
Kent Counts — Kent, in numbers.Local help →
Kent Counts / Council areas / Tunbridge Wells / Southborough & Bidborough

Southborough & Bidborough · Tunbridge Wells

Southborough & Bidborough: your neighbourhood

Southborough & Bidborough electoral ward · May 2026 boundaries. Every figure carries its own date.

What stands out here?

Homes rented privately: 16% here, compared with 19% across Tunbridge Wells (3.4 percentage points lower).

A larger private-rented sector changes the mix of housing advice, enforcement and tenant support needed. It does not tell us whether individual homes are affordable or safe.

21 March 2021 · ward and council use the same source, measure and date.

Why this comparison is valid

The difference is in percentage points. The wider figure is the published council total, not the average of its wards. Differences describe groups, not every resident.

Source →
A proposed response →

People aged 16+ with a degree or equivalent: 42% here, compared with 41.1% across Tunbridge Wells (0.8 percentage points higher).

Qualifications show local skills, not whether people have secure jobs or use those skills at work.

21 March 2021 · ward and council use the same source, measure and date.

Why this comparison is valid

The difference is in percentage points. The wider figure is the published council total, not the average of its wards. Differences describe groups, not every resident.

Source →
A proposed response →

Households facing two or more measured disadvantages: 14.5% here, compared with 13.7% across Tunbridge Wells (0.8 percentage points higher).

These households met at least two census conditions covering education, employment, health and housing. This is not an income or poverty measure.

21 March 2021 · ward and council use the same source, measure and date.

Why this comparison is valid

The difference is in percentage points. The wider figure is the published council total, not the average of its wards. Differences describe groups, not every resident.

Source →
A proposed response →

The ward in numbers

People aged 65 or over

19.3%

21 March 2021 · Southborough & Bidborough

Show the workings

Complete Census output-area counts summed using official 2026 best-fit ward lookup

All usual residents

1,800 out of 9,342.

Source and method →

People reporting bad or very bad health

4.4%

21 March 2021 · Southborough & Bidborough

Show the workings

Complete Census output-area counts summed using official 2026 best-fit ward lookup

All usual residents; self-reported, not age-standardised

410 out of 9,373.

Source and method →

People counted in the census

9,363

21 March 2021 · Southborough & Bidborough

Show the workings

Complete Census output-area counts summed using official 2026 best-fit ward lookup

All usual residents

9,363 out of 9,363.

Source and method →

People aged 16+ with a degree or equivalent

42%

21 March 2021 · Southborough & Bidborough

Show the workings

Complete Census output-area counts summed using official 2026 best-fit ward lookup

Residents aged 16 and over

3,126 out of 7,448.

Source and method →

Households facing at least one measured disadvantage

44%

21 March 2021 · Southborough & Bidborough

The census checks education, employment, health and housing. This is not a measure of income or poverty.

Show the workings

Complete Census output-area counts summed using official 2026 best-fit ward lookup

All households

1,676 out of 3,806.

Source and method →

Households facing two or more measured disadvantages

14.5%

21 March 2021 · Southborough & Bidborough

The census checks education, employment, health and housing. This is not a measure of income or poverty.

Show the workings

Complete Census output-area counts summed using official 2026 best-fit ward lookup

All households

550 out of 3,806.

Source and method →

Residents aged 16+ outside the labour market

36.5%

21 March 2021 · Southborough & Bidborough

Show the workings

21 March 2021, residents aged 16 and over. Includes full-time students in the corresponding work/unemployment categories. Not a current labour-market estimate or the usual 16–64 employment rate. Census took place during the coronavirus pandemic; furlough and lockdown affected answers. Ward counts sum complete official output-area best-fit membership; privacy adjustment can make totals differ slightly.

All usual residents aged 16 and over

2,721 out of 7,458.

Source and method →

Residents aged 16+ in work

60.8%

21 March 2021 · Southborough & Bidborough

Show the workings

21 March 2021, residents aged 16 and over. Includes full-time students in the corresponding work/unemployment categories. Not a current labour-market estimate or the usual 16–64 employment rate. Census took place during the coronavirus pandemic; furlough and lockdown affected answers. Ward counts sum complete official output-area best-fit membership; privacy adjustment can make totals differ slightly.

All usual residents aged 16 and over

4,534 out of 7,458.

Source and method →

Residents aged 16+ not working because of long-term illness or disability

3.4%

21 March 2021 · Southborough & Bidborough

Show the workings

21 March 2021, residents aged 16 and over. Includes full-time students in the corresponding work/unemployment categories. Not a current labour-market estimate or the usual 16–64 employment rate. Census took place during the coronavirus pandemic; furlough and lockdown affected answers. Ward counts sum complete official output-area best-fit membership; privacy adjustment can make totals differ slightly.

All usual residents aged 16 and over

251 out of 7,458.

Source and method →

People aged 16+ with no qualifications

12.9%

21 March 2021 · Southborough & Bidborough

Show the workings

Complete Census output-area counts summed using official 2026 best-fit ward lookup

Residents aged 16 and over

963 out of 7,448.

Source and method →

Homes rented privately

16%

21 March 2021 · Southborough & Bidborough

Show the workings

Complete Census output-area counts summed using official 2026 best-fit ward lookup

All households

601 out of 3,802.

Source and method →

Residents aged 16+ retired

22.3%

21 March 2021 · Southborough & Bidborough

Show the workings

21 March 2021, residents aged 16 and over. Includes full-time students in the corresponding work/unemployment categories. Not a current labour-market estimate or the usual 16–64 employment rate. Census took place during the coronavirus pandemic; furlough and lockdown affected answers. Ward counts sum complete official output-area best-fit membership; privacy adjustment can make totals differ slightly.

All usual residents aged 16 and over

1,666 out of 7,458.

Source and method →

Homes rented from a council or housing association

14%

21 March 2021 · Southborough & Bidborough

Show the workings

Complete Census output-area counts summed using official 2026 best-fit ward lookup

All households

536 out of 3,802.

Source and method →

Residents aged 16+ unemployed

2.7%

21 March 2021 · Southborough & Bidborough

Show the workings

21 March 2021, residents aged 16 and over. Includes full-time students in the corresponding work/unemployment categories. Not a current labour-market estimate or the usual 16–64 employment rate. Census took place during the coronavirus pandemic; furlough and lockdown affected answers. Ward counts sum complete official output-area best-fit membership; privacy adjustment can make totals differ slightly. Unemployed residents as a share of all residents aged 16+; this is not the unemployment rate among economically active people.

All usual residents aged 16 and over

203 out of 7,458.

Source and method →

Crime and safety

Police-recorded locations for Southborough & Bidborough ward. Locations are approximate; these are not all crimes or a measure of personal risk.

331 mapped crimes

September 2025 to August 2026. Compared with 452 in the previous 12 months. Anti-social behaviour is counted separately.

Mapped crime over time

September 2024 to August 2026

Southborough & Bidborough ward · mapped crimes

Reviewed figures: September 2024 to August 2026. This reviewed record covers fewer than 30 years, so the chart opens on all of it.

Shown on this chart: 37 mapped crimes in September 2024; 26 mapped crimes in August 2026. These are recorded counts; check the coverage notes before comparing periods.

The line joins consecutive published observations.

Monthly crime and anti-social behaviour
Recorded locations by month · Southborough & Bidborough
MonthMapped crimeAnti-social behaviour
September 2024372
October 2024453
November 2024434
December 2024475
January 2025334
February 2025357
March 2025437
April 2025300
May 2025413
June 2025271
July 2025336
August 2025385
September 2025252
October 2025325
November 2025264
December 2025255
January 2026283
February 2026294
March 2026225
April 2026304
May 2026344
June 2026263
July 20262814
August 2026268
Crime categories in the latest complete year
September 2025 to August 2026 · Southborough & Bidborough
CategoryMapped crimes
violent crime136
shoplifting56
other theft31
criminal damage arson27
public order22
vehicle crime15
other crime13
burglary13
drugs12
robbery3
bicycle theft2
possession of weapons1
What these numbers include

Approximate published locations, not every crime or personal risk.

Anti-social behaviour is separate. Transport police and unusable locations excluded.

An empty ward count means no mapped rows in the complete required force files; it does not prove that no crime occurred.

These are retrieved mapped records, not a guarantee of complete crime reporting. Approximate locations and unmapped incidents limit comparisons.

Missing ward-months invalidate totals and changes. Busy centres attract visitors, so residential population is not a measure of the number of people exposed.

Police data and method →

What could improve local safety →

Projects and proposed responses

A nearby project is not proof of a benefit to the whole ward. Only source-supported ward links are attached here.

No project boundary has been verified against this ward. See projects and their stated locations →

Proposed responses across Tunbridge Wells →