Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury is one of the oldest towns in England. The town overlooks the Blackmore Vale, and combined with its history and architectural character, it is certainly one of the most attractive.
The steep, cobbled Gold Hill is probably one of the most famous streets in the country. The town is the main shopping and service centre for the surrounding area, and provides a range of educational, health and recreational facilities, as well as its own art centre and museum.
Communications
Shaftesbury is located halfway between Blandford and Warminster on the A350, 7 miles south of the A303. The nearest railway station is at Gillingham, 4 miles away.
Population
Latest population figure (2011 Census) for the town (Shaftesbury Parish) is 7,314
| Age | Shaftesbury (number) | Shaftesbury (%) | Dorset-DCC area (%) | England & Wales (%) |
| 0-4 | 390 | 5.3 | 4.7 | 6.2 |
| 5-9 | 396 | 5.4 | 4.8 | 5.6 |
| 10-14 | 423 | 5.8 | 5.6 | 5.8 |
| 15-19 | 441 | 6.0 | 5.8 | 6.3 |
| 20-24 | 379 | 5.2 | 4.7 | 6.8 |
| 25-29 | 370 | 5.1 | 4.1 | 6.8 |
| 30-34 | 394 | 5.4 | 4.3 | 6.6 |
| 35-39 | 464 | 6.3 | 5.2 | 6.7 |
| 40-44 | 525 | 7.2 | 6.6 | 7.3 |
| 45-49 | 519 | 7.1 | 7.3 | 7.3 |
| 50-54 | 481 | 6.6 | 6.9 | 6.4 |
| 55-59 | 427 | 5.8 | 6.6 | 5.7 |
| 60-64 | 492 | 6.7 | 8.0 | 6.0 |
| 65-69 | 387 | 5.3 | 6.9 | 4.8 |
| 70-74 | 342 | 4.7 | 5.6 | 3.9 |
| 75-79 | 312 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 3.2 |
| 80-84 | 241 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 2.4 |
| 85+ | 331 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 2.2 |
| total | 7,314 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
selected age groups
| Age | Shaftesbury (number) | Shaftesbury(%) | Dorset-DCC area (%) | England & Wales (%) |
| Young people 0 to 17 | 1,501 | 20.5 | 18.8 | 21.3 |
| Young adults 18 to 29 | 898 | 12.3 | 10.9 | 16.2 |
| Older people 65 plus | 1,613 | 22.1 | 25.2 | 16.4 |
Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), 2011 Census
Historic Population
| Year | 1921 | 1931 | 1951 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Census population | 1,810 | 2,820 | 3,300 | 3,370 | 3,980 | 3,940 | 6,180 | 6,670 | 7,314 |
Education
Shaftesbury pyramid area:
4 primary schools, 1 secondary school.
The secondary school for the area
Shaftesbury School and Sports College (1,053 pupils in 2011).
For further information on
Shaftesbury School & Sports College (opens in a new window) 
Commercial land
Between 1994-10, 5.0 hectares of industrial land has been developed in Shaftesbury. The total area of land with permission or allocated in local plans is 7.3 hectares
Crime
Domestic burglaries
Rate per 1,000 households
| Area | 2002/03 | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | 2008/2009 | 2009/10 | 2010/11 | 2011/12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Shaftesbury | 12.2 | 4.8 | 7.7 | 4.5 | 6.1 | n/a | 3.8 | 10.9 | 3.2 | 2.2 |
DCC Dorset | 6.6 | 6.6 | 6.5 | 5.7 | 4.4 | n/a | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.4 |
South West | 14.8 | 12.3 | 10.7 | 8.9 | 8.4 | n/a | 8.2 | 7.6 | 7.2 | 7.0 |
England and Wales | 20.0 | 18.6 (GB) | 14.4 | 13.5 | 13.1 | n/a | 12.2 | 11.6 | 11.1 | 10.5 |
Please note: Due to the low prevailing level of offences, and the often sporadic nature of burglary, rates for small geographical areas can vary significantly from year to year
Source: Dorset County Council
Other sources of crime data
Access the
Police crime mapping Shaftesbury (opens in a new window)
where you can find crime data on a month by month basis (starting December 2010) mapped to neighbourhood and street level. This looks at the crime types of burglary, anti-social behaviour, robbery, vehicle crime, violent crime and other crime. Note this comprehensive and up-to-date database only looks at numbers of crimes and not crime rates for individual crimes. It does give an overall crime rate (per 1,000 people) for the neighbourhood.
Housing growth
| Year | 98 | 99 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Housing development | 26 | 29 | 100 | 57 | 54 | 6 | 33 | 60 | 43 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 46 | 93 | 220 |
The 2011 Census records 3,493 dwellings in Shaftesbury.
Since 2011, a further 220 have been built giving a total of 3,693. At March 2012, a further 411 units have permission and 0 are allocated in the local plan.
Note: Figures allow for losses from re-development etc. Method revised 2009.
Index of deprivation, 2010
(Figures show SOA ranking out of 247 SOAs in Dorset with 1 being the most deprived)
SOA = Super Output Area (minimum 400 households or 1,000 population)
| SOA | Multiple | Income | Employment | Health | Education & Skills | Housing & services | crime | Living |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaftesbury Central | 47 | 32 | 39 | 48 | 40 | 187 | 64 | 110 |
| Shaftesbury Christy's | 226 | 194 | 236 | 200 | 132 | 154 | 221 | 219 |
| Shaftesbury Grosvenor | 103 | 76 | 81 | 127 | 42 | 108 | 122 | 186 |
| Shaftesbury Underhill | 174 | 184 | 170 | 75 | 223 | 142 | 63 | 90 |
Click here for detailed information and mapping of the The Index of Deprivation, 2010
Source:DCLG
Poverty Indicators: Housing/Council Tax Benefit: March2013
| Settlement | Benefit Population | Total Population | % Benefit Population |
| Alderholt | 282 | 3,171 | 8.9% |
| Beaminster | 547 | 3,136 | 17.4% |
| Bere Regis | 305 | 1,745 | 17.5% |
| Blandford | 1,657 | 10,325 | 16.0% |
| Bridport | 2,414 | 13,568 | 17.8% |
| Burton | 631 | 4,177 | 15.1% |
| Charminster/Charlton Down | 379 | 2,940 | 12.9% |
| Chickerell | 895 | 5,515 | 16.2% |
| Christchurch | 7,747 | 47,700 | 16.2% |
| Colehill | 538 | 6,907 | 7.8% |
| Corfe Castle | 190 | 1,355 | 14.0% |
| Corfe Mullen | 948 | 10,133 | 9.4% |
| Crossways | 385 | 2,267 | 17.0% |
| Dorchester | 2,987 | 19,060 | 15.7% |
| Ferndown | 2,300 | 17,839 | 12.9% |
| Gillingham | 1,697 | 11,756 | 14.4% |
| Lyme Regis | 527 | 3,671 | 14.4% |
| Lytchett Matravers | 370 | 3,424 | 10.8% |
| Lytchett Minster/Upton | 1,338 | 7,983 | 16.8% |
| Marnhull | 245 | 1,998 | 12.3% |
| Portland | 2,880 | 12,844 | 22.4% |
| Sandford | 381 | 2,774 | 13.7% |
| Shaftesbury | 969 | 7,314 | 13.2% |
| Sherborne | 1,567 | 9,523 | 16.5% |
| St Leonards & St Ives | 536 | 6,859 | 7.8% |
| Stalbridge | 333 | 2,698 | 12.3% |
| Sturminster Marshall | 199 | 1,969 | 10.1% |
| Sturminster Newton | 664 | 4,292 | 15.5% |
| Swanage | 1,571 | 9,601 | 16.4% |
| Verwood | 1,653 | 14,852 | 11.1% |
| Wareham | 907 | 5,496 | 16.5% |
| West Moors | 981 | 7,561 | 13.0% |
| Weymouth | 11,079 | 52,256 | 21.2% |
| Wimborne | 1,268 | 6,790 | 18.7% |
| Wool | 771 | 5,310 | 14.5% |
| Dorset ( DCC area) | - | - | - |
Source: DCC
Socio-economic classifications, 2010 ACORN
| Classifications | Dorset | Shaftesbury |
|---|---|---|
| % Wealthy Achievers | 40.1 | 32.3 |
| % Urban Prosperity | 7.1 | 2.1 |
| % Comfortably Off | 33.2 | 43.2 |
| % Moderate Means | 9.2 | 14.6 |
| % Hard Pressed | 10.2 | 7.6 |
| % unclassified | 0.2 | 0.2 |
ACORN is a geodemographic segmentation of the UK's population which segments small neighbourhoods, postcodes, or consumer households into 5 categories, 17 groups and 56 types.
The 5 higher level categories "wealthy achievers", "urban prosperity", "comfortably off", "moderate means" and "hard pressed" are shown above.
A full ACORN Profile for the town, with mapping of the wards is available. Access the
Shaftesbury ACORN Profile (pdf, 1Mb) (opens in a new window)
here.
Average house prices
| Dwelling type | Average Price July - Sept 2009 | Average Price July - Sept 2010 | July - Sept 2010 (sales) | Average Price July - Sept 2012 | July - Sept 2012 (sales) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £236,878 | £329,958 | 12 | £394,722 | 11 |
| Semi-detached | £160,646 | £181,752 | 19 | £168,580 | 5 |
| Terraced | £151,619 | £182,454 | 21 | £160,445 | 18 |
| Flats/maisonettes | £123,100 | n/a | 0 | £106,800 | 3 |
Land Registry average prices (Prices may be affected by low number of sales). Data based on the postcode sector SP7 8.
Tenure - 2011 Census
% of all households
| Area | Owner occupied (%) | Shared ownership (%) | Social rented (%) | Private rented (%) | Living rent free (%) |
| Shaftesbury | 68.4 | 0.7 | 15.2 | 14.5 | 1.2 |
Source: ONS
Area
Approx 'built-up' area = 310 hectares (766 acres)
Local authority revenue
| Council tax band D for Year | Council tax payable |
|---|---|
| 12/13 | £1,628.21 |
| 11/12 | £1,628.20 |
10/11 | £1,623.18 |
09/10 | £1574.12 |
08/09 | £1,519.51 |
07/08 | £1,445.59 |
06/07 | £1,369.06 |
05/06 | £1,322.92 |
04/05 | £1,252.70 |
03/04 | £1,185.71 |
02/03 | £1,025.79 |
01/02 | £924.97 |
00/01 | £872.47 |
99/00 | £827.06 |
Second/holiday and vacant homes, 2011
| Total dwellings on Council Tax Register | 3,429 |
|---|---|
| Total number of second homes | 45 |
Second homes as a % of total dwellings | 1.31 |
| Total number of long term empty properties | 40 |
Empty homes as a % of total dwellings | 1.22 |
Source: Council Tax Register (parish figure, rounded)
Ethnicity (%) - 2011Census
| Shaftesbury | North Dorset | Dorset (DCC area) | |
| % white British | 93.3 | 94.7 | 95.5 |
| % Black and minority ethnic groups (BME) | 6.7 | 5.3 | 4.5 |
Source: Office for National Statistics, 2011 Census
Country of birth (%) - 2011 Census
| Shaftesbury | North Dorset | Dorset (DCC area) | |
| % born in England | 89.0 | 89.7 | 91.0 |
| % born rest of UK | 3.0 | 3.4 | 3.4 |
| % born in Rep of IRE | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| % born EU (member countries in 2001) | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.3 |
| % born EU (Accession countries April 2001 to March 2011) | 1.9 | 1.3 | 0.7 |
| % born elsewhere | 4.2 | 3.6 | 3.1 |
Source: Office for National Statistics, 2011 Census
Health - 2011 Census (% of population)
Health Limiting day-to-day Activities
| Shaftesbury | North Dorset | Dorset (DCC area) | |
| Day-to-day activities limited a lot (%) | 7.0 | 7.1 | 8.6 |
| limited a little(%) | 10.6 | 10.4 | 11.5 |
| not limited(%) | 82.4 | 82.5 | 79.9 |
| limited a lot: Age 16 to 64(%) | 2.4 | 2.6 | 2.9 |
| limited a little: Age 16 to 64(%) | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.5 |
| not limited: Age 16 to 64(%) | 53.3 | 53.6 | 51.1 |
General Health
| Shaftesbury | North Dorset | Dorset (DCC area) | |
| Very good health(%) | 46.4 | 47.8 | 44.6 |
| Good health(%) | 36.0 | 35.2 | 35.9 |
| Fair health(%) | 13.5 | 12.8 | 14.5 |
| Bad health(%) | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.9 |
| Very bad health(%) | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.1 |
Provision of Unpaid Care
| Shaftesbury | North Dorset | Dorset (DCC area) | |
| Provides no unpaid care(%) | 90.0 | 89.4 | 88.1 |
| Provides 1 to 19 hours unpaid care a week(%) | 7.3 | 7.3 | 8.1 |
| Provides 20 to 49 hours unpaid care a week(%) | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.3 |
| Provides 50 or more hours unpaid care a week(%) | 1.9 | 2.2 | 2.5 |
Source: ONS 2011 Census
Retail profile - total town floorspace
75 shops/78,000sq.ft. (2005)
Town centre:
Mainly small shops but includes nationals such as Body Shop, Boots, Somerfield, Superdrug and W H Smiths. Tesco's is based outside the main shopping area.
Catchment population:
The shopping catchment for Shaftesbury (major food shopping) extends around 4.5 miles in a N,S,E, & W direction, partly into Wiltshire. The Dorset population within that catchment is around 11,200 (mid 2001).
Library - Number of issues of books etc
| Library | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaftesbury | 75,755 | 74,229 | 67,107 | 65,508 |
Industrial estates
Longmead Industrial Estate (7.7h), Wincombe Business Park (6.5h).
Unemployment % (persons)
Proportion of resident population aged 16-64 and actual number
| Year | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
July 1998 | 3.1 (49) | 1.3 (20) | 2.2 (69) |
July 1999 | 2.6 (42) | 0.9 (14) | 1.8 (56) |
July 2000 | 1.9 (33) | 0.9 (15) | 1.4 (48) |
July 2001 | 1.0 (18) | 0.8 (15) | 0.9 (33) |
July 2002 | 1.3 (28) | 0.5 (9) | 0.9 (37) |
July 2003 | 1.0 (26) | 0.3 (7) | 0.7 (33) |
July 2004 | 1.3 (26) | 0.5 (9) | 0.9 (35) |
July 2005 | 0.9 (17) | 0.5 (10) | 0.7 (27) |
July 2006 | 1.4 (28) | 0.7 (12) | 1.1 (40) |
July 2007 | 1.0 (20) | 0.5 (10) | 0.8 (30) |
| July 2008 | 1.0 (20) | 0.3 (6) | 0.7 (26) |
| July 2009 | 1.8 (36) | 1.0 (19) | 1.4 (55) |
| July 2010 | 1.7 (34) | 0.8 (17) | 1.2 (51) |
| July 2011 | 1.9 (33) | 1.4 (27) | 1.7 (60) |
Of July 2009 unemployment figures, the long term unemployed = 3.6%
Of July 2010 unemployment figures, the long term unemployed = 9.8%
Of July 2011 unemployment figures, the long term unemployed = 8.5%
The wider economy of the area
To see an economic profile of the wider North Dorset area follow this link to the
North Dorset Economy & Labour Market Profile 2011 (pdf, 985kb) (opens in a new window)
.
2010 Employment
Total number of people working in the town: 3,400
Number of firms (excluding the self employed): 310 (2009)
| Work pattern | percentage |
|---|---|
Full-time | 66% |
Part-time | 34% |
Type of employment | % |
|---|---|
Production and construction | 25 |
Distribution, accommodation and food | 29 |
| Other market services | 11 |
| Public Admin, education and health | 23 |
| Other services | 12 |
Figures exclude farm agriculture.
Source: Annual Source: Business Register and Employment Survey, 2010, ONS
Major employers
Blackmore Press, Dorset Chilled Foods, Dorset County Council,
HMYOI Guys Marsh, Pork Farms, Port Regis School, Royal Mail, Somerfield,
Stalbridge Linen Services, Tesco, Wessex Electricals.
Traffic counts in the Shaftesbury area - annual average daily traffic
| Road | Location | AADF (Annual Average Daily Traffic) | Percentage Growth Since | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | 1983 | 1990 | 2000 | 2005 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2005 | 2000 | 1990 | 1983 | |
| 1 Year | 2 year | 5 Years | 10 Years | 20 Years | 27 Years | |||||||||
| A350 | North of Shaftesbury | 4,700 | 7,000 | 9,200 | 9,600 | 9,900 | 10,000 | 9,800 | -2% | -1% | 2% | 7% | 40% | 109% |
| B3081 | West of Gillingham | 1,800 | 3,000 | 3,400 | 4,700 | 4,500 | 4,600 | 4,600 | 0% | 2% | -2% | 35% | 53% | 156% |
| B3081 | South of Shaftesbury | 3,700 | 5,400 | 6,400 | 7,600 | 7,600 | 7,600 | 7,700 | 1% | 1% | 1% | 20% | 43% | 108% |
| A30 | East of Shaftesbury | 5,200 | 5,700 | 6,400 | 7,400 | 6,800 | 6,800 | 6,400 | -6% | -6% | -14% | 0% | 12% | 23% |
| A350 | South of Shaftesbury | n/a | n/a | n/a | 4,200 | 4,550 | 4,500 | 4,300 | -4% | -5% | 2% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| A30 | West of Shaftesbury (Long Cross) | n/a | n/a | n/a | 5,100 | 6,300 | 5,900 | 5,800 | -2% | -8% | 14% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| A30 | Christies Lane - Shaftesbury | 9,300 | 13,900 | n/a | 16,900 | 17,700 | 17,600 | 17,100 | -3% | -3% | 1% | N/A | 23% | 84% |
Source: Dorset County Council Environment Directorate June 2011
Local authorities
Dorset County Council
County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1XJ
01305 221000
North Dorset District Council
Nordon, Salisbury Road, Blandford Forum, Dorset DT11 7LL
01258 454111
Shaftesbury Town Council contact details

