Harwood
Harwood, in Bolton. What stands out most here is deprivation decile: at 8 it is in the third least deprived tenth of England, measured across this neighbourhood (LSOA, about 1,500 people).
Planning designations: none at the centre — the centre postcode. Checked against the national registers; a designation can still cover part of the wider area.
Rivers and sea flood risk: not in an at-risk band — the centre postcode. England only, indicative, by 50 m cell, rivers and sea only. It says nothing about surface water.
GP practices used by this neighbourhood: 35 — this neighbourhood (LSOA, about 1,500 people). Most use Harwood Medical Centre (55%). Where neighbours are registered — not a catchment, and not a guarantee of a place.
Miles to the nearest acute hospital: 3.8 — straight-line distance from the centre. Bolton Royal Hospital, run by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. Straight-line, not a journey time, and the nearest site is not always the one you would be taken to.
We could not show these: census, crime, prices. They either did not answer or are not published for this area — a gap in our data, not a finding about this place.
Rankings and orderings on this page are ours; every figure belongs to the publisher named beside it.
Is Harwood a nice place to live?
That depends on what you need from a place, so we don't give Harwood a score. These are the official figures people usually weigh, for the neighbourhood around its centre, compared with England wherever the comparison is fair.
Is Harwood safe?
On the government's crime measure (the Indices of Deprivation 2025), the neighbourhood at the centre of Harwood is in decile 7 of 10 — less crime than the middle of England. Decile 1 is the tenth of neighbourhoods with the most crime, decile 10 the tenth with the least.
Is Harwood good for families?
There are 56 open schools within 3 miles of the centre (46 primary, 9 secondary, 1 all-through). The nearest is St Maxentius CofE Primary School, 0.2 miles away; each school's own Ofsted report is linked further down this page. On the government's education and skills measure, which counts the qualifications of children and adults who live there, the neighbourhood is in decile 8 of 10 — more qualifications and skills than the middle of England.
Health and doctors in Harwood
On the government's health measure, which counts early deaths, illness and disability, the neighbourhood is in decile 6 of 10 — around the middle of England for health. People in this neighbourhood are registered with 35 GP practices; most use Harwood Medical Centre (55%). The nearest acute hospital is Bolton Royal Hospital, 3.8 miles away in a straight line.
What is the neighbourhood like?
Overall, the neighbourhood is in decile 8 of 10 on the Index of Multiple Deprivation, where 1 is England's most deprived tenth and 10 the least. It describes the area, never the people in it. For living environment, which counts the condition of homes, air quality and road accidents, it is in decile 4 of 10 — a poorer living environment than the middle of England. The centre is not in a rivers-and-sea flood risk band (Environment Agency; surface water is a separate risk).
The figures describe the neighbourhood around the centre (BL2 3HS), not every street in Harwood. For your own street, look up your postcode on the StreetOwl dashboard.
The figures
Figures are shown against their own scale, or against the England figure beside them. These are a reading aid, not a rating — StreetOwl does not score places.
| Measure | Here | England | What it covers, and who publishes it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deprivation decile (1 = England's most deprived tenth) | 8in the third least deprived tenth of England | 5.5 | this neighbourhood (LSOA, about 1,500 people) Indices of Deprivation 2025, MHCLG 1 = the most deprived tenth of England, 10 = the least. It describes the neighbourhood, never the people in it. |
| Planning designations | none at the centre | — | the centre postcode planning.data.gov.uk checked against the national registers; a designation can still cover part of the wider area. |
| Rivers and sea flood risk | not in an at-risk band | — | the centre postcode Environment Agency NaFRA2 England only, indicative, by 50 m cell, rivers and sea only. It says nothing about surface water. |
| GP practices used by this neighbourhood | 35 | — | this neighbourhood (LSOA, about 1,500 people) NHS England, patients registered at a GP practice Most use Harwood Medical Centre (55%). Where neighbours are registered — not a catchment, and not a guarantee of a place. |
| Miles to the nearest acute hospital | 3.8 | — | straight-line distance from the centre NHS England, with NHS ODS site locations Bolton Royal Hospital, run by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. Straight-line, not a journey time, and the nearest site is not always the one you would be taken to. |
| Major infrastructure projects nearby | 1 | — | centred within 9 miles of the centre Planning Inspectorate NSIP register Airports, power stations, reservoirs, major roads and the like. Each project is recorded at a single point, so one counted here may be centred some way off. |
| Planning applications nearby | 11 | — | within 600 m of the centre Council planning registers via PlanIt recently listed on the council's own register. A count of applications, not of approvals. |
| Renewable energy schemes nearby | 3 | — | within 1.9 miles of the centre DESNZ Renewable Energy Planning Database Wind, solar, hydro and battery schemes of roughly 150 kW and above. Counts schemes refused or withdrawn too, so it is what has been proposed here, not what is running. |
| Schools within 3 miles | 56 | — | within 3 miles of the centre DfE Get Information About Schools 46 primary, 9 secondary, 1 all-through. Open schools only. Each school listed below links to its own Ofsted report; the Schools tile on the dashboard shows each school's latest inspection for a postcode. |
Schools nearest the centre
Ofsted stopped publishing an overall grade in the register we hold, so each school below links to its own Ofsted report page, where the current judgement is.
| School | Phase | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| St Maxentius CofE Primary School | Primary | 0.2 miles |
| St Brendan's RC Primary School, Harwood, Bolton | Primary | 0.3 miles |
| Hardy Mill Primary School | Primary | 0.6 miles |
| Canon Slade School | Secondary | 0.7 miles |
| Harwood Meadows Primary School | Primary | 0.8 miles |
| St Columba's RC Primary School | Primary | 0.8 miles |
| Bolton St Catherine's Academy | All-through | 0.9 miles |
| Turton School | Secondary | 1.0 miles |
See it live
This page is a snapshot. StreetOwl’s dashboard shows the same data for any postcode, updated continuously — flood warnings, planning applications, sold prices, schools, air quality and the rest.
See live data for BL2 3HS →Live transport across Greater Manchester →Every figure on this page belongs to the publisher named beside it and is reproduced under the Open Government Licence where that licence applies. The ordering of the figures, and the choice of which to lead with, are ours.
Figures describe the geography stated against them — a neighbourhood, a council or a point — and not the whole of Harwood. Built 2026-10-31.