Guides · 2026-10-13
Southwell or Newark-on-Trent: which is better to live in?
Southwell and Newark are seven miles apart but very different places to live. We compare recorded crime, schools, buses, GP access, broadband and flood risk from the official data.
Southwell, the small minster town, and Newark-on-Trent, the larger market town on the A1 and East Coast Main Line, often end up on the same shortlist. The official figures show why the choice usually comes down to what you need day to day.
Side by side
| Measure (within about 3 km of the centre) | Southwell | Newark-on-Trent |
|---|---|---|
| Recorded crime and anti-social behaviour per 1,000 residents a year | 40.6 | 131.8 |
| Open schools in range | 5 | 14 |
| Bus stops within 800 m | 28 | 49 |
| Nearest GP surgery | 0.37 km | 0.21 km |
| Gigabit-capable broadband, average postcode availability | 69% | 94% |
| Postcodes with homes at medium or high flood risk | 2% | 5.5% |
| Estimated drive at peak times to the nearest large town (modelled) | 29 min (Mansfield) | 33 min (Lincoln) |
What the numbers say
- Southwell had about a third of Newark's recorded crime per resident: 40.6 against 131.8 reports per 1,000 people a year. Newark's figure includes a busy town centre and station; Southwell has neither.
- Newark has nearly three times as many schools in range, more bus stops and noticeably better gigabit broadband coverage. For families with several children, or anyone working from home, that counts.
- Both have a GP close to the centre, and both have low flood risk across most postcodes, though some streets near the Trent in Newark are higher.
If quiet streets and low crime matter most, Southwell comes out ahead. If you want schools, buses, fast broadband and a mainline station on the doorstep, Newark does. PlaceFit lets you weight each measure for yourself and see which wins for you.
Southwell in full · Score both against your own priorities
Sources: police.uk (crime, August 2025 to July 2026), Get Information about Schools, NaPTAN, NHS England, Ofcom Connected Nations, Environment Agency, OSRM routing. Measured over about 3 km around each centre; figures from PlaceFit area snapshots taken 26 September 2026. Drive times are modelled from the road network with a fixed peak-time allowance, not live traffic. Crime covers the 12 months to July 2026, the latest available when the snapshots were taken; later months may differ slightly. Routing uses OpenStreetMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Other sources: Open Government Licence v3.0.