Moving Britain · EGMS 2020-2024

Where the ground is moving.

7.1 million 100 m squares of the UK, measured from orbit every few days for five years. Where people live, the ground is overwhelmingly steady. Here is where it isn’t.

Ground at homes that’s steady: 93.7%
Slow movement: 5.3%
Worth checking: 0.9%
Moving areas where people live: 144

“At homes” means 100 m squares within about 150 m of a postcode centre in Great Britain (2.3 million squares). Across all measured ground, including moorland, peat and farmland, 76% is steady.

Loading 300,000 squares…

Each square is 1 km across and summarises up to a hundred 100 m measurements. “Moving” means slow or faster movement relative to the surrounding ground, beyond measurement noise. Copernicus Sentinel-1 via EGMS 2020–2024.

Fastest sinking

Groups of at least six neighbouring 100 m squares moving down faster than the ground around them, with at least three postcodes inside. “Typical” is the middle of the group; “Fastest” is its fastest square.

Fastest sinking places in the UK
#	Near	Area	Typical	Fastest	Postcodes
1	WF3 3TEWrenthorpe & Outwood West	Wakefield	−5.5 mm/yr	−14.9	184
2	DN4 6TYFinningley	Doncaster	−5.1 mm/yr	−14.2	177
3	DN11 0GUTickhill & Wadsworth	Doncaster	−5.0 mm/yr	−9.9	15
4	NG18 5NYBancroft	Mansfield	−5.5 mm/yr	−35.4	142
5	WF10 5QGAltofts & Whitwood	Wakefield	−5.0 mm/yr	−12.5	62
6	S25 4NZAnston & Woodsetts	Rotherham	−6.5 mm/yr	−11.8	44
7	BB9 5SRBrierfield West & Reedley	Pendle	−6.9 mm/yr	−18.8	14
8	WF6 2SWNormanton	Wakefield	−6.8 mm/yr	−16.1	51
9	NG19 0HJHolly Forest Town	Mansfield	−5.1 mm/yr	−6.9	38
10	DN4 9RSEdlington & Warmsworth	Doncaster	−5.4 mm/yr	−10.8	23
11	S66 7QTTickhill & Wadsworth	Rotherham	−5.1 mm/yr	−21.5	6
12	NG5 5DWBulwell Forest	Gedling	−4.2 mm/yr	−6.0	133
13	WF9 1JXAckworth, North Elmsall & Upton	Wakefield	−5.8 mm/yr	−8.7	47
14	DN3 3QRFinningley	Doncaster	−6.2 mm/yr	−9.7	21
15	WF8 3AUPontefract South	Wakefield	−6.0 mm/yr	−7.9	28
16	WS11 8JBNorton Canes	Cannock Chase	−4.6 mm/yr	−8.1	9
17	NG19 8EBVale	Mansfield	−4.8 mm/yr	−8.3	50
18	PO38 1DFVentnor & St Lawrence	Isle of Wight	−10.4 mm/yr	−12.7	10
19	ST4 8FRHanford, Newstead & Trentham	Stoke-on-Trent	−4.3 mm/yr	−6.2	48
20	NG18 4RTKings Walk	Mansfield	−4.4 mm/yr	−6.8	40

Fastest rising

Rising ground is common over old coalfields as mine water returns, and where peat or clay swells back.

Fastest rising places in the UK
#	Near	Area	Typical	Fastest	Postcodes
1	WN2 4XUAbram	Wigan	+6.5 mm/yr	+27.0	624
2	WA3 2SNLowton East	Wigan	+5.8 mm/yr	+14.1	311
3	S72 8SACudworth	Barnsley	+8.4 mm/yr	+9.7	73
4	SO42 7PABrockenhurst & Denny Lodge	New Forest	+4.1 mm/yr	+5.4	86
5	S42 5TQHolmewood & Heath	North East Derbyshire	+4.5 mm/yr	+6.1	84
6	ML12 6YQClydesdale East	South Lanarkshire	+7.0 mm/yr	+7.7	14
7	S73 8ABDarfield & Great Houghton	Barnsley	+5.5 mm/yr	+7.2	78
8	SA18 1UTGwaun-Cae-Gurwen and Lower Brynamman	Neath Port Talbot	+4.8 mm/yr	+7.8	26
9	DL13 2AHWeardale	County Durham	+5.9 mm/yr	+6.7	20
10	S60 5EXBrinsworth	Rotherham	+3.3 mm/yr	+4.7	48
11	WA3 5QQCulcheth, Glazebury and Croft	Wigan	+4.0 mm/yr	+6.0	20
12	S72 7BDNorth East	Barnsley	+3.6 mm/yr	+6.9	48
13	AB38 7BSSpeyside Glenlivet	Moray	+4.0 mm/yr	+5.6	19
14	CF32 7SHNant-y-moel	Bridgend	+3.9 mm/yr	+5.3	51
15	CF32 8LRGarw Valley	Bridgend	+4.1 mm/yr	+6.4	41
16	YO22 5NGEsk Valley & Coast	North Yorkshire	+5.1 mm/yr	+5.7	12
17	AB37 9AFSpeyside Glenlivet	Moray	+5.5 mm/yr	+6.0	12
18	NG20 9DALangwith	Bolsover	+4.1 mm/yr	+5.8	24
19	S73 9HNDarfield & Great Houghton	Barnsley	+3.6 mm/yr	+5.8	52
20	ST5 6NQSilverdale	Newcastle-under-Lyme	+3.7 mm/yr	+5.0	57

What makes ground move? In the UK the usual causes are old mine workings, peat and soft ground shrinking, new buildings settling, landfill and made ground compacting, clay drying in hot summers, and in a few places natural cavities. Fast movement at a site is not a verdict on any one building: it’s a reason to look closer.

Fastest sinking

Fastest rising

Every area