Barrow upon Soar
Charnwood 011 · 4 sub-areas · 7,520 residents
Charnwood 011 is a quiet, largely owner-occupied neighbourhood in Charnwood, home to around 7,500 people. A typical two-bedroom home lets for about £836 a month — well below the UK average for a 2-bed — and the area skews noticeably older and more settled than many comparable East Midlands neighbourhoods. If affordability and stability matter more than urban buzz, this one's worth a closer look.
Barrow upon Soar is a settled residential pocket of Charnwood. The bigger gravitational centre is Sheffield, around 73 minutes away by direct train, but most days don't require leaving — local life is what people are here for. Most homes are owner-occupied, so turnover is low and many residents have been here a long time.
Overview
What's it like to live in Barrow upon Soar?
Greenspace is on the doorstep — a park or playing field is within walking distance of most homes; Crime sits around the national average — neither a notable concern nor a notable selling point; Public transport is genuinely strong; most errands and a fair share of social life don't need a car; rents are roughly in line with the national norm, at around £949 a month for a typical home; broadband infrastructure is patchy — worth checking the specific postcode.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 4 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Barrow upon Soar in Charnwood
Living in Barrow upon Soar
Charnwood 011 sits in the Charnwood district of the East Midlands and feels distinctly suburban and settled. Nearly three in four homes are owner-occupied, and the age profile runs older than city-centre norms — over a fifth of residents are 65 or above, and another fifth are aged 50 to 64. It's the kind of neighbourhood where people stay put.
For renters, the numbers are genuinely competitive. A two-bedroom home runs around £836 a month, considerably cheaper than the UK median of roughly £1,200 for the same size, and even a three-bedroom property stays just above £1,000. Rents did rise around 5.5% in the past year, so the trajectory is upward — but the base is low enough that affordability holds up well for now.
The population here is predominantly UK-born — around 96% — and ethnically less diverse than major city averages, with a diversity index of 7.6. Households skew towards couples with children and single-person occupiers, who together account for roughly half of all households. Just under 37% of residents hold a degree-level qualification, modestly above the East Midlands average.
Practically speaking, the nearest rail station is about 1,100 metres away — roughly a 14-minute walk — and most residents drive: over half commute by car, and only around 2% use public transport for their daily journey. A notable 34% work from home, which tracks with the area's older, more established demographic. Greenspace is accessible, with the nearest patch under 500 metres away and about 40% of the neighbourhood within comfortable walking distance of a park or open space. See the streets and sub-areas below for more detail on specific pockets.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Charnwood 011 a nice place to live?
- It's a settled, suburban neighbourhood with low crime, affordable rents and good greenspace access. The trade-off is limited public transport and an Ofsted picture that needs scrutiny. It suits people who drive, work from home, and want space over urban amenity.
- What is the rent in Charnwood 011?
- A one-bedroom runs around £670 a month, a two-bedroom about £836, and a three-bedroom just over £1,000. These are estimates scaled from district-level data. Rents rose roughly 5.5% in the past year, so expect continued upward pressure.
- Is Charnwood 011 safe?
- Yes, broadly. The crime rate sits at around 71 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, below the national average of roughly 80. The area is in the less deprived 30% of neighbourhoods nationally, which tends to correlate with lower crime.
- What's the commute from Charnwood 011 to Birmingham?
- By public transport, it's around 81 minutes to Birmingham. The nearest rail station is about a 14-minute walk away. Most residents drive rather than commute by rail — only around 2% use public transport for their daily journey.
- Who lives in Charnwood 011?
- Predominantly older, owner-occupying households — over 40% of residents are aged 50 or above, and nearly three in four homes are owner-occupied. It's a stable, established community with a relatively low share of private renters and a high work-from-home rate.
- What schools are near Charnwood 011?
- There are 10 schools within typical catchment distance, but currently none are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted — well below the national average. The nearest Outstanding school is around 6 kilometres away. Check current inspection ratings directly, as these can change.
- How affordable is buying a home in Charnwood 011?
- The median house price is around £294,000. On typical local incomes, you'd need roughly 4.4 years to save a 10% deposit. That's more achievable than many parts of England, though rent-to-income at around 43% means saving while renting takes discipline.