Great Notley & Black Notley
Braintree 013 · 5 sub-areas · 9,598 residents
Braintree 013 is a predominantly residential area within Braintree, Essex, home to around 9,600 people. A typical two-bedroom home lets for about £1,112 a month — close to the national median and notably more affordable than many commuter-belt towns closer to London. Nearly four in five households here own their home, making this one of the most owner-occupied corners of the district.
Great Notley & Black Notley is a settled residential pocket of Braintree. The bigger gravitational centre is London, around 90 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 Great Notley & Black Notley?
3 parks are within five minutes' walk, so greenspace is reliably close at hand; there's effectively nothing within walking distance — eating out, drinking and shopping mean a drive; The streets feel safe by national standards — police-recorded crime is well below the country-wide median; rents are roughly in line with the national norm, at around £1,227 a month for a typical home; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 5 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Great Notley & Black Notley in Braintree
Living in Great Notley & Black Notley
This part of Braintree has a settled, family-oriented feel that sets it apart from the busier town-centre neighbourhoods. Over a quarter of households are couples with children, the under-18 population is above average at around 23%, and the ownership rate of nearly 79% signals a community that tends to put down roots rather than move on quickly. It's not a transient renter's area — private renting accounts for only around 13% of tenures.
On costs, Braintree 013 sits in a comfortable middle ground. A one-bedroom property runs around £860 a month, a two-bedroom around £1,112, and a three-bedroom around £1,368. Those figures are broadly in line with the national median for a two-bed, but significantly cheaper than equivalent properties in Essex towns with faster rail access to London. Council tax (Band D) comes to roughly £2,280 a year — worth factoring in alongside rent.
The biggest practical reality here is car dependency. Around 57% of residents commute by car, while only about 3% use public transport for their daily journey. The nearest mainline rail station is roughly 2.3 km away — about a 29-minute walk, though most people will drive or cycle. The rail journey to London runs at around 87 minutes, so this is affordable commuter-belt territory, but you'll want realistic expectations about travel time and cost.
One genuine bright spot is connectivity at home — 100% of premises here have access to gigabit-speed broadband, and there's no coverage below the universal service obligation. For the third of residents who work from home (around 34%), that's a meaningful practical advantage.
See the streets and sub-areas below for a more detailed breakdown of this neighbourhood.
What you'll need on day one
Compare Great Notley & Black Notley with
Frequently asked
- Is Braintree 013 a nice place to live?
- For families and settled owner-occupiers, it's a solid choice. The crime rate is well below the national average, nearly 79% of households own their home, and it's less hectic than towns closer to the M25. The trade-off is limited public transport and a slower rail connection to London at around 87 minutes.
- What is the rent in Braintree 013?
- A one-bedroom runs around £860 a month, a two-bedroom around £1,112, and a three-bedroom around £1,368. Rents rose by roughly 5% in the past year. These figures are estimates scaled from district-level data using local sale prices.
- Is Braintree 013 safe?
- Yes, by most measures. The crime rate here is around 36 incidents per 1,000 residents annually — less than half the UK national rate of roughly 80. The area also sits in the top 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England, which tends to correlate with lower crime.
- What's the commute from Braintree 013 to London?
- The rail journey to London takes around 87 minutes by public transport. The nearest mainline station is about 2.3 km away — most residents drive there rather than walk. Only around 3% of residents commute by public transport, so this is emphatically car or home-working territory.
- Who lives in Braintree 013?
- Mostly owner-occupying families and older settled residents. Over a quarter of households are couples with children, around 21% of residents are aged 50–64, and the private rental sector is small at about 13%. It's not a transient neighbourhood — people tend to stay.
- What schools are near Braintree 013?
- There are 26 schools within typical catchment distance, but only around 37% are rated Good or Outstanding — below the national average. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is roughly 6.6 km away. Families with firm school preferences should check individual catchment areas carefully before choosing a street.
- Is broadband good in Braintree 013?
- Excellent. The area has 100% gigabit-capable broadband coverage and zero premises below the universal service obligation standard. For the roughly 34% of residents who work from home, that's a genuine advantage.