Great Leighs & the Walthams
Chelmsford 001 · 5 sub-areas · 11,301 residents
Chelmsford 001 is a residential stretch of Chelmsford, home to around 11,300 people and skewing noticeably towards families and owner-occupiers. A typical two-bedroom flat lets for about £1,294 a month — close to the national average for a two-bed, but with rents rising nearly 8% in the past year. Nearly seven in ten households own their home, which sets this neighbourhood apart from much of the wider rental market.
Great Leighs & the Walthams is a mid-density neighbourhood of Chelmsford in the East of England region. It sits between busier and quieter parts of the local authority and isn't dominated by a single use — there's a mix of workplaces, housing and local services. The demographic profile leans family-aged, with a clear share of households with school-age children.
Overview
What's it like to live in Great Leighs & the Walthams?
Greenspace is reachable but isn't on the immediate doorstep — most residents walk a few blocks to reach a park; 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; Transport links are limited — a car or e-bike is a practical assumption for most regular trips; rents are roughly in line with the national norm, at around £1,442 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 Leighs & the Walthams in Chelmsford
Living in Great Leighs & the Walthams
This part of Chelmsford has a settled, family-oriented feel that distinguishes it from the more transient rental pockets closer to the city centre. Over a quarter of households are couples with children, and the under-18 population — at around 25% — is noticeably higher than you'd expect in a more urban neighbourhood. That demographic shapes everything from the pace of the streets to the kinds of amenities that have taken root here.
Rents sit in the middle band for Chelmsford. A one-bedroom comes in at around £1,061 a month, a two-bedroom at roughly £1,294, and a three-bedroom at about £1,544. Those figures are close to the UK two-bed median, which means you're not getting a dramatic discount compared to the national picture — but you are getting more space and a quieter residential environment than London would offer at a similar price. Rents rose around 7.7% over the past year, so the direction of travel is upwards.
Ownership is the dominant tenure here: around 69% of households own their home, and private renting accounts for only about 10%. Social housing makes up roughly 18% — a meaningful slice that keeps the neighbourhood from being purely affluent-owner territory. Degree-level qualifications are held by around 37% of residents, slightly above average for a mid-sized English city.
Practically, the nearest mainline rail station is a little under 5 km away in straight-line terms — roughly a 60-minute walk, so most people drive or cycle. Car use is dominant here: nearly half of residents travel to work by car, while working from home accounts for a striking 39% of commuters. The public transport share is just under 5%, which tells you a lot about how car-dependent daily life is. Broadband coverage is strong — 100% gigabit-capable, with no properties below the universal service obligation threshold. See the streets and sub-areas below for more.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Chelmsford 001 a nice place to live?
- It's a settled, family-oriented neighbourhood with relatively low crime and strong broadband — but transport options are limited without a car, and rents have been climbing. Around 69% of households own their home, which gives it a stable, community feel. If you want quiet suburban life in Chelmsford, it delivers; if you need easy public transport, look closer to the centre.
- What is the rent in Chelmsford 001?
- A one-bedroom property runs around £1,061 a month, a two-bedroom around £1,294, and a three-bedroom around £1,544. Rents rose roughly 7.7% in the past year. These are estimates scaled from city-level data using local sale prices, so treat them as a guide rather than a guarantee.
- Is Chelmsford 001 safe?
- The recorded crime rate is around 68 incidents per 1,000 residents annually — below the UK national rate of roughly 80 per 1,000. It's not the lowest-crime neighbourhood in England, but it's meaningfully quieter than the national picture, and the predominantly owner-occupied, family character tends to correlate with lower antisocial behaviour.
- What's the commute from Chelmsford 001 to the city centre?
- Nearly half of residents drive to work, and 39% work from home — which tells you that public transport isn't the dominant mode here. The nearest mainline rail station is around 4.9 km away. If you're commuting to London by rail, budget around 104 minutes each way on public transport.
- Who lives in Chelmsford 001?
- Mostly families and established owner-occupiers. Couples with children make up around 28% of households, under-18s are 25% of the population, and nearly seven in ten households own their home. It's not a young renter's neighbourhood — the 18–34 age bracket is only about 19% of residents.
- What schools are near Chelmsford 001?
- There are 11 schools within typical catchment distance, but around half are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted — well below the national share of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding school is about 4.4 km away. If schools are a deciding factor, check individual catchment maps before choosing a street.
- Is Chelmsford 001 good for families?
- It's one of the more family-oriented parts of Chelmsford — high owner-occupation, a quarter of the population under 18, and relatively low crime. The school quality picture is more mixed, with only around half of nearby schools rated Good or Outstanding. Good greenspace access (over half of residents are within walkable distance of green space) helps.