Melbourne
Chelmsford 006 · 5 sub-areas · 8,002 residents
Chelmsford 006 is a neighbourhood within Chelmsford, home to around 8,000 people and notable for its unusually high share of social housing — nearly half of all residents rent from the council. A typical two-bedroom property lets for around £1,294 a month, broadly in line with Chelmsford as a whole, and the rail journey to London runs at under 50 minutes.
Melbourne is a green, lower-density part of Chelmsford — parks within walking distance of most addresses, a slower weekday rhythm, and a population skewed toward longer-tenure households rather than transient renters.
Overview
What's it like to live in Melbourne?
4 parks and 3 playgrounds are within five minutes' walk, so greenspace is reliably close at hand; Recorded crime is higher than the national norm — common for built-up urban areas, but worth weighing if you're looking for a quieter base; 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.
Melbourne in Chelmsford
Living in Melbourne
This part of Chelmsford has a character shaped largely by its tenure mix. Close to half of all households here are in social housing — a share that's significantly higher than you'd find in most Essex towns — which gives the area a more settled, community-rooted feel than the newer private developments closer to the city centre. It's a functioning residential neighbourhood, not a commuter enclave.
On rent, you're broadly in the middle of the Chelmsford pack. A two-bedroom property runs around £1,294 a month — close to the UK national median for a two-bed, and noticeably below what you'd pay across much of the wider South East. The private-rented sector here is relatively thin at around 14% of households, so choice in the open market is limited; properties don't sit empty for long.
Who lives here? The age spread is fairly even, but the neighbourhood skews slightly younger than the Chelmsford average, with just over a fifth of residents aged 18 to 34. The under-18 share is meaningful at around one in four residents, pointing to a reasonable number of families with children. Single-person households make up a third of all homes. Around 83% of residents were born in the UK, and the diversity index sits at 33.9 — moderately mixed for the East of England.
Practically, the nearest mainline rail station is roughly 1.5 km away — about a 19-minute walk, or a short drive. From there, the rail commute into London takes under 50 minutes, which is the neighbourhood's biggest draw for anyone working in the capital. Around half of residents commute by car, and a quarter work from home. See the streets and sub-areas below for more.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Chelmsford 006 a nice place to live?
- It depends on your priorities. It's a settled, community-oriented neighbourhood with good rail links to London, but deprivation scores are on the higher side for Essex and only around 43% of nearby schools are rated Good or Outstanding. Rents are moderate by South East standards, but affordability is still stretched — rent takes up around 62% of typical take-home pay.
- What is the rent in Chelmsford 006?
- A one-bedroom property runs around £1,061 a month, a two-bedroom around £1,294, and a three-bedroom around £1,544. These are estimates scaled from city-level data using local sale prices. Rents rose about 7.7% in the past year, so the market is moving upward.
- Is Chelmsford 006 safe?
- The recorded crime rate is around 105 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, which is above the UK national average of roughly 80. The neighbourhood sits in the lower deprivation deciles for England, which tends to correlate with higher crime rates. It's not among the most crime-affected areas in the country, but it's not the quietest part of Chelmsford either.
- What's the commute from Chelmsford 006 to London?
- The public-transport journey to London takes just under 48 minutes from the nearest mainline rail station, which is about 1.5 km away — roughly a 19-minute walk or a short drive. That makes it a workable option for London commuters, though you'll need to factor in the walk or a connecting journey to the station.
- Who lives in Chelmsford 006?
- Around 8,000 people live here, with a notably high share — close to half — in social housing. The age profile is fairly even, with just over a fifth of residents aged 18 to 34 and about one in four under 18, suggesting a mix of young adults and families. Around 83% of residents were born in the UK.
- What schools are near Chelmsford 006?
- There are 86 schools within typical catchment distance, but only around 43% are rated Good or Outstanding — well below the national average of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is about 889 metres away. For specific school names and current catchment boundaries, check the Ofsted website and Essex's school finder tool directly.
- How does Chelmsford 006 compare to the rest of Chelmsford?
- The main differences are the high social-housing concentration — nearly 47% of households, far above the Chelmsford norm — and the above-average crime rate. Rents are broadly in line with the wider city. The London rail link is a genuine asset, and full gigabit broadband coverage is a practical advantage for remote workers.