Parson's Heath
Colchester 022 · 9 sub-areas · 14,489 residents
Colchester 022 is a residential stretch of Colchester, home to around 14,500 people and skewed notably older than much of the town. A typical two-bedroom flat lets for around £1,080 a month — slightly below the UK median for a 2-bed — though rents rose nearly 6% in the past year. Owner-occupation is high here, and more than a fifth of residents are aged 65 or over.
Parson's Heath is a mid-density neighbourhood of Colchester 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. 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 Parson's Heath?
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 £1,216 a month for a typical home; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 9 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Parson's Heath in Colchester
Living in Parson's Heath
This part of Colchester has a settled, suburban character. The population leans older than you'd find in the town centre or student-heavy areas — nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or above, and the dominant tenure is ownership: more than seven in ten households own their home. That gives the area a quieter, more stable feel than you might find elsewhere in Colchester.
On the cost side, this is one of the more affordable corners of the East of England. A two-bedroom home runs around £1,080 a month — broadly in line with the national median — and a three-bedroom comes in at roughly £1,320. That said, rents have climbed about 6% over the past year, so the window on those prices may be narrowing. Council tax (Band D) runs to around £2,283 a year. If you're buying, the median sale price sits at roughly £314,000, and a typical deposit takes around five years to save on local wages.
The demographic mix here is relatively settled and predominantly UK-born — around 87% of residents were born in the UK, and the ethnic diversity index is lower than in many comparable-sized English towns. Degree-level qualifications are held by just over a quarter of residents, slightly below the national average, and the employment picture reflects a broad mix of sectors rather than a concentration in any single industry.
Getting around is mostly by car — over half of residents drive to work, and public transport use is low at under 5%. The nearest mainline rail station is roughly 1.7 km away, about a 20-minute walk, and from there the rail commute to London takes around 85 minutes. Broadband is genuinely excellent: virtually every property can access gigabit speeds. See the streets and sub-areas below for a more detailed breakdown.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Colchester 022 a nice place to live?
- It's a quiet, settled suburban area that suits older residents and families well. Owner-occupation is high, crime is slightly below the national average, and broadband is excellent. The trade-off is that public transport is limited, and school ratings in the area are notably below the national average, so families should check individual catchments carefully.
- What is the rent in Colchester 022?
- A one-bedroom runs around £833 a month, a two-bedroom around £1,080, and a three-bedroom roughly £1,320. These are estimates scaled from council-level data. Rents rose about 6% over the past year, and at current levels rent absorbs roughly 59% of median take-home pay locally.
- Is Colchester 022 safe?
- The crime rate is around 73 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, which is modestly below the UK national average of roughly 80. The area sits around the middle of the national deprivation index, suggesting broadly typical suburban crime patterns rather than any concentrated hotspot.
- What's the commute from Colchester 022 to London?
- The rail journey to London takes around 85 minutes. The nearest mainline station is roughly 1.7 km away — about a 20-minute walk. Most residents drive rather than use public transport, and over a quarter work from home.
- Who lives in Colchester 022?
- Predominantly older, settled owner-occupiers. Nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or above, and over seven in ten households own their home. It's not an area with a strong young-professional or student presence — the 18–34 age group makes up only about a fifth of residents.
- What schools are near Colchester 022?
- There are 111 schools within typical catchment distance, but only around 45% are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted — well below the national share of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is approximately 2 km away. Families should check individual catchment boundaries carefully.
- How affordable is buying a home in Colchester 022?
- The median sale price is around £314,000. On local earnings — median resident salary is roughly £31,600 a year — saving a typical deposit takes around five years. That's a moderate affordability stretch, though more manageable than in many parts of the South East.