Meldreth, Melbourn & Great Chishill
South Cambridgeshire 018 · 6 sub-areas · 10,419 residents
South Cambridgeshire 018 is a rural and suburban stretch within South Cambridgeshire district, home to around 10,400 people. A typical two-bedroom home rents for about £1,270 a month — slightly above the national median but modest for the Cambridge commuter belt. Seven in ten residents own their homes, making this firmly owner-occupier territory.
Meldreth, Melbourn & Great Chishill is a mid-density neighbourhood of South Cambridgeshire 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; a high share of adults are degree-educated, which often shows up in the kind of jobs people commute to.
Overview
What's it like to live in Meldreth, Melbourn & Great Chishill?
The area is unusually green for its density — 9 parks and 1 playgrounds sit within five minutes' walk of the centroid; 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 £1,399 a month for a typical home; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 6 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Meldreth, Melbourn & Great Chishill in South Cambridgeshire
Living in Meldreth, Melbourn & Great Chishill
This part of South Cambridgeshire sits firmly in commuter-belt countryside — the kind of area where detached houses outnumber flats, driveways outnumber bus stops, and nearly half the working population logs on from home rather than driving anywhere at all. It doesn't have the buzz of Cambridge city itself, but that's largely the point. Residents tend to trade urban convenience for space, quiet, and greenspace within a ten-minute walk for roughly three in ten households.
On cost, it's genuinely mid-range for its location. A one-bedroom home runs around £1,000 a month, a two-bedroom around £1,270, and a three-bedroom around £1,520. Those figures are only slightly above the national two-bedroom median of roughly £1,200. The median house price sits at about £470,000, though — meaning buyers face around five and a half years of saving for a deposit at typical local earnings. Council tax (Band D) comes to about £2,536 a year, which is notable on top of already stretched affordability.
The population skews older and settled. Nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over, and the working-age group most represented is the 50–64 bracket at around 21%. Families with children make up almost a quarter of households. This isn't a place drawing large numbers of young renters — private renting accounts for only around one in ten households, well below the national norm. Owner-occupation at 70% reflects just how established and owner-dominated the community is.
Practically speaking, the nearest mainline rail station is roughly 2.2 km away — about a 28-minute walk, though most people drive. The public transport commute to London takes around 80 minutes. Car ownership is near-universal here, with 47% of residents commuting by car and 42% working from home. See the streets and sub-areas below for more on how this area breaks down locally.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is South Cambridgeshire 018 a nice place to live?
- It's a quiet, predominantly rural and suburban area with low crime, good broadband, and decent greenspace access. It suits families and older residents who want space and calm over urban amenity. The trade-off is limited public transport and a reliance on cars for almost everything day-to-day.
- What is the rent in South Cambridgeshire 018?
- A one-bedroom home runs around £1,000 a month, a two-bedroom around £1,270, and a three-bedroom around £1,520. Rents rose about 4.3% over the past year. These are estimates scaled from district-level data using local sale prices rather than directly observed rental transactions.
- Is South Cambridgeshire 018 safe?
- Yes, relatively. The crime rate here is around 46 incidents per 1,000 residents a year — well below the national average of roughly 80. It's a low-deprivation, settled owner-occupied area, which tends to correlate with low antisocial behaviour and acquisitive crime rates.
- What's the commute from South Cambridgeshire 018 to Cambridge or London?
- The nearest mainline rail station is about 2.2 km away. The public transport journey to London takes around 80 minutes. Most residents commute by car (47%) or work from home (42%), so rail commuting is a minority habit here — but the London rail link is the area's main pull for longer-distance commuters.
- Who lives in South Cambridgeshire 018?
- Mostly older, settled owner-occupiers — nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over, and 70% own their homes. Families with children are the dominant household type among working-age residents. Young renters are relatively rare, with private renting accounting for only around one in ten households.
- What schools are near South Cambridgeshire 018?
- There are 12 schools within typical catchment distance, but none currently hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is roughly 14.5 km away. Families should check individual Ofsted reports directly, as ratings can change between inspection cycles.
- How affordable is buying a home in South Cambridgeshire 018?
- It's stretched. The median house price is approximately £470,000, and at typical local earnings buyers face around five and a half years of saving for a deposit. Council tax (Band D) adds about £2,536 a year on top. It's cheaper than Cambridge city itself, but affordability remains a real constraint.