Martins Wood
Stevenage 003 · 4 sub-areas · 6,556 residents
Stevenage 003 is a residential part of Stevenage, in the East of England, home to around 6,500 people. A typical two-bedroom flat lets for about £1,300 a month. The rail commute into the capital takes under an hour.
Martins Wood is a mid-density neighbourhood of Stevenage 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.
Overview
What's it like to live in Martins Wood?
The area is unusually green for its density — 5 parks and 3 playgrounds sit within five minutes' walk of the centroid; Crime sits around the national average — neither a notable concern nor a notable selling point; rents are roughly in line with the national norm, at around £1,417 a month for a typical home; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 4 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Martins Wood in Stevenage
Living in Martins Wood
Stevenage 003 sits within one of Hertfordshire's most affordable towns, and this neighbourhood reflects that character: largely residential, owner-occupied, and practical rather than showy. Around 54% of residents own their homes, which is notable given how close the area is to London's orbit. The housing mix skews toward houses rather than flats, and greenspace is genuinely accessible — the typical resident is within roughly 300 metres of green space, and over 40% of the area falls within easy walking distance of parks.
The cost picture here is more manageable than you might expect for an area with a sub-hour rail link to London. A one-bedroom flat runs around £1,000 a month, a two-bedroom around £1,300, and a three-bedroom around £1,525. Rents rose by around 4.7% over the past year, which tracks broader regional trends. Council tax at Band D comes to £2,392 a year. The deposit hurdle is relatively low — it takes roughly 4.8 years of saving to clear a typical deposit at local salary levels.
The neighbourhood has an unusually even age spread: roughly one in five residents falls into each of the under-18, 18–34, 35–49, and 50–64 brackets. That balance points to an area where families, young professionals, and older settled residents all coexist. Social housing makes up a notable share — around 29% of households — which is above the national norm and gives the area a more mixed tenure profile than the surrounding commuter belt. The degree-holder share sits at around 26%, somewhat below regional averages, which tracks with the town's traditional industrial and public-sector employment base.
For day-to-day living, the main practical note is car dependency: over half of residents commute by car, and only around 6% use public transport for their commute. The nearest mainline rail station is roughly 3 km away, though most people drive or cycle. If you're planning to use the train to London, factor in getting to the station. See the streets and sub-areas below for more on specific pockets within this area.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Stevenage 003 a nice place to live?
- It's a practical, residential area with genuine affordability for Hertfordshire and easy access to greenspace — around 44% of the area is within walking distance of parks. The trade-off is car dependency and a below-average share of Good-or-Outstanding schools within catchment. It suits people who prioritise space and value over polish.
- What is the rent in Stevenage 003?
- A one-bedroom flat runs around £1,011 a month, a two-bedroom around £1,300, and a three-bedroom around £1,525. Rents rose by about 4.7% in the past year. These are estimates scaled from council-level data using local sale prices.
- Is Stevenage 003 safe?
- The crime rate is around 86 per 1,000 residents annually — slightly above the UK average of roughly 80 per 1,000. It's not an outlier, but it's not among the quietest areas either. The neighbourhood sits roughly in the middle of the national deprivation scale, which tends to correlate with a mixed safety picture.
- What's the commute from Stevenage 003 to London?
- The public-transport journey to London takes around 58 minutes. The nearest mainline rail station is roughly 3 km away, so most residents drive or cycle to it rather than walking. If you're commuting daily, budget time for the station leg on top of the rail journey.
- Who lives in Stevenage 003?
- A genuinely mixed community — roughly equal shares of families with children, older couples, and working-age single households. Around 54% own their homes, 29% are in social housing, and the remaining 16% rent privately. The area attracts residents across the age spectrum rather than skewing heavily toward any one group.
- What schools are near Stevenage 003?
- There are 63 schools within typical catchment distance, but around 51% are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted — notably below the national average of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is about 1.7 km away. It's worth checking individual school catchments carefully before choosing a street.
- How does Stevenage 003 compare to other Stevenage neighbourhoods?
- It has a higher social-housing share than much of the town and a relatively even age spread. Rents are broadly in line with Stevenage as a whole. The area's strong gigabit broadband coverage — 100% of premises — is a practical advantage over some older parts of town.