Broad Oak
St. Helens 011 · 4 sub-areas · 6,562 residents
St. Helens 011 is a residential part of St. Helens in the North West, home to around 6,500 people. A typical two-bedroom lets for about £707 a month — well below the UK median and one of the more affordable corners of the region. The neighbourhood carries a notably high social-housing share and sits in the most deprived decile nationally, though greenspace is genuinely close by for most residents.
Broad Oak is a commuter neighbourhood within St. Helens — train into Liverpool runs in around 45 minutes, and the rhythm of weekday mornings is shaped by it.
Overview
What's it like to live in Broad Oak?
2 parks and 1 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; Public transport is genuinely strong; most errands and a fair share of social life don't need a car; rents are below the national norm, with a typical home letting at around £774 a month; 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.
Broad Oak in St. Helens
Living in Broad Oak
This part of St. Helens is solidly working-class and unpretentious about it. Streets here are predominantly residential, with a high proportion of social-rented homes — over a third of households rent from the council or a housing association, compared to closer to 17% nationally. That shapes the character of the area: settled, community-rooted, and relatively stable in terms of who lives here, even if incomes are modest.
On rent, St. Helens 011 sits at the affordable end of an already affordable town. A one-bedroom flat runs around £569 a month, a two-bedroom around £707, and a three-bedroom roughly £863. By comparison, the UK median two-bedroom is around £1,200 — so you're paying not far off half the national going rate. For buyers, the median sale price is around £118,000, and a deposit takes less than two years to save at typical local salaries. That's genuinely rare in modern Britain.
Most residents here are in work, though median earnings sit at around £31,400 a year — lower than the national median but consistent with North West manufacturing and service-sector wages. Around one in four residents is under 18, which is above the typical urban share, and single-person households account for nearly a third of all homes. The degree-holding share is around 17%, noticeably below the national average, reflecting a workforce concentrated in trades, health, and manual occupations rather than graduate professions.
Greenspace is a genuine plus: over 92% of residents are within easy reach of green areas, with the nearest typically under 150 metres away. That offsets some of the deprivation score and makes the neighbourhood more liveable day-to-day than the headline index might suggest. See the streets and sub-areas below for more.
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Frequently asked
- Is St. Helens 011 a nice place to live?
- It depends on your priorities. Rent is genuinely low, greenspace is close by for most residents, and it has a settled, community feel. The trade-off is that Ofsted outcomes for nearby schools are well below the national average, crime runs above the UK rate, and public transport is limited if you don't drive. It suits people who want affordability and space over urban convenience.
- What is the rent in St. Helens 011?
- A one-bedroom flat averages around £569 a month, a two-bedroom around £707, and a three-bedroom roughly £863. These are estimates scaled from council-level data using local sale prices. Rents rose about 4.5% in the past year, but the area remains well below the UK median of around £1,200 for a two-bedroom.
- Is St. Helens 011 safe?
- Crime runs at around 122 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, which is noticeably above the national average of roughly 80. Property crime and antisocial behaviour tend to drive the figures in areas with high deprivation scores. It's worth checking street-level crime data for specific streets before deciding where to rent or buy.
- What's the commute from St. Helens 011 to Manchester?
- By public transport, Manchester is roughly 51 minutes away. The nearest mainline rail station is about 2km from the neighbourhood — around a 25-minute walk. Most residents drive rather than use public transport, so if you're commuting to Manchester without a car, check specific rail timetables before committing.
- Who lives in St. Helens 011?
- Mostly working-age residents in a mixed age spread, with a relatively high share of families — around one in four residents is under 18. Over a third of households are social renters, which is about twice the national rate. The area is predominantly UK-born, with low ethnic diversity compared to most English cities.
- What schools are near St. Helens 011?
- There are 58 schools within 2km, but only around 19% are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted — well below the national average of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is about 4.8km away. Families who prioritise school quality should research individual catchment areas carefully before choosing a street to settle on.
- How affordable is it to buy in St. Helens 011?
- Very affordable by national standards. The median sale price is around £118,000, and at typical local salaries, you'd save a deposit in under two years. That's rare across England, where deposit-saving timelines of five to ten years are common in most cities. It's one of the clearest financial cases for buying rather than renting in this area.