Bearsted & Downswood
Maidstone 007 · 5 sub-areas · 8,039 residents
Maidstone 007 is a residential stretch of Maidstone in the South East, home to around 8,000 people. A typical two-bedroom flat lets for about £1,180 a month — roughly in line with the UK median — though the area skews noticeably older and more owner-occupied than Maidstone as a whole, with over eight in ten households owning their home.
Bearsted & Downswood is a green, lower-density part of Maidstone — parks within walking distance of most addresses, a slower weekday rhythm, and a population skewed toward longer-tenure households rather than transient renters. The population skews older, with a long-settled feel and a high share of retirees; 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 Bearsted & Downswood?
3 parks and 1 playgrounds are within five minutes' walk, so greenspace is reliably close at hand; The streets feel safe by national standards — police-recorded crime is well below the country-wide median; 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 £1,282 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.
Bearsted & Downswood in Maidstone
Living in Bearsted & Downswood
This part of Maidstone is one of the more settled corners of the town — predominantly owner-occupied, quietly suburban in character, and notably older in its population than the town centre neighbourhoods closer to the high street. Over a quarter of residents are aged 65 or above, which shapes the feel of the place: less transient, more established.
On cost, it sits near the middle of the Maidstone range. A two-bedroom home runs about £1,180 a month, which tracks roughly with the UK median of around £1,200. That's considerably cheaper than comparable commuter-belt locations in Surrey or North Kent, though rents have been moving — up around 4% year-on-year. For buyers, the median sale price is around £449,000, which puts a deposit at roughly six and a half years' savings on a local wage.
The people here are overwhelmingly owner-occupiers — 82% own their home outright or with a mortgage, compared to the national average of closer to 63%. Private renting accounts for only around 14% of tenures. The degree-holder share sits at 32%, and the unemployment claimant rate is low at 3.5%, suggesting a reasonably comfortable, settled demographic.
Practically speaking, the nearest rail station is roughly 1.2 km away — about a 15-minute walk — and public transport use among residents is low. Most people drive: over half the working population commute by car, and more than a third work from home. The rail journey to London takes around 74 minutes, which is manageable for occasional trips rather than a daily commute. See the streets and sub-areas below for more on how this neighbourhood breaks down locally.
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Frequently asked
- Is Maidstone 007 a nice place to live?
- It's a settled, low-crime, predominantly owner-occupied neighbourhood — comfortable and quiet rather than busy or youthful. Deprivation is low (9th decile nationally) and crime runs at roughly half the UK average, but the school Ofsted performance within catchment is below the national norm, which is worth checking if you have children.
- What is the rent in Maidstone 007?
- A one-bedroom property runs around £908 a month, a two-bedroom about £1,180, and a three-bedroom around £1,442. Rents rose roughly 4% in the past year. These are estimates scaled from council-level ONS data using local sale prices — treat them as a guide rather than a precise figure.
- Is Maidstone 007 safe?
- Yes, relatively. Crime runs at around 40 incidents per 1,000 residents annually — roughly half the UK national rate. The area also sits in the top 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England, which tends to correlate with lower crime overall.
- What's the commute from Maidstone 007 to London?
- The rail journey to London takes around 74 minutes by public transport. The nearest station is about 1.2 km away — roughly a 15-minute walk. Most residents drive rather than commute by rail; over a third work from home.
- Who lives in Maidstone 007?
- Predominantly older, settled owner-occupiers — nearly half the population is aged 50 or above, and 82% own their home. It's not a neighbourhood that attracts many young renters or recent graduates; the 18–34 share is just 15%, which is low for a market town.
- What schools are near Maidstone 007?
- There are 32 schools within typical catchment distance, but only around 52% are rated Good or Outstanding — well below the national average of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is under 2 km away. Check the DfE school finder for current ratings and catchment boundaries.
- Is Maidstone 007 good for families?
- It has strengths — low crime, good greenspace access (over half of residents are within easy walking distance of green space), and a stable community feel. The main caveat is school Ofsted performance within the immediate area, which sits notably below the national average, so catchment research is important.