Headcorn & Sutton Valence
Maidstone 017 · 4 sub-areas · 8,158 residents
Maidstone 017 is a residential part of Maidstone, home to around 8,200 people and skewing noticeably older than most of the town. A typical two-bedroom home lets for about £1,180 a month — roughly in line with the UK median — and the area is overwhelmingly owner-occupied, with nearly three in four households owning their home.
Headcorn & Sutton Valence is a mid-density neighbourhood of Maidstone in the South East 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 Headcorn & Sutton Valence?
Greenspace is on the doorstep — a park or playing field is within walking distance of most homes; there's effectively nothing within walking distance — eating out, drinking and shopping mean a drive; 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 £1,282 a month for a typical home.
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.
Headcorn & Sutton Valence in Maidstone
Living in Headcorn & Sutton Valence
This corner of Maidstone is quieter and more settled than the town centre, with an older-than-average population and a strong owner-occupier base that gives streets a stable, established feel. Around 23% of residents are aged 50–64 and a further 22% are 65 or over — well above what you'd typically find in a younger Kent commuter neighbourhood. That shapes the character noticeably: this isn't a place full of first-time renters or transient young professionals.
Rent here sits close to the national median, which makes it relatively affordable by South East standards. A two-bedroom home runs about £1,180 a month, a one-bedroom around £910, and a three-bedroom nudges up to roughly £1,440. Those figures are competitive for Kent, and considerably below what you'd pay in the commuter belt closer to London. The median house price — around £456,000 — is still significant, and at current rents it takes roughly 6.7 years to save a deposit, so ownership is a stretch but not out of reach for dual-income households.
Ownership is the dominant tenure: nearly 73% of households own, with only 14% in private renting and around 11% in social housing. That low private-rental share means there's less stock to choose from if you're looking to rent, and availability can be tight. On the plus side, the area scores in the lower half of the deprivation index — suggesting decent baseline services and housing quality without the pressures of high-deprivation parts of Maidstone.
Greenspace is within reasonable reach, with the average resident around 570 metres from open space — a walkable distance for most. The nearest rail station is roughly 2 km away in a straight line, translating to about a 25-minute walk, so you'll want a car or a bike for day-to-day errands. See the streets and sub-areas below for more detail on specific pockets within the neighbourhood.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Maidstone 017 a nice place to live?
- It's a quiet, settled residential area that suits people who want stability over buzz. Owner-occupation is high at nearly 73%, the crime rate is below the national average, and greenspace is within easy walking distance. The trade-off is limited local amenities within walking distance and a rail station that's a 25-minute walk away, so you'll want a car.
- What is the rent in Maidstone 017?
- A one-bedroom typically runs around £910 a month, a two-bedroom around £1,180, and a three-bedroom around £1,440. These are estimates scaled from the Maidstone council-level data using local sale prices. Private rental stock is fairly limited here — only about 14% of households rent privately — so availability can be tight.
- Is Maidstone 017 safe?
- The crime rate sits at around 72 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, which is below the UK average of roughly 80 per 1,000. The area's high home-ownership rate and older, stable population tend to support lower crime levels. It's not a zero-crime area, but by national standards it's on the safer side.
- What's the commute from Maidstone 017 to London?
- The rail commute to London is around 83 minutes by public transport. The nearest station is roughly 2 km away — about a 25-minute walk or a short drive. This distance makes it more practical for occasional trips than daily commuting. Nearly 41% of residents work from home, which reflects the area's commuting limitations.
- Who lives in Maidstone 017?
- Predominantly older, settled homeowners. Nearly half of residents are aged 50 or over, and almost three in four households own their home. It's not a young-professional neighbourhood — the 18–34 age group makes up just 16% of residents. Families with children account for about 19% of households.
- What schools are near Maidstone 017?
- There are four schools within typical catchment distance, but currently none are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted within that 2 km radius. The nearest Outstanding school is around 9.7 km away. Families prioritising school ratings should check current Ofsted records and catchment boundaries carefully before committing to the area.
- Is Maidstone 017 good for families?
- It has some family-friendly attributes — about a fifth of households are couples with children, greenspace is within roughly 570 metres on average, and crime is below the national rate. The main concern for families will be the local school ratings, which are currently weak within catchment distance. House prices are on the higher side for Maidstone at around £456,000 median.