Neighbourhood · Medway · South East
Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside
Medway 015 · 6 sub-areas · 11,359 residents
Verdict
How are these scored? →Best for Solo renters (79/100)Watch-out: Families (45/100)Liveability 71/100 · Above medianCommuter neighbourhood
Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside is a commuter neighbourhood within Medway — train into London runs in around 44 minutes, and the rhythm of weekday mornings is shaped by it. The rental market is active and turnover is high — people move through rather than stay.
Liveability
71/100
Above median
Overview
Overview
What's it like to live in Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside?
A snapshot of Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside
The area is unusually green for its density — 5 parks and 2 playgrounds sit within five minutes' walk of the centroid; food and drink within walking distance is workable but not dense — around 26 restaurants and 5 pubs in five minutes; 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 roughly in line with the national norm, at around £1,241 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.
Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside in Medway
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FAQ
Frequently asked
- What's the median rent in Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside?
- The median monthly rent across Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside is £1,241.
- How safe is Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside?
- Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside has a safety score of — out of 100, where higher is safer. The score is the national percentile rank of police-recorded crimes per 1,000 residents per year, inverted.
- How well-connected is Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside?
- Transport score: — out of 100. Combines walking time to the nearest rail station, walking time to the nearest metro stop, and public-transport time to clusters with 5,000+ jobs. The nearest rail station is roughly 5 minutes' walk.
- What schools are near Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside?
- There are 24 schools within 2 km of Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside, of which 38% are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is approximately 854 m away.
- What is the council tax band in Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside?
- The most common council tax band in Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside is B, with the typical Band D annual charge around £1,870. Council tax is set by Medway council and applies to every property in the area.
- How long is the commute from Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside to London?
- By the fastest direct train, the journey from Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside to central London is approximately 44 minutes. This is the fastest no-change rail journey from the local area centroid; door-to-door times will vary with walking time to the station.
- Is gigabit broadband available in Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside?
- 100% of premises in Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside are gigabit-capable according to Ofcom Connected Nations 2025. Most properties can already buy gigabit packages.
- What is the deprivation rank of Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside?
- Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside sits in IMD decile 1 of 10, where 1 is the most deprived 10% of local areas nationally and 10 is the least deprived. The Index of Multiple Deprivation combines income, employment, education, health, crime, barriers and environment.
- What's the tenure mix in Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside?
- 36% of households in Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside are owner-occupied. The remainder is split between private renting and social housing — see the Demographics section for the full breakdown from Census 2021.
- What is the average property price in Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside?
- The average property price across Medway (the local authority covering Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside) is approximately £298,252, per HM Land Registry's House Price Index. Per-local area prices vary; see the cost-of-living section for medians by property type.
- Is Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside a commuter town or workplace hub?
- Commuter town — most working residents travel out for work. (0.35 jobs per working-age resident. Median resident salary £33,857.)
- Which local areas are part of Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside?
- Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside contains 6 local areas: Medway 015C, Medway 015B, Medway 015A, Medway 015E, Medway 015G…
FAQ
Frequently asked about Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside
Short answers anchored in the data above. Each link goes to the relevant section or methodology page.
- What is the average rent in Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside?
- The estimated median monthly rent in Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside is £1,241. This is derived from the council-area ONS rental figure scaled by the local sale-price gradient — see the Cost section for the breakdown by bedroom count and the affordability ratio against local salaries.
- Is Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside a safe place to live?
- Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside has a safety score of 5/100. The score is the national percentile rank of police-recorded crime per 1,000 residents, inverted so 100 is the safest 1% of England + Wales. The Safety section below shows the breakdown by category.
- What schools are near Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside?
- 38% of schools within 2 km of Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted. The Schools section lists individual schools with inspection ratings.
- How long is the commute from Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside?
- Public-transport commute time from Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside to central London is approximately 44 minutes. The Transport section has commute times to every major UK city hub.
- How is Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside different from the rest of Medway?
- Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside contains 6 sub-areas. The "Sub-areas" section below lets you drill into each one individually — they often vary by 20%+ on rent and demographics within the same neighbourhood.
- Where does Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside rank in Medway?
- Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside scores 71/100 on our composite liveability index. To see how it stacks up against every other neighbourhood in Medway, see the Cities table on the Medway page.
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