Valley Park
Test Valley 014 · 5 sub-areas · 7,210 residents
Test Valley 014, a residential pocket of Test Valley in the South East, is home to around 7,200 people and stands out for its unusually high rate of home ownership — over eight in ten households own their home. A typical two-bedroom property lets for around £1,114 a month, broadly in line with the national median, though rents rose 7.3% in the past year.
Valley Park is a mid-density neighbourhood of Test Valley 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; a high share of adults are degree-educated, which often shows up in the kind of jobs people commute to.
Overview
What's it like to live in Valley Park?
3 parks and 3 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 £1,203 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.
Valley Park in Test Valley
Living in Valley Park
Test Valley 014 is one of the more settled, owner-occupier-dominated parts of Test Valley. With more than 83% of households owning their home outright or with a mortgage, it sits at a different end of the tenure spectrum from most areas in the South East — this is somewhere people tend to put down roots rather than pass through.
The cost of living here reflects that stability. Median house prices sit at around £474,000, which takes the average buyer roughly 6.7 years to save a deposit for — demanding, but not unusual for the South East. Rents are more accessible: a two-bedroom home runs around £1,114 a month, close to the UK national median, though the 7.3% year-on-year rise is a reminder that affordability is tightening.
The demographic picture leans older and family-oriented. Nearly a quarter of residents are under 18, and the largest adult cohort is the 50–64 age group. Couple households with children account for around 30% of all households — well above what you'd find in more urban parts of the region. Single-person households, at under 18%, are relatively rare. Degree-level qualifications are common: around 48% of residents hold a degree, noticeably above the national average.
For day-to-day practicalities, the nearest mainline rail station is roughly 1.4 km away — about an 18-minute walk. The rail commute to London takes around 90 minutes by public transport, which makes this more of a local-employment area than a London commuter belt. Nearly half of residents work from home, and 46.5% travel by car — public transport use is very low at just 1.3%. Broadband coverage is strong, with 100% gigabit availability. See the streets and sub-areas below for more on specific pockets within Test Valley 014.
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Frequently asked
- Is Test Valley 014 a nice place to live?
- By most measures, yes. It sits in the least deprived decile nationally, has a crime rate of around 20 per 1,000 residents — a fraction of the national average — and 100% gigabit broadband. The trade-off is limited public transport and a school Ofsted picture that's below the national average, so it suits car-owning households more than those relying on trains.
- What is the rent in Test Valley 014?
- A one-bedroom home runs around £864 a month, a two-bedroom around £1,114, and a three-bedroom around £1,369. Rents rose 7.3% in the past year. These figures are estimates scaled from council-level data using local sale prices, so treat them as a reliable guide rather than a precise quote.
- Is Test Valley 014 safe?
- It's one of the safer neighbourhoods in England. The crime rate is around 20 incidents per 1,000 residents per year, compared to a national average of roughly 80. The area is in the least deprived decile nationally, which typically correlates with low acquisitive crime.
- What's the commute from Test Valley 014 to the nearest city centre?
- The nearest mainline rail station is about 1.4 km away — roughly an 18-minute walk. From there, the rail journey to London takes around 90 minutes by public transport. Most residents drive or work from home; public transport use is very low at just over 1%.
- Who lives in Test Valley 014?
- Predominantly older families and established owner-occupiers. Over 83% of households own their home, nearly a quarter of residents are under 18, and the largest adult cohort is 50–64. Around 48% hold a degree. It's a settled, professionally qualified community with very low deprivation.
- What schools are near Test Valley 014?
- There are 28 schools within typical catchment distance. Around 36% are rated Good or Outstanding — below the national average of roughly 89% — so it's worth checking individual school ratings carefully. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is approximately 2.1 km away.
- Is Test Valley 014 good for families?
- It's well set up for families in many ways — low crime, high home ownership, lots of green space within 400 metres, and a high proportion of family households already living here. The main caveat is that the share of nearby schools rated Good or Outstanding is below average, so catchment research matters.