Heathfield
Wealden 010 · 5 sub-areas · 8,301 residents
Wealden 010, in the Wealden district of the South East, is a rural neighbourhood of around 8,300 people where over three-quarters of homes are owner-occupied. A typical two-bedroom property lets for about £1,140 a month — close to the UK median for a 2-bed — but with a rent-to-take-home ratio of nearly 59%, affordability is a real pressure here. Car ownership is almost universal, and the nearest rail station is roughly 11 km away.
Heathfield is a settled residential pocket of Wealden. The bigger gravitational centre is London, around 186 minutes away by direct train, but most days don't require leaving — local life is what people are here for. 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 Heathfield?
Greenspace is on the doorstep — a park or playing field is within walking distance of most homes; The streets feel safe by national standards — police-recorded crime is well below the country-wide median; Transport links are limited — a car or e-bike is a practical assumption for most regular trips; rents are roughly in line with the national norm, at around £1,259 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.
Heathfield in Wealden
Living in Heathfield
Wealden 010 sits within the Wealden district of East Sussex, an area defined more by countryside and scattered settlements than by any urban centre. With just under a third of households occupied by a single person and a notably high share of residents aged 50 and over, this is a settled, largely mature community — not a neighbourhood in flux.
Rents are broadly in line with the South East's rural fringe rather than the commuter belt closer to London. A two-bedroom home runs around £1,140 a month, and a three-bedroom rises to about £1,420. Those figures might look reasonable on paper, but residents here earn a median of around £33,400 a year, and the rent-to-take-home share sits at nearly 59% — which is high by any measure. If you're buying rather than renting, the median sale price is just over £349,000, putting a deposit roughly five years away on a typical local salary.
Over three-quarters of homes are owner-occupied, and only around 15% are privately rented — so the rental stock is limited. Social housing makes up less than 8% of the total. That ownership skew shapes the neighbourhood: long-term residents, quiet streets, fewer transient faces. It's an area where people tend to stay.
Practically, you'll need a car. Around 58% of residents drive to work, and just under 2% use public transport — one of the lowest public-transport mode shares you'll find anywhere in England. The nearest mainline rail station is roughly 11 km away in a straight line, and the nearest major employment hub is over three hours away by public transport. Working from home is a genuine alternative for nearly a third of residents, which tells its own story about who lives here and how they manage the connectivity gap. For sub-areas and specific streets, see the sub-areas list below.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Wealden 010 a nice place to live?
- It depends what you're after. If you want a quiet, safe, rural setting with stable neighbours and green surroundings — it's well-suited. Greenspace is within roughly 500 metres for most residents. The trade-off is genuine isolation: public transport is almost non-existent, and you'll need a car for almost everything. It suits older residents and remote workers far better than young professionals reliant on commuting.
- What is the rent in Wealden 010?
- A one-bedroom property runs around £890 a month, a two-bedroom around £1,140, and a three-bedroom around £1,420. These are estimates scaled from district-level data using local sale prices. Rents rose around 2% over the past year. Given median local salaries of about £33,400, housing costs consume a large share of take-home pay here.
- Is Wealden 010 safe?
- Yes — it's among the safer rural areas in England. The recorded crime rate is around 45.6 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, well below the UK national average of roughly 80 per 1,000. Low population density and high owner-occupation both contribute to the low crime figures.
- What's the commute from Wealden 010 to the nearest city?
- It's not easy without a car. The nearest mainline rail station is roughly 11 km away, and only about 2% of residents commute by public transport. The journey to London by public transport takes over three hours. Most residents drive, and nearly a third work from home — which is the more realistic option for many people living here.
- Who lives in Wealden 010?
- Predominantly older, settled owner-occupiers. Nearly half the population is aged 50 or over, and over three-quarters own their home. It's an ethnically homogeneous area, with over 92% of residents born in the UK. Single-person households make up about 30% of the total. Young families and renters are a small minority.
- What schools are near Wealden 010?
- There are 17 schools within typical catchment distance. Around 65% are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted — below the national share of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is just under 10 km away. Given the rural geography, checking individual school ratings and transport links is especially important before committing to a specific address.
- Is Wealden 010 good for families?
- It can be, particularly for families who work from home or have flexible arrangements. The area is safe, green, and settled. The main challenges are school quality — with only 65% of nearby schools rated Good or Outstanding — and the near-total reliance on cars. Families with school-age children should research individual catchments carefully before moving.