Area Information for Orchard Close, Briar Bank Park, Wilstead, Bedford, MK45 3WU

House Prices

There have been no house sales reported to the Land Registry in this postcode since January 1st 1995.

Our data comes directly from the Land Registry, and is updated monthly. It does not include commercial sales, or sales of land without property.

Housing Types Embed This

The area containing Orchard Close, Briar Bank Park, Wilstead, Bedford consists predominantly of caravans or other mobile and temporary dwellings. This is relatively uncommon, and may indicate a caravan park in the area. Please note that the figures may include adjacent streets - see the Summary tab for an explanation and map of the area that these figures cover.

Housing Tenure Embed This Back to Top

This area consists predominantly of housing where the property is owned outright - higher than the national average of almost 33%.

Housing Occupancy Embed This Back to Top

This data lists the total number of residents normally resident within each household. The figures do not record under- or over-occupancy.

Household Composition Embed This Back to Top

The area containing Orchard Close, Briar Bank Park, Wilstead, Bedford consists predominantly of single-person households, common in inner-city areas.

Household Deprivation Embed This Back to Top

Household deprivation was measured against four dimensions for the 2021 census - employment, education, health/disability, and overcrowding.

Gender Embed This

Across the UK as a whole, the gender split is roughly equal at 49% male, 51% female. This address in Mid Bedfordshire constituency is broadly in line with those figures, with 45% male.

Age Groups Embed This Back to Top

Across the UK as a whole, the median age is 40.7 years. The area around MK45 3WU has a very large concentration of residents that are aged 65+ (at 76% of the resident population). This is most commonly seen in rural and small-town areas, and areas of natural beauty that appeal to an older demographic.

This type of distribution is also seen in areas that contain large retirement complexes and care homes.

Relationship Status Embed This Back to Top

In the immediate vicinity of MK45 3WU the number widowed residents is high - 20% of the area's population. This may be indicative of an older population, and these areas often contain more women than men as a result.

Figures for relationship status do not include those aged under 16, or those family members aged 16-18 who are in full-time education. Following the Civil Partnership Act that came into force in 2019, census figures for 2021 no longer categorise same sex relationships as a separate category. Civil partnerships are now included within the figures for the other categories (Married, Divorced and so forth).

Health Embed This Back to Top

Health in the UK is strongly tied to age as you would expect, but the affluence of a neighbourhood also has strong influence, with deprived areas often showing poorer standards of health.

Overall, the UK considers itself to be healthy - 81.7% of residents rated their health as Very Good or Good. The full breakdown is as follows for the United Kingdom: 48.4% Very Good, 33.3% Good, 12.9% Fair, 4.2% Bad and 1.3% Very Bad.

It is notable that the number of residents reporting Very Good or Good health increased in 2021/22 compared to the previous census, despite an aging UK population. This may have been influenced by how people perceived their health against the backdrop of the pandemic.

However, this area of the Wixams & Wilstead ward shows lower levels of residents that report their health as Good or Very Good (60%) than average, which is usually indicative of areas with older populations or areas of social deprivation.

Education & Qualifications Embed This Back to Top

Orchard Close and surrounding area has a larger than average concentration of residents have no qualifications - 50% of the resident population. On average, around 18.2% of census respondents fall into this category.

The qualification levels are based on current qualification names. The former Ordinary Levels (O-Levels) and CSEs will be included in the GCSE figures. Former Higher School Certificates (HSCs) will be counted as A-Levels.

Ethnic Group Embed This

This address (Orchard Close, Briar Bank Park, Wilstead, Bedford) can be considered less ethnically diverse than the UK average. As whole, the UK population claims itself as approximately 83% white, with residents of this area being 96% so.

As a country with a diverse population, the UK is home to other sizable ethnic groups, with mixed ethnicity (2.7%), Indian (2.9%) and Pakistani (2.6%) being the largest groups reported.

There is considerable division of ethnicities within the UK, with ethnically diverse addresses uncommon outside of urban areas.

Country of Birth Embed This Back to Top

At the time of the 2021/22 census, approximately 84% of the resident population of the United Kingdom were born in the UK. The other major groups were 6.7% from European countries, 5.2% from Middle Eastern or Asian countries, 2.5% from African countries, and 1.6% from the rest of the world.

Length of Residence Embed This Back to Top

At the time of the 2021/22 census, approximately 83.8% of the resident population of the United Kingdom were born in the UK. Some 9.4% have resided in the UK for 10 years plus, 2.8% for 5-10 years, 2.2% for 2-5 years, and 1.8% for less than two years.

The length of time a person has been resident in the UK has been calculated from the time a resident most recently arrived in the UK (excluding holidays/short stays outside the UK). However, residents that were born in the UK but emigrated and then later returned will still be counted as "Born in the United Kingdom".

Passport(s) Held Embed This Back to Top

Note that an individual may hold one or more passports. The data may include people living in adjacent addresses to MK45 3WU.

Religion Embed This Back to Top

The largest religious group in England and Wales are Christians - 46.2% of residents. However, a sizeable portion of the population (37.2%) claim to have no religion, which has increased substantially from the 25.1% reported in the 2011 census. Some 6.5% identify themselves as Muslim, 1.7% Hindu, 0.9% Sikh, 0.5% Buddhist, 0.5% Jewish, and 0.6% as other religions, while the remaining 6% did not state their religious views.

Economic Activity Embed This

This address within the Wixams & Wilstead ward showed a higher-than-average concentration of retired residents - 67% of the resident population. On average, around 21.7% of census respondents were retired. This represents a significant increase since the 2011 census, where 13.8% were retired. This may be partly explained by the number of people aged 65 years and over increasing in the UK, and partially by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the workforce in the time leading up to the census.

Figures for economic activity do not include those aged under 16, or those family members aged 16-18 who are in full-time education. The data was correct as of the 2021/22 census, which was a period of depressed economic activity.

The 2021 census occurred during period of depressed economic activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, care should be taken in interpreting figures relating to labour market participation.

Occupation Group Embed This Back to Top

This data is based on resident aged 16+ on census day 2021/22, who were in employment. The categories used are taken from the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) 2020.

Socio-Economic Classification Embed This Back to Top

Classifications are assigned based on an algorithm created by the National Statistics Agency, called the Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC).

Orchard Close, Briar Bank Park, Wilstead, Bedford, MK45 3WU is within the Wilstead, Shortstown, Willington policing neighbourhood, under the Bedfordshire Police force area. For non-urgent queries, contact 101. For emergency assistance, please contact 999. In August 2025, 10 crimes were reported within half a mile of MK45 3WU.

Neighbourhood Team

Crime:	Click here to view 10 crimes committed near Orchard Close
Neighbourhood Team Address	Wilstead, Shortstown, Willington
Force Website:	https://www.beds.police.uk/

Data courtesy of police.uk. See our Data Sources page for more information.

Below are the details of the closest services to Briar Bank Park. All distances are straight-line distances, please consult the map of the facility to check the exact location. You can also view these details on our interactive services map for MK45 3WU.

Nearest Railway Stations Back to Top

Listed here are the 18 closest railway stations to Orchard Close, Briar Bank Park, Wilstead, Bedford, MK45 3WU. The nearest railway station is Kempston Hardwick, approximately 2.6 miles away.

Nearest Primary Schools Back to Top

Listed here are the 10 closest primary schools to Orchard Close, Briar Bank Park, Wilstead, Bedford, MK45 3WU. The nearest is Wilstead Primary School, approximately 540 yards away.

Nearest Secondary Schools Back to Top

Listed here are the 10 closest secondary schools to Orchard Close, Briar Bank Park, Wilstead, Bedford, MK45 3WU. The nearest is Wixams Academy, approximately 1.2 miles away.

Nearest Doctor's Surgeries/GP Practices Back to Top

Listed here are the 10 closest GPs (General Practitioners) to Orchard Close, Briar Bank Park, Wilstead, Bedford, MK45 3WU. The nearest is London Road Surgery, approximately 2.7 miles away. Please consult the NHS Choices website to check if the facility is currently accepting new NHS patients.

Nearest Dentists Back to Top

Listed here are the 10 closest dentists to Orchard Close, Briar Bank Park, Wilstead, Bedford, MK45 3WU. The nearest is Kempston Dental Practice, approximately 3.6 miles away. Please consult the NHS Choices website to check if the facility is currently accepting new NHS patients.

Nearest Hospitals Back to Top

Listed here are the 3 closest hospitals to Orchard Close, Briar Bank Park, Wilstead, Bedford, MK45 3WU. The nearest is Bedford Hospital South Wing, approximately 3.8 miles away.

Nearest Opticians Back to Top

Listed here are the 10 closest opticians to Orchard Close, Briar Bank Park, Wilstead, Bedford, MK45 3WU. The nearest is Allders Opticians, approximately 3.5 miles away.

* Distances are measured in a straight line from the given postcode. Please consult the facility's map page or your preferred route finding/GPS app for driving directions.

 

Broadband in MK45 3WU

Gigabit (1,000Mbps+) Internet Available?	NoAvailability changes frequently, check major suppliers for changes.
Ultrafast (300Mbps+) Broadband Available?	Yes
Superfast (30Mbps+) Broadband Available?	Yes
Maximum Download Speed Available	300Mbps+

Top Broadband Suppliers Back to Top

Thanks to a survey^[link] performed for Broadband Genie, we can show you the best broadband suppliers in the United Kingdom as of 2019. The most popular supplier was Plusnet, based on average scores for value, support, speed, reliability, customer service, security and whether the customer would recommend the supplier.