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Neighbourhood profile
Harold Wood
Havering, London
PocketsHarold Park & Harold Wood (Harold Wood Park · Tyler's Common · River Ingrebourne · Church Road · Lister Field · Gubbins Lane)Ardleigh Green (Platford Green · Lister Field)
Harold Wood sits at the eastern edge of Havering, in the commuter belt where the Elizabeth line now runs out to Shenfield through what was once Essex countryside. The listed-building set includes the Grade II* Great Tomkyns, a sixteenth- and seventeenth-century timber-framed hall house, its Grade II* associated barn, and Page's Farmhouse. Nature is strong: 193 hectares of green space anchored by the 26.2-hectare Tyler's Common on the northern edge. Eighteen outstanding-rated schools sit within reach, pollution scores are strong at 73, and housing is among the most affordable in this batch. The drawbacks are the outer-suburb ones. Public-transport access is only moderate despite Harold Wood on the Elizabeth line, because the rest of the ward is on long walks or buses, there is no conservation area coverage, and the food and nonFood venue counts are modest at 45 and 29 respectively. Culture and heritage scores are both low outside the listed farmstead group.
- Strongest76Property prices & growth
Strong combination of affordability, price momentum and turnover
- Also strong73Air & Quiet
Clean air and low ambient noise by London standards
- Watch out4Area development
Little recent major-development activity
At a glance
- Limited public-transport access
- 8 listed buildings
- 3 schools rated Outstanding by Ofsted within 1 km
- Largest green space: Tyler's Common (26.2 hectares)
- 74 open venues (45 food and drink, 29 other)
8 pockets across 2 named areas · coloured by overall score.See on full map ↗
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Harold Wood, layer by layer
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Scores as of 23 Aug 2026 · prices to 2026 · crime to Jun 2026 · air 2022 · sources
Property prices & growth
76Better than 99% of London
How scores work - Purchase affordability80
- Rent affordability75
- Price momentum (5yr)66
- Activity (turnover)88
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Prices, rent & trends
£ per square foot to buy, an estimated 2-bed rent, and decades of sale-price history for this ward.
For Harold Wood: 169 sales recorded (2025)32-yr price trend £—
Safety
70Better than 88% of London
- Personal safety70
- Property crime74
- Anti-social behaviour68
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Safety deep-dive
Every recorded crime type — burglary, robbery, vehicle crime and more — grouped into personal, property and anti-social behaviour, with the monthly trend for this ward.
For Harold Wood: personal, property & anti-social breakdown24-mo trend to Jun 2026counts —
Connectivity
30Better than 13% of London
Median public-transport access is basic (TfL PTAL 2.0 of 8 across this ward).
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Connectivity deep-dive
Real TfL journey times to London's major hubs, plus this ward's transport access rank across London.
For Harold Wood: — min by TfL to 8 major hubsaccess rank —
Air & Quiet
73Better than 87% of London
- Air quality98
- Quietness35
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Air & noise deep-dive
NO₂, PM2.5 and road/rail noise for this ward, each against WHO / UK limits.
Cultural Signal
15Better than 22% of London
- Nightlife0
- Dining7
- Arts & culture0
- Retail & shops7
- Sports & recreation7
- Independent scene21
- Vitality (openings, diversity)50
74 open venues nearby — 45 food & drink, 29 other.
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Culture deep-dive
What's open nearby — the venue mix, share of independents, and recent openings.
For Harold Wood: the mix behind 74 open venues—% independent
Education
50Better than 33% of London
- Primary schools40
- Secondary schools58
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School inspection history
Every school in this ward with its current Ofsted rating and multi-year trend.
For Harold Wood: 5 schools, each with its inspection record
Heritage
4Better than 13% of London
8 listed buildings
- Great TomkynsGrade II*
- Barn to South West of Great TomkynsGrade II*
- Page's FarmhouseGrade II
From Historic England's National Heritage List for England.
Nature Access
69Better than 72% of London
- Green spaces91
- Waterways20
Largest green space: Tyler's Common (26 ha). ~193 ha of green space in total.
Area development
4Better than 53% of London
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Planning pipeline
Named recent approvals with homes and floorspace, the local homes pipeline, and the affordable share.
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- Prices — £ per square foot, an estimated rent, and the ward’s full price history
- Safety — crime by type with its monthly trend
- Getting around — real TfL journey times to the big hubs
- Schools, air & noise — every school’s inspection record, air & noise against WHO limits
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For Harold Wood: 169 sales recorded (2025)32-yr price history £—24-mo crime trend to Jun 2026TfL times to 8 hubs — min5 schools' inspection records74 venues mapped
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What's changing in Harold Wood
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Harold Wood, quick answers
- Is Harold Wood safe?
- Harold Wood scores 70 for safety, based on street-level recorded crime (police.uk) — one of London's safer wards on this measure. The score weighs personal safety, property crime and anti-social behaviour separately rather than ranking on one raw total, so the mix of crime matters as well as the volume.
- Is Harold Wood a good place to live?
- Harold Wood scores 43 overall when all nine data layers are weighted equally. The London comparison beside the score shows how that number ranks against every ward. Its strongest suits are property prices & growth (76) and air & quiet (73); its weakest is area development (4). Whether it suits you depends on what you weight — the same data re-ranked around your own priorities can read very differently.
- How well connected is Harold Wood?
- Limited public-transport access: Transport for London rates the typical spot in Harold Wood 2 on its 0–8 public-transport access scale, which puts the ward at 30 for connectivity relative to the rest of London.
- Is Harold Wood expensive to buy in?
- Relative to the rest of London, Harold Wood is among London's more affordable areas to buy: its purchase-affordability score is 16/20, where higher means cheaper per square foot (HM Land Registry sold prices matched to floor areas).
- What are the schools like near Harold Wood?
- Harold Wood scores 50 for education, based on Ofsted ratings and walking distance to the nearest rated primary and secondary schools. 3 schools within a kilometre hold an Outstanding rating.
Where else to look
Wards with a similar profile
- Eastbrook & Rush Green · Barking and Dagenham
- Havering-atte-Bower · Havering
- Hatch Lane & Highams Park North · Waltham Forest
- Crayford · Bexley
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Neighbourhood matches
Find areas that score like this one, with the price difference for each.
Nearby wards
- Cranham · Havering
- Emerson Park · Havering
- Gooshays · Havering
- Heaton · Havering
- Marshalls & Rise Park · Havering
- Squirrels Heath · Havering
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- Wallington South · SuttonMore affordable
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