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Neighbourhood profile
Oval
Lambeth, London
PocketsVauxhall South (south-east · far south-east · east)Oval (west · St Mark's Churchyard)Stockwell North
Oval runs along the eastern side of Kennington between Vauxhall and Camberwell, a ward dominated by the Surrey County Cricket Club ground that has been on the site since 1845. Heritage is strong: 27 listed buildings include the Grade II* Church of St Mark, the Grade II* Belgrave Hospital for Children and the Grade II Prima Road, with nearly 40% of the ward falling inside a conservation area. Transport is very good via Oval and Vauxhall, 25 outstanding schools sit within reach, and the high-street life along South Lambeth Road and Kennington Road is dense. Air quality is middling and the market has weakened slightly. The drawbacks are that green space within the ward is thin — St Mark's Churchyard is the largest at 0.7 hectares — and that nightlife-related issues along the Vauxhall and Oval corridors pull the safety reading below average.
- Strongest86Connectivity
Excellent public-transport access
- Also strong66Education
Strong access to rated primary and secondary schools
- Watch out8Area development
Little recent major-development activity
At a glance
- Very good public-transport access
- 27 listed buildings
- 38% covered by a conservation area
- 5 schools rated Outstanding by Ofsted within 1 km
- Largest green space: St Mark's Churchyard (0.7 hectares)
- 126 open venues (63 food and drink, 63 other)
6 pockets across 3 named areas · coloured by overall score.See on full map ↗
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The Oval has been the home of Surrey County Cricket Club since 1845 and was the first ground in England to host Test cricket, in September 1880; the ground sits on former Duchy of Cornwall cabbage-garden land leased in 1844.
Oval, 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
30Better than 7% of London
How scores work - Purchase affordability25
- Rent affordability30
- Price momentum (5yr)29
- Activity (turnover)36
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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 Oval: 80 sales recorded (2025)32-yr price trend £—
Safety
58Better than 67% of London
- Personal safety65
- Property crime46
- Anti-social behaviour64
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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 Oval: personal, property & anti-social breakdown24-mo trend to Jun 2026counts —
Connectivity
86Better than 94% of London
Median public-transport access is excellent (TfL PTAL 7.0 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 Oval: — min by TfL to 8 major hubsaccess rank —
Air & Quiet
28Better than 18% of London
- Air quality12
- Quietness53
Locked
Air & noise deep-dive
NO₂, PM2.5 and road/rail noise for this ward, each against WHO / UK limits.
Cultural Signal
44Better than 85% of London
- Nightlife14
- Dining43
- Arts & culture36
- Retail & shops29
- Sports & recreation0
- Independent scene93
- Vitality (openings, diversity)63
126 open venues nearby — 63 food & drink, 63 other.
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Culture deep-dive
What's open nearby — the venue mix, share of independents, and recent openings.
For Oval: the mix behind 126 open venues—% independent
Education
66Better than 97% of London
- Primary schools70
- Secondary schools64
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School inspection history
Every school in this ward with its current Ofsted rating and multi-year trend.
For Oval: 3 schools, each with its inspection record
Heritage
60Better than 79% of London
27 listed buildings · 38% under a conservation area
- Church of St MarkGrade II*
- The Belgrave Hospital for ChildrenGrade II*
- 5, Prima Road Sw9Grade II
From Historic England's National Heritage List for England.
Nature Access
56Better than 30% of London
- Green spaces69
- Waterways45
Largest green space: St Mark's Churchyard (1 ha). ~1 ha of green space in total.
Area development
8Better than 67% 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
- What's next — the venue mix, what’s been approved to build nearby, and cheaper areas that score like Oval
For Oval: 80 sales recorded (2025)32-yr price history £—24-mo crime trend to Jun 2026TfL times to 8 hubs — min3 schools' inspection records126 venues mapped
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What's changing in Oval
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Oval, quick answers
- Is Oval safe?
- Oval scores 58 for safety, based on street-level recorded crime (police.uk) — safer than most of London. 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 Oval a good place to live?
- Oval scores 49 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 connectivity (86) and education (66); its weakest is area development (8). 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 Oval?
- Very good public-transport access: Transport for London rates the typical spot in Oval 7 on its 0–8 public-transport access scale, which puts the ward at 86 for connectivity relative to the rest of London.
- Is Oval expensive to buy in?
- Relative to the rest of London, Oval is among London's pricier areas: its purchase-affordability score is 5/20, where higher means cheaper per square foot (HM Land Registry sold prices matched to floor areas).
- What are the schools like near Oval?
- Oval scores 66 for education, based on Ofsted ratings and walking distance to the nearest rated primary and secondary schools. 5 schools within a kilometre hold an Outstanding rating.
Where else to look
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Neighbourhood matches
Find areas that score like this one, with the price difference for each.
Nearby wards
- Kennington · Lambeth
- Myatt's Fields · Lambeth
- Stockwell East · Lambeth
- Stockwell West & Larkhall · Lambeth
- Vauxhall · Lambeth
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- St Dunstan's · Tower HamletsMore affordable
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- Camberwell Green · SouthwarkMore affordable
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