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Neighbourhood profile
St James
Waltham Forest, London
PocketsBlackhorse Road (Douglas Eyre Playing Fields · Stoneydown Park · west)Markhouse & St James Park (Walthamstow Wetlands · Low Hall Sports Ground)Walthamstow Market & South Grove (west · south-west)
St James sits in the south-west of Waltham Forest running from Walthamstow towards the Lea Valley, a ward anchored by the Walthamstow Wetlands and a mix of Victorian terraces and post-war estates. Heritage is specific: five listed buildings including the Grade II Clock House, the Grade II Pump House and the Grade II Church of St Saviour. Walthamstow Wetlands runs to nearly 118 hectares and total green space crosses 181, which drives one of the strongest nature scores in the dataset. Twenty-three Outstanding-rated schools sit within reach. Public-transport access is moderate, with St James Street Overground the main station. The drawbacks are that safety sits below the London average, conservation-area coverage is under one percent, cultural venues are modest in scale compared with Walthamstow Village a short distance away, and air quality is only moderate.
- Strongest77Nature Access
Strong access to green space and waterways
- Also strong62Property prices & growth
Strong combination of affordability, price momentum and turnover
- Watch out11Heritage
Little listed-building or conservation-area presence
At a glance
- Good public-transport access
- 5 listed buildings
- 0.7% covered by a conservation area
- 9 schools rated Outstanding by Ofsted within 1 km
- Largest green space: Walthamstow Wetlands (117.9 hectares)
- 100 open venues (28 food and drink, 72 other)
7 pockets across 3 named areas · coloured by overall score.See on full map ↗
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Walthamstow Wetlands, opened to the public in 2017 on working Thames Water reservoirs, is one of Europe's largest urban wetland nature reserves.
St James, 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
62Better than 83% of London
How scores work - Purchase affordability25
- Rent affordability70
- Price momentum (5yr)69
- Activity (turnover)76
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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 St James: 145 sales recorded (2025)32-yr price trend £—
Safety
44Better than 40% of London
- Personal safety45
- Property crime49
- Anti-social behaviour40
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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 St James: personal, property & anti-social breakdown24-mo trend to Jun 2026counts —
Connectivity
45Better than 51% of London
Median public-transport access is good (TfL PTAL 4.0 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 St James: — min by TfL to 8 major hubsaccess rank —
Air & Quiet
52Better than 56% of London
- Air quality62
- Quietness38
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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
28Better than 62% of London
- Nightlife0
- Dining14
- Arts & culture21
- Retail & shops7
- Sports & recreation14
- Independent scene50
- Vitality (openings, diversity)50
100 open venues nearby — 28 food & drink, 72 other.
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Culture deep-dive
What's open nearby — the venue mix, share of independents, and recent openings.
For St James: the mix behind 100 open venues—% independent
Education
54Better than 55% of London
- Primary schools52
- Secondary schools54
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School inspection history
Every school in this ward with its current Ofsted rating and multi-year trend.
For St James: 6 schools, each with its inspection record
Heritage
11Better than 28% of London
5 listed buildings · 1% under a conservation area
- Clock HouseGrade II
- The Pump HouseGrade II
- Church of St SaviourGrade II
From Historic England's National Heritage List for England.
Nature Access
77Better than 95% of London
- Green spaces99
- Waterways40
Largest green space: Walthamstow Wetlands (118 ha). ~181 ha of green space in total.
Area development
27Better than 95% 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 St James
For St James: 145 sales recorded (2025)32-yr price history £—24-mo crime trend to Jun 2026TfL times to 8 hubs — min6 schools' inspection records100 venues mapped
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What's changing in St James
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St James, quick answers
- Is St James safe?
- St James scores 44 for safety, based on street-level recorded crime (police.uk) — mid-table for 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 St James a good place to live?
- St James scores 44 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 nature access (77) and property prices & growth (62); its weakest is heritage (11). 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 St James?
- Good public-transport access: Transport for London rates the typical spot in St James 4 on its 0–8 public-transport access scale, which puts the ward at 45 for connectivity relative to the rest of London.
- Is St James expensive to buy in?
- Relative to the rest of London, St James 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 St James?
- St James scores 54 for education, based on Ofsted ratings and walking distance to the nearest rated primary and secondary schools. 9 schools within a kilometre hold an Outstanding rating.
Where else to look
Wards with a similar profile
- Lea Bridge · Waltham Forest
- Higham Hill · Waltham Forest
- Dormers Wells · Ealing
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Neighbourhood matches
Find areas that score like this one, with the price difference for each.
Nearby wards
- Lea Bridge · Hackney
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- High Street · Waltham Forest
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