AL4 8DF St Albans
Live postcode, introduced January 1980. Ward: Sandridge & Wheathampstead. Region: East of England.
Streets
- Ash Grove, Wheathampstead: 56 addresses
- Bury Green, Wheathampstead: 1 address
- Lower Luton Road, The Folly: 1 address
Council tax
What each band costs in St Albans in 2026-27: Band D £2,419 a year on average, including the police, fire and any county and parish charges.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £1,613 | £1,882 | £2,150 | £2,419 | £2,957 | £3,494 | £4,032 | £4,838 |
Homes by band in the neighbourhood around this postcode: most are in band G (42% of about 600 homes).
Planning and heritage
- Conservation area: no postcode centre in this postcode is in one.
- Listed buildings within 100 m of this postcode: 1.
- Article 4 direction (removing permitted development rights): none recorded, though not every council has published theirs.
- Tree preservation orders: 5 protected trees within 100 m of this postcode.
- Green belt: no.
Listed buildings
- BURY FARM COTTAGES, grade II
Flood risk
Rivers, the sea or surface water: in this postcode, 0 addresses are in areas at high risk, 0 at medium risk and 4 at low risk. Each address counts once, at the higher of its rivers-and-sea and surface-water risk.
Rivers and the sea alone: of the 54 homes the Environment Agency counts, 0 are in areas at high risk, 0 medium, 3 low and 1 very low.
High: 3.3% (1 in 30) or more chance of flooding a year. Medium: 1% to 3.3%. Low: 0.1% to 1%. Very low: under 0.1%. The rivers and sea figures allow for flood defences. Counts cover whole postcodes, which can include other streets.
Flood zone for planning: no postcode centre is in flood zone 2 or 3.
Height above sea level
The postcode's 58 addresses are between 81 m and 97 m above sea level (87 m on average).
Broadband
Superfast 96%, ultrafast 96%, gigabit 96% of premises; 0% cannot get 10 Mbit/s. Ofcom Connected Nations, data as at January 2026.
Getting around
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Railway stations | Harpenden 2.8 million journeys in 2024–25 | 3.7 km |
| Welwyn Garden City 2.5 million journeys in 2024–25 | 6.6 km | |
| St Albans City 6.7 million journeys in 2024–25 | 7.3 km | |
| Bus stops | 8 stops within 400 m, 20 within 800 m; nearest St Helen's Church Wheathampstead | 290 m |
| Bus or coach station | Bus Station Welwyn Garden City | 6.5 km |
| Car parks | 1 within 800 m; nearest East Lane Car Park | 390 m |
| EV charging points | Apcoa Charging Station | 3.8 km |
| Airport with scheduled flights | London Luton Airport LTN | 8.4 km |
Local services
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| GP surgeries | Elms Medical Practice | 3.8 km |
| Pharmacies | 1 pharmacies within 1.6 km; nearest Manor Pharmacy | 280 m |
| NHS dentists | 2 practices within 1.6 km; nearest Dental Surgery | 280 m |
| Hospital | Harpenden Memorial Hospital | 3.9 km |
| Police station | Harpenden Police Station | 3.9 km |
| Cash machines | The Cooperative Food Harpenden - Southdown Road | 3.2 km |
Parks and green space
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Park or garden | 7 within 800 m; nearest Crinkle Crankle Community Garden 1,500 m² | 210 m |
| Largest park within 800 m | Unnamed 2.0 ha | 610 m |
| Play area | 5 within 800 m; nearest Unnamed 330 m² | 110 m |
| Playing field | 3 within 800 m; nearest Rectory Meadow 7,530 m² | 70 m |
| Allotments | 1 within 800 m; nearest The Folly Allotments 7,980 m² | 770 m |
Within 800 m: 7 parks and gardens, 3.4 hectares in all.
Landmarks
The nearest historic landmark is Church of St Helen, a listed building (Grade I), 230 m east. 49 listed buildings are within 1.0 km, 1 of them Grade I.
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| Church of St Helen | Listed building, Grade I | 230 m east |
| Wheathampstead earthwork incorporating Devils Dyke and the Slad | Scheduled monument | 1.4 km south-east |
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| Rectory Copse | Wood | 180 m east |
| Ba Wood | Wood | 1.5 km north |
| Little Piggotts Wood | Wood | 1.5 km south-west |
| Pearman's Spring | Wood | 1.7 km south-east |
| Kents Dell | Valley | 2.4 km south-east |
| Southdown Ponds | Lake or reservoir | 3.7 km west |
Air quality
| Pollutant | Here | UK limit | WHO guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 8.2 | 40 | 10 |
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 7.2 | 20 | 5 |
| Particles (PM10) | 12.1 | 40 | 15 |
All three are within the UK legal limits; PM2.5 is above the WHO guideline, as in most towns and cities.
Road and rail noise
| Level | Road traffic | Railways |
|---|---|---|
| 60 to 64 | 1 | 0 |
| Under 55 | 57 | 58 |
1 of the postcode's 58 addresses is modelled at 55 dB or more from road traffic, above the WHO guidelines.
People and work
Who lives here
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Median age | 58 | 40 |
| Children under 15 | 11% | 17% |
| Aged 65 and over | 40% | 18% |
Homes
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Owned (outright or with a mortgage) | 94% | 61% |
| Owned outright | 70% | 33% |
| Shared ownership | 0% | 1% |
| Social rented | 1% | 17% |
| Private rented | 5% | 21% |
Work and commuting
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Adults (16 and over) in work | 41% | 57% |
| Unemployment (of those working or looking for work) | 8% | 6% |
| Retired (of adults) | 47% | 22% |
| Long-term sick or disabled (of adults) | under 1% | 4% |
| Work mainly from home (of those in work) | 60% | 32% |
| Travel to work by car or van | 32% | 48% |
| By train, Underground, metro or tram | 2% | 4% |
| By any public transport, including bus | 2% | 8% |
| On foot or by bicycle | 5% | 10% |
| Work within 10 km of home (of those who travel to work) | 81% | 65% |
| Work 30 km or more away | 7% | 8% |
Education and languages
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Degree or other higher qualification, Level 4+ (of adults) | 57% | 34% |
| No qualifications | 7% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship as highest qualification | 3% | 5% |
| Main language English (aged 3 and over) | 98% | 91% |
| Cannot speak English well or at all | 0% | 2% |
Deprivation
The neighbourhood around this postcode is in decile 10 of 10 on the English Indices of Deprivation 2025, where 1 is the most deprived tenth of England's 33,755 neighbourhoods and 10 the least.
The full dossier for this postcode's main street is on Ash Grove.