EX31 1BE North Devon
Live postcode, introduced January 1980. Ward: Barnstaple Central. Region: South West.
Streets
- Cross Street, Barnstaple: 1 address
Council tax
What each band costs in North Devon in 2026-27: Band D £2,642 a year on average, including the police, fire and any county and parish charges.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £1,761 | £2,055 | £2,349 | £2,642 | £3,229 | £3,817 | £4,404 | £5,284 |
Homes by band in the neighbourhood around this postcode: most are in band A (78% of about 1,220 homes).
Planning and heritage
- Conservation area: yes, Barnstaple - Town Centre (council page). Extensions, demolition, some windows and doors, and work on trees need consent.
- Listed buildings within 100 m of this postcode: 58.
- Article 4 direction (removing permitted development rights): none recorded, though not every council has published theirs.
- Tree preservation orders: none recorded, though not every council has published theirs.
- Green belt: no.
Listed buildings
- QUEEN ANNES WALK, grade I
- 8, CROSS STREET, grade II*
- Church of St Peter and St Mary Magdalene including the Doddridge Library, grade II*
- THE GUILDHALL, grade II*
- THREE TUNS INN, grade II*
- 10, CROSS STREET, grade II
- 104, HIGH STREET, grade II
- 13, CROSS STREET, grade II
- 13, HIGH STREET, grade II
- 14, CROSS STREET, grade II
- 14, HIGH STREET, grade II
- 15, HIGH STREET, grade II
- 18, HIGH STREET, grade II
- 19, HIGH STREET, grade II
- 22 AND 23, HIGH STREET, grade II
- 23, CASTLE STREET, grade II
- 24, CASTLE STREET, grade II
- 24, HIGH STREET, grade II
- 25 AND 25A, HIGH STREET, grade II
- 25, CASTLE STREET, grade II
- 26 AND 27, HIGH STREET, grade II
- 27, CASTLE STREET, grade II
- 3, CROSS STREET, grade II
- 4, CROSS STREET, grade II
- 6, CROSS STREET, grade II
- 7, CROSS STREET, grade II
- 81 AND 82, HIGH STREET, grade II
- 83, HIGH STREET, grade II
- 84, HIGH STREET, grade II
- 85, HIGH STREET, grade II
And 28 more.
Brownfield land registered for housing within 1.0 km
- 22-23 High Street, Barnstaple EX31 1BG: up to 8 homes, permissioned (80 m)
- Land Adjacent Holland Street and Paiges Lane, Barnstaple EX31 1DP: up to 6 homes, pending decision (100 m)
- 36-37 Boutport Street, , , , Barnstaple, EX31 1RX: up to 11 homes, permissioned (250 m)
- 113 Boutport Street, former Tile Centre, , , Barnstaple, EX31 1TD: up to 6 homes, permissioned (280 m)
- Oliver Buildings, Anchorwood Bank, Taw Wharf, , Barnstaple, EX31 2AA: up to 47 homes, permissioned (290 m)
- Land r/o Bear Street (BAR11), , , , Barnstaple, EX32 7DB: up to 30 homes, not permissioned (300 m)
- Queen Street/Bear Street, Barnstaple EX32 8XX: up to 30 homes, not permissioned (340 m)
- Barum Fastners, Vicarage Lawn, , , Barnstaple, EX32 7BN: up to 8 homes, permissioned (370 m)
Flood risk
Rivers, the sea or surface water: in this postcode, 0 addresses are in areas at high risk, 1 at medium risk and 0 at low risk. Each address counts once, at the higher of its rivers-and-sea and surface-water risk.
Rivers and the sea alone: no home is in an area at risk.
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: the postcode centre is in flood zone 3. Zone 3 is a 1% (1 in 100) or greater annual chance of flooding from rivers, or 0.5% from the sea, ignoring defences.
Height above sea level
The postcode's address is about 6 m above sea level.
Broadband
Superfast 100%, ultrafast 100%, gigabit 100% of premises; 0% cannot get 10 Mbit/s. Ofcom Connected Nations, data as at January 2026.
Getting around
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Railway stations | Barnstaple 609,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 640 m |
| Chapelton (Devon) 160 journeys in 2024–25 | 7.4 km | |
| Umberleigh 54,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 10.7 km | |
| Bus stops | 11 stops within 400 m, 34 within 800 m; nearest Queens Theatre Barnstaple | 200 m |
| Bus or coach station | Bus Station Barnstaple | 290 m |
| Ferry terminal | Instow Ferry Landing | 9.1 km |
| Car parks | 1 within 800 m; nearest Cattle Market Car Park | 150 m |
| EV charging points | 2 within 1.6 km; nearest Osprey Charging Station | 320 m |
| Airport with scheduled flights | Exeter International Airport EXT | 59.5 km |
| Nearest large airport | Cardiff International Airport CWL | 61.3 km |
Local services
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| GP surgeries | 2 practices within 1.6 km; nearest Queen's Medical Centre | 260 m |
| Pharmacies | 4 pharmacies within 1.6 km; nearest Boots | 150 m |
| NHS dentists | 14 practices within 1.6 km; nearest Devon Dentists | 170 m |
| Hospital | North Devon District Hospital | 1.6 km |
| Police station | Barnstaple Police Station | 370 m |
| Cash machines | 5 machines within 800 m; nearest Cashpoint® 17 Cross Street Lloyds Bank | 10 m |
Parks and green space
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Park or garden | 5 within 800 m; nearest Unnamed 1,140 m² | 50 m |
| Largest park within 800 m | Pilton Park 1.8 ha | 520 m |
| Play area | 5 within 800 m; nearest Unnamed 430 m² | 540 m |
| Playing field | 3 within 800 m; nearest Unnamed 4.7 ha | 520 m |
| Allotments | 4 within 800 m; nearest Unnamed 1,540 m² | 440 m |
Within 800 m: 5 parks and gardens, 3.7 hectares in all.
Landmarks
The nearest historic landmark is 8, Cross Street, a listed building (Grade II*), 30 m. 309 listed buildings are within 1.0 km, 7 of them Grade I and 11 of them Grade II*.
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| 8, Cross Street | Listed building, Grade II* | 30 m |
| Queen Annes Walk | Listed building, Grade I | 70 m south-west |
| Three Tuns Inn | Listed building, Grade II* | 90 m north |
| The Guildhall | Listed building, Grade II* | 110 m north-east |
| Barnstaple Castle | Scheduled monument | 250 m north-west |
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Bridge Pit | Tidal water | 180 m south |
| Sowden Reservoir | Lake or reservoir | 1.4 km east |
| Frankmarsh Wood | Wood | 1.5 km north-east |
| Pudnor Hill | Hill | 3.2 km north |
| Golden Valley | Valley | 3.6 km south |
| Penhill Ridge | Wetland | 4.0 km west |
Air quality
| Pollutant | Here | UK limit | WHO guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 4.8 | 40 | 10 |
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 4.9 | 20 | 5 |
| Particles (PM10) | 8.6 | 40 | 15 |
All three are within both the UK limits and the WHO guidelines.
Road and rail noise
| Level | Road traffic | Railways |
|---|---|---|
| Under 55 | 1 | 1 |
None of the postcode's 1 addresses is modelled at 55 dB or more from road or rail traffic.
People and work
Who lives here
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Median age | 34 | 40 |
| Children under 15 | 9% | 17% |
| Aged 65 and over | 8% | 18% |
Homes
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Owned (outright or with a mortgage) | 12% | 61% |
| Owned outright | 7% | 33% |
| Shared ownership | 0% | 1% |
| Social rented | 34% | 17% |
| Private rented | 54% | 21% |
Work and commuting
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Adults (16 and over) in work | 50% | 57% |
| Unemployment (of those working or looking for work) | 10% | 6% |
| Retired (of adults) | 7% | 22% |
| Long-term sick or disabled (of adults) | 20% | 4% |
| Work mainly from home (of those in work) | 13% | 32% |
| Travel to work by car or van | 19% | 48% |
| By train, Underground, metro or tram | 0% | 4% |
| By any public transport, including bus | 16% | 8% |
| On foot or by bicycle | 47% | 10% |
| Work within 10 km of home (of those who travel to work) | 77% | 65% |
| Work 30 km or more away | 6% | 8% |
Education and languages
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Degree or other higher qualification, Level 4+ (of adults) | 27% | 34% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship as highest qualification | 3% | 5% |
| Main language English (aged 3 and over) | 87% | 91% |
| Cannot speak English well or at all | 2% | 2% |
Deprivation
The neighbourhood around this postcode is in decile 1 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 Cross Street.