LU5 4HW Central Bedfordshire
Live postcode, introduced January 1980. Ward: Dunstable East. Region: East of England.
Streets
Council tax
What each band costs in Central Bedfordshire in 2026-27: Band D £2,516 a year on average, including the police, fire and any county and parish charges.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £1,677 | £1,957 | £2,237 | £2,516 | £3,075 | £3,634 | £4,194 | £5,032 |
Homes by band in the neighbourhood around this postcode: most are in band B (54% of about 840 homes).
Planning and heritage
- Conservation area: no postcode centre in this postcode is in one.
- Listed buildings within 100 m of this postcode: none.
- 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.
Brownfield land registered for housing within 1.0 km
- Dukeminster, Church Street, Dunstable: up to 270 homes, permissioned (200 m)
- Dukeminster Estate, Church Street, Dunstable: up to 170 homes, permissioned (240 m)
- Site of former Dunstable Library, Vernon Place, permissioned (330 m)
- Finbar House, 21-24 Vernon Place, Dunstable, permissioned (390 m)
- 11-15 High Street South, Dunstable: up to 26 homes, permissioned (460 m)
- Dunstable Health Centre, Church Street, permissioned (470 m)
- Ashton Middle School, Dunstable: up to 113 homes, permissioned (470 m)
- Priory House Gardens, Dunstable, not permissioned (480 m)
Flood risk
Rivers, the sea or surface water: in this postcode, 16 addresses are in areas at high risk, 17 at medium risk and 13 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: no postcode centre is in flood zone 2 or 3.
Height above sea level
The postcode's 50 addresses are between 138 m and 140 m above sea level (139 m on average).
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 | Leagrave 1.5 million journeys in 2024–25 | 4.4 km |
| Luton 3.7 million journeys in 2024–25 | 7.2 km | |
| Harlington (Bedfordshire) 308,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 8.2 km | |
| Bus stops | 13 stops within 400 m, 40 within 800 m; nearest Central Bedfordshire College Dunstable | 60 m |
| Bus or coach station | Luton Station Interchange Luton Town Centre | 7.0 km |
| Car parks | 1 within 800 m; nearest Ashton Square Car Park | 650 m |
| EV charging points | 9 within 1.6 km; nearest bp pulse Charging Station | 300 m |
| Airport with scheduled flights | London Luton Airport LTN | 10.4 km |
Local services
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| GP surgeries | 5 practices within 1.6 km; nearest Kingsbury Court Surgery | 330 m |
| Pharmacies | 9 pharmacies within 1.6 km; nearest Boots | 370 m |
| NHS dentists | 7 practices within 1.6 km; nearest Dunstable Dental Practice | 530 m |
| Hospital | Luton And Dunstable University Hospital | 3.0 km |
| Police station | Dunstable Police Station | 670 m |
| Cash machines | 2 machines within 800 m; nearest Cash In & Out Machine Asda Lloyds Bank | 410 m |
Parks and green space
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Park or garden | 2 within 800 m; nearest Grove House Gardens 2.7 ha | 300 m |
| Play area | 3 within 800 m; nearest Unnamed 460 m² | 160 m |
| Playing field | Bennett Memorial Recreation Ground 3.3 ha | 810 m |
| Allotments | Unnamed 2.8 ha | 1.1 km |
Within 800 m: 2 parks and gardens, 3.3 hectares in all.
Landmarks
The nearest historic landmark is Marshe Almshouses, a listed building (Grade II*), 300 m south. 53 listed buildings are within 1.0 km, 2 of them Grade I and 4 of them Grade II*.
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| Marshe Almshouses | Listed building, Grade II* | 300 m south |
| Priory Church of St Peter | Listed building, Grade I | 420 m south |
| Priory Gateway and attached walls | Listed building, Grade I | 430 m south |
| Dunstable Priory | Scheduled monument | 460 m south |
| 13, High Street North | Listed building, Grade II* | 480 m south-west |
| Five Knolls round barrow cemetery: three bell barrows, two bowl barrows and two pond barrows on Dunstable Down | Scheduled monument | 2.0 km south-west |
| Medieval village 100m west of Zouches Farm | Scheduled monument | 2.0 km south-east |
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| The Green | Wood | 1.6 km north |
| Stipers Hill | Hill | 1.6 km south |
| Grove Spring | Wood | 1.9 km south-east |
| Blue Waters Woodland | Wood | 2.2 km north-west |
| Skimpot Wood | Wood | 2.4 km east |
| Dame Ellen's Wood | Wood | 2.5 km south-east |
Air quality
| Pollutant | Here | UK limit | WHO guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 13.6 | 40 | 10 |
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 7.5 | 20 | 5 |
| Particles (PM10) | 11.9 | 40 | 15 |
All three are within the UK legal limits; nitrogen dioxide and PM2.5 are above the WHO guideline, as in most towns and cities.
Road and rail noise
| Level | Road traffic | Railways |
|---|---|---|
| 55 to 59 | 1 | 0 |
| Under 55 | 49 | 50 |
1 of the postcode's 50 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 | 35 | 40 |
| Children under 15 | 18% | 17% |
| Aged 65 and over | 11% | 18% |
Homes
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Owned (outright or with a mortgage) | 43% | 61% |
| Owned outright | 14% | 33% |
| Shared ownership | under 1% | 1% |
| Social rented | 12% | 17% |
| Private rented | 43% | 21% |
Work and commuting
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Adults (16 and over) in work | 66% | 57% |
| Unemployment (of those working or looking for work) | 6% | 6% |
| Retired (of adults) | 13% | 22% |
| Long-term sick or disabled (of adults) | 4% | 4% |
| Work mainly from home (of those in work) | 18% | 32% |
| Travel to work by car or van | 50% | 48% |
| By train, Underground, metro or tram | 3% | 4% |
| By any public transport, including bus | 7% | 8% |
| On foot or by bicycle | 24% | 10% |
| Work within 10 km of home (of those who travel to work) | 70% | 65% |
| Work 30 km or more away | 4% | 8% |
Education and languages
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Degree or other higher qualification, Level 4+ (of adults) | 28% | 34% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship as highest qualification | 8% | 5% |
| Main language English (aged 3 and over) | 68% | 91% |
| Cannot speak English well or at all | 5% | 2% |
Deprivation
The neighbourhood around this postcode is in decile 8 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.