LU5 4RU 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 (34% of about 850 homes).
Planning and heritage
- Conservation area: yes, Dunstable Conservation Area. Extensions, demolition, some windows and doors, and work on trees need consent.
- Listed buildings within 100 m of this postcode: 9.
- 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
- Priory House, grade II*
- 19 High Street South, grade II
- 20, HIGH STREET NORTH, grade II
- 24 High Street South, grade II
- 26 Church Street, grade II
- 26 High Street South, grade II
- 28 High Street South, grade II
- 30 High Street South, grade II
- 4, HIGH STREET SOUTH, grade II
Brownfield land registered for housing within 1.0 km
- 11-15 High Street South, Dunstable: up to 26 homes, permissioned (20 m)
- Dunstable Health Centre, Church Street, permissioned (60 m)
- Priory House Gardens, Dunstable, not permissioned (100 m)
- Ashton Square Car Park, Dunstable, not permissioned (110 m)
- 37 & 39 High Street South, Dunstable, LU6 3RZ, Dunstable: up to 10 homes, permissioned (130 m)
- 37 & 39 High Street South, Dunstable, LU6 3RZ, Dunstable: up to 14 homes, permissioned (130 m)
- 219 High Street North, Dunstable, permissioned (150 m)
- Site of former Dunstable Library, Vernon Place, permissioned (240 m)
Flood risk
No address in this postcode is in an area at high, medium or low risk of flooding from rivers, the sea or surface water. The rest are in areas at very low risk: less than a 0.1% (1 in 1,000) chance a year.
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 36 addresses are between 143 m and 146 m above sea level (145 m on average).
Broadband
Superfast 96%, ultrafast 81%, gigabit 81% 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 | 4.7 km |
| Luton 3.7 million journeys in 2024–25 | 7.3 km | |
| Harlington (Bedfordshire) 308,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 8.6 km | |
| Bus stops | 12 stops within 400 m, 38 within 800 m; nearest Church Street Dunstable | 60 m |
| Bus or coach station | Luton Station Interchange Luton Town Centre | 7.1 km |
| Car parks | 1 within 800 m; nearest Ashton Square Car Park | 230 m |
| EV charging points | 8 within 1.6 km; nearest bp pulse Charging Station | 100 m |
| Airport with scheduled flights | London Luton Airport LTN | 10.5 km |
Local services
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| GP surgeries | 5 practices within 1.6 km; nearest Eastgate Surgery | 0 m |
| Pharmacies | 8 pharmacies within 1.6 km; nearest Herington (Chemists) LTD | 80 m |
| NHS dentists | 5 practices within 1.6 km; nearest Dental Surgery | 340 m |
| Hospital | Luton And Dunstable University Hospital | 3.3 km |
| Police station | Dunstable Police Station | 270 m |
| Cash machines | 2 machines within 800 m; nearest Priory Service Station | 420 m |
Parks and green space
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Park or garden | 2 within 800 m; nearest Priory Gardens 6,650 m² | 60 m |
| Largest park within 800 m | Grove House Gardens 2.7 ha | 350 m |
| Play area | 4 within 800 m; nearest Unnamed 1,410 m² | 380 m |
| Playing field | 1 within 800 m; nearest Bennett Memorial Recreation Ground 3.3 ha | 380 m |
| Allotments | 1 within 800 m; nearest Unnamed 2.8 ha | 710 m |
Within 800 m: 2 parks and gardens, 3.3 hectares in all.
Landmarks
The nearest historic landmark is Priory House, a listed building (Grade II*), 100 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Priory House | Listed building, Grade II* | 100 m south |
| Priory Gateway and attached walls | Listed building, Grade I | 130 m east |
| 13, High Street North | Listed building, Grade II* | 140 m west |
| Dunstable Priory | Scheduled monument | 160 m east |
| Priory Church of St Peter | Listed building, Grade I | 170 m east |
| Five Knolls round barrow cemetery: three bell barrows, two bowl barrows and two pond barrows on Dunstable Down | Scheduled monument | 1.6 km south-west |
| A medieval warren on Dunstable Downs | Scheduled monument | 1.7 km south-west |
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| Stipers Hill | Hill | 1.3 km south-east |
| Grove Spring | Wood | 1.9 km east |
| The Green | Wood | 2.0 km north |
| Dame Ellen's Wood | Wood | 2.4 km south-east |
| Skimpot Wood | Wood | 2.5 km east |
| Blue Waters Woodland | Wood | 2.5 km north-west |
Air quality
| Pollutant | Here | UK limit | WHO guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 8.7 | 40 | 10 |
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 7.2 | 20 | 5 |
| Particles (PM10) | 11.4 | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 75 dB or more | 7 | 0 |
| 70 to 74 | 6 | 0 |
| 65 to 69 | 12 | 0 |
| 60 to 64 | 4 | 0 |
| 55 to 59 | 1 | 0 |
| Under 55 | 6 | 36 |
30 of the postcode's 36 addresses are 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 | 34 | 40 |
| Children under 15 | 11% | 17% |
| Aged 65 and over | 5% | 18% |
Homes
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Owned (outright or with a mortgage) | 34% | 61% |
| Owned outright | 12% | 33% |
| Shared ownership | 1% | 1% |
| Social rented | 13% | 17% |
| Private rented | 53% | 21% |
Work and commuting
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Adults (16 and over) in work | 73% | 57% |
| Unemployment (of those working or looking for work) | 7% | 6% |
| Retired (of adults) | 4% | 22% |
| Long-term sick or disabled (of adults) | 5% | 4% |
| Work mainly from home (of those in work) | 17% | 32% |
| Travel to work by car or van | 34% | 48% |
| By train, Underground, metro or tram | 1% | 4% |
| By any public transport, including bus | 9% | 8% |
| On foot or by bicycle | 35% | 10% |
| Work within 10 km of home (of those who travel to work) | 76% | 65% |
| Work 30 km or more away | 10% | 8% |
Education and languages
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Degree or other higher qualification, Level 4+ (of adults) | 33% | 34% |
| No qualifications | 22% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship as highest qualification | 8% | 5% |
| Main language English (aged 3 and over) | 64% | 91% |
| Cannot speak English well or at all | 2% | 2% |
Deprivation
The neighbourhood around this postcode is in decile 6 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.