LU6 1AL Central Bedfordshire
Live postcode, introduced January 1980. Ward: Dunstable North. 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 C (58% of about 640 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
- Downing View, Dunstable: up to 17 homes, permissioned (590 m)
- Jewson Site, Beale Street, Dunstable, not permissioned (730 m)
- Gas Works Site, North Station Way, Allocated (800 m)
- Regent Street/ Manchester Place, Allocated (1.0 km)
Flood risk
Rivers, the sea or surface water: in this postcode, 3 addresses are in areas at high risk, 0 at medium risk and 6 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 59 addresses are between 155 m and 160 m above sea level (157 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 | 5.9 km |
| Luton 3.7 million journeys in 2024–25 | 8.5 km | |
| Cheddington 83,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 9.1 km | |
| Bus stops | 16 stops within 400 m, 43 within 800 m; nearest Worthington Road Beecroft | 120 m |
| Bus or coach station | Luton Station Interchange Luton Town Centre | 8.4 km |
| Car parks | Ashton Square Car Park | 1.1 km |
| EV charging points | 3 within 1.6 km; nearest bp pulse Charging Station | 1.0 km |
| Airport with scheduled flights | London Luton Airport LTN | 11.7 km |
Local services
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| GP surgeries | 5 practices within 1.6 km; nearest Kirby Road Surgery | 790 m |
| Pharmacies | 6 pharmacies within 1.6 km; nearest Dunstable Pharmacy | 1.0 km |
| NHS dentists | 4 practices within 1.6 km; nearest Darrell House | 820 m |
| Hospital | Luton And Dunstable University Hospital | 4.5 km |
| Police station | Dunstable Police Station | 1.0 km |
| Cash machines | 1 machines within 800 m; nearest The Cooperative Food Dunstable - Westfield Road Cashzone | 510 m |
Parks and green space
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Park or garden | 2 within 800 m; nearest Dunstable Downs 54 ha | 320 m |
| Play area | 3 within 800 m; nearest Unnamed 470 m² | 580 m |
| Playing field | Unnamed 5.1 ha | 830 m |
| Allotments | 7 within 800 m; nearest Unnamed 2,310 m² | 120 m |
Within 800 m: 2 parks and gardens, 55 hectares in all.
Landmarks
The nearest historic landmark is Five Knolls round barrow cemetery: three bell barrows, two bowl barrows and two pond barrows on Dunstable Down, a scheduled monument, 690 m south. 9 listed buildings are within 1.0 km.
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| Five Knolls round barrow cemetery: three bell barrows, two bowl barrows and two pond barrows on Dunstable Down | Scheduled monument | 690 m south |
| A medieval warren on Dunstable Downs | Scheduled monument | 870 m south |
| Maiden Bower hillfort | Scheduled monument | 1.3 km north-west |
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| Stipers Hill | Hill | 2.1 km south-east |
| Blue Waters Woodland | Wood | 2.5 km north |
| The Green | Wood | 2.6 km north-east |
| Slough Wood | Wood | 2.8 km south |
| Castle Hill | Hill | 2.9 km west |
| Sallowspring Wood | Wood | 3.0 km south |
Air quality
| Pollutant | Here | UK limit | WHO guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 7.7 | 40 | 10 |
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 7.1 | 20 | 5 |
| Particles (PM10) | 11.3 | 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 |
| 55 to 59 | 8 | 0 |
| Under 55 | 50 | 59 |
9 of the postcode's 59 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 | 38 | 40 |
| Children under 15 | 20% | 17% |
| Aged 65 and over | 13% | 18% |
Homes
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Owned (outright or with a mortgage) | 78% | 61% |
| Owned outright | 33% | 33% |
| Shared ownership | 0% | 1% |
| Social rented | 13% | 17% |
| Private rented | 9% | 21% |
Work and commuting
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Adults (16 and over) in work | 71% | 57% |
| Unemployment (of those working or looking for work) | 4% | 6% |
| Retired (of adults) | 15% | 22% |
| Long-term sick or disabled (of adults) | 2% | 4% |
| Work mainly from home (of those in work) | 22% | 32% |
| Travel to work by car or van | 65% | 48% |
| By train, Underground, metro or tram | 1% | 4% |
| By any public transport, including bus | 2% | 8% |
| On foot or by bicycle | 10% | 10% |
| Work within 10 km of home (of those who travel to work) | 53% | 65% |
| Work 30 km or more away | 11% | 8% |
Education and languages
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Degree or other higher qualification, Level 4+ (of adults) | 31% | 34% |
| No qualifications | 11% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship as highest qualification | 6% | 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 5 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.