MK44 3PL Central Bedfordshire
Live postcode, introduced January 1980. Ward: Sandy. 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 (24% of about 890 homes).
Planning and heritage
- Conservation area: no postcode centre in this postcode is in one.
- Listed buildings within 100 m of this postcode: 2.
- 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
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: of the 18 homes the Environment Agency counts, 0 are in areas at high risk, 0 medium, 0 low and 2 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 addresses are about 21 m above sea level.
Broadband
Superfast 100%, ultrafast 0%, gigabit 0% of premises; 0% cannot get 10 Mbit/s. Ofcom Connected Nations, data as at January 2026.
Getting around
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Railway stations | Sandy 679,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 3.4 km |
| Biggleswade 895,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 7.8 km | |
| St Neots 1.1 million journeys in 2024–25 | 10.5 km | |
| Bus stops | 6 stops within 400 m, 15 within 800 m; nearest War Memorial Blunham | 110 m |
| Bus or coach station | Interchange Biggleswade | 7.8 km |
| EV charging points | bp pulse Charging Station | 2.7 km |
| Airport with scheduled flights | London Luton Airport LTN | 30.5 km |
Local services
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| GP surgeries | Sandy Health Centre | 2.7 km |
| Pharmacies | Britannia Pharmacy | 2.7 km |
| NHS dentists | Cloves Dental Practice | 2.7 km |
| Hospital | Biggleswade Hospital | 7.0 km |
| Police station | Biggleswade Police Station | 7.7 km |
| Cash machines | Asda Sandy - Bedford Road PFS Cashzone | 2.4 km |
Parks and green space
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Park or garden | 1 within 800 m; nearest Unnamed 1,230 m² | 260 m |
| Play area | 1 within 800 m; nearest Unnamed 720 m² | 690 m |
| Playing field | 1 within 800 m; nearest Unnamed 2.9 ha | 610 m |
| Allotments | Unnamed 7,050 m² | 2.4 km |
Within 800 m: 1 park or garden, 0.1 hectares in all.
Landmarks
The nearest historic landmark is Parish Church of St Edmund Or St James, a listed building (Grade I), 110 m south-west. 20 listed buildings are within 1.0 km, 1 of them Grade I.
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| Parish Church of St Edmund Or St James | Listed building, Grade I | 110 m south-west |
| Blunham Bridge | Scheduled monument | 740 m north |
| Late Neolithic to Bronze Age barrow cemetery, Tempsford | Scheduled monument | 1.5 km north |
| Gannocks Castle moated site | Scheduled monument | 1.9 km north |
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| The Belt | Wood | 2.5 km north |
| Esme Wood | Wood | 2.6 km north-east |
| Lady Wood | Wood | 2.6 km south |
| Birch Wood | Wood | 2.6 km north-east |
| Latch Pool | Lake or reservoir | 3.0 km north-east |
| Cox Hill | Hill | 3.2 km south-east |
Air quality
| Pollutant | Here | UK limit | WHO guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 6.2 | 40 | 10 |
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 6.9 | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 55 to 59 | 1 | 0 |
| Under 55 | 19 | 20 |
1 of the postcode's 20 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 | 42 | 40 |
| Children under 15 | 20% | 17% |
| Aged 65 and over | 22% | 18% |
Homes
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Owned (outright or with a mortgage) | 51% | 61% |
| Owned outright | 23% | 33% |
| Shared ownership | 5% | 1% |
| Social rented | 39% | 17% |
| Private rented | 5% | 21% |
Work and commuting
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Adults (16 and over) in work | 54% | 57% |
| Unemployment (of those working or looking for work) | 4% | 6% |
| Retired (of adults) | 29% | 22% |
| Long-term sick or disabled (of adults) | 6% | 4% |
| Work mainly from home (of those in work) | 31% | 32% |
| Travel to work by car or van | 61% | 48% |
| By train, Underground, metro or tram | under 1% | 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) | 38% | 65% |
| Work 30 km or more away | 17% | 8% |
Education and languages
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Degree or other higher qualification, Level 4+ (of adults) | 27% | 34% |
| No qualifications | 25% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship as highest qualification | 5% | 5% |
| Main language English (aged 3 and over) | 99% | 91% |
| Cannot speak English well or at all | 0% | 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.