SO41 6DD New Forest
Live postcode, introduced January 1986. Ward: Sway. Region: South East.
Streets
Council tax
What each band costs in New Forest in 2026-27: Band D £2,420 a year on average, including the police, fire and any county and parish charges.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £1,613 | £1,882 | £2,151 | £2,420 | £2,957 | £3,495 | £4,033 | £4,840 |
Homes by band in the neighbourhood around this postcode: most are in band E (28% of about 970 homes).
Planning and heritage
- Conservation area: yes, Sway Tower (council page). Extensions, demolition, some windows and doors, and work on trees need consent.
- Listed buildings within 100 m of this postcode: 1.
- Article 4 direction (removing permitted development rights): ARTICLE 4 DIRECTION NP NEW FOREST CAMPSITE, ARTICLE 4 DIRECTION NP NEW FOREST RECREATIONAL CAMPSITE, New Forest National Park Boundary, New Forest National Park Boundary.
- Tree preservation orders: none recorded, though not every council has published theirs.
- Green belt: no.
Listed buildings
- AVON WATER HOUSE, grade II
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 232 addresses are between 15 m and 36 m above sea level (32 m on average).
Broadband
Superfast 100%, ultrafast 88%, gigabit 88% of premises; 0% cannot get 10 Mbit/s. Ofcom Connected Nations, data as at January 2026.
Getting around
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Railway stations | Sway 81,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 1.4 km |
| New Milton 555,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 4.2 km | |
| Lymington Town 242,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 4.9 km | |
| Bus stops | None within 800 m | |
| Ferry terminal | Lymington Town Quay | 5.1 km |
| EV charging points | Be.EV Charging Station | 2.5 km |
| Airport with scheduled flights | Bournemouth Airport BOH | 16.6 km |
| Nearest large airport | Bristol Airport BRS | 103.3 km |
Local services
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| GP surgeries | Coastal Medical Partnership | 4.1 km |
| Pharmacies | 1 pharmacies within 1.6 km; nearest Day Lewis Pharmacy | 1.4 km |
| NHS dentists | Birchfield Dental Practice | 4.0 km |
| Hospital | Lymington New Forest Hospital Cdc | 4.2 km |
| Police station | Lymington Police Station | 3.4 km |
| Cash machines | The Cooperative Food Sway - Station Road Cashzone | 1.4 km |
Parks and green space
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Park or garden | Unnamed 9,880 m² | 2.3 km |
| Play area | Unnamed 1,030 m² | 1.1 km |
| Playing field | Jubilee Field 4.2 ha | 1.1 km |
| Allotments | Sway Allotments 1.6 ha | 1.7 km |
Landmarks
The nearest historic landmark is Peterson's Tower, a listed building (Grade II*), 290 m south. 9 listed buildings are within 1.0 km, 1 of them Grade II*.
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| Peterson's Tower | Listed building, Grade II* | 290 m south |
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| Sway Lakes | Lake or reservoir | 320 m north |
| Barrows Copse | Wood | 780 m south-east |
| Arne Wood | Wood | 1.7 km south |
| Golden Hill | Hill | 2.3 km south-west |
| Widden Bottom | Valley | 2.5 km north-east |
| Hincheslea Bog | Wetland | 3.7 km north |
Air quality
| Pollutant | Here | UK limit | WHO guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 5.0 | 40 | 10 |
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 5.4 | 20 | 5 |
| Particles (PM10) | 8.6 | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Under 55 | 232 | 232 |
None of the postcode's 232 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 | 56 | 40 |
| Children under 15 | 11% | 17% |
| Aged 65 and over | 28% | 18% |
Homes
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Owned (outright or with a mortgage) | 90% | 61% |
| Owned outright | 51% | 33% |
| Shared ownership | 0% | 1% |
| Social rented | 0% | 17% |
| Private rented | 11% | 21% |
Work and commuting
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Adults (16 and over) in work | 53% | 57% |
| Unemployment (of those working or looking for work) | 5% | 6% |
| Retired (of adults) | 33% | 22% |
| Long-term sick or disabled (of adults) | 0% | 4% |
| Work mainly from home (of those in work) | 53% | 32% |
| Travel to work by car or van | 42% | 48% |
| By train, Underground, metro or tram | 0% | 4% |
| By any public transport, including bus | 0% | 8% |
| On foot or by bicycle | 3% | 10% |
| Work within 10 km of home (of those who travel to work) | 38% | 65% |
| Work 30 km or more away | 18% | 8% |
Education and languages
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Degree or other higher qualification, Level 4+ (of adults) | 42% | 34% |
| No qualifications | 8% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship as highest qualification | 8% | 5% |
| Main language English (aged 3 and over) | 98% | 91% |
| Cannot speak English well or at all | 0% | 2% |
Deprivation
The neighbourhood around this postcode is in decile 9 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.