SO51 6BP Test Valley
Live postcode, introduced January 1986. Ward: Blackwater. Region: South East.
Streets
- Gurnays Mead, West Wellow: 24 addresses
- Osborne Road, Andover: 1 address
Council tax
What each band costs in Test Valley in 2026-27: Band D £2,306 a year on average, including the police, fire and any county and parish charges.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £1,537 | £1,793 | £2,049 | £2,306 | £2,818 | £3,330 | £3,843 | £4,611 |
Homes by band in the neighbourhood around this postcode: most are in band E (22% of about 720 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.
Flood risk
Rivers, the sea or surface water: in this postcode, 4 addresses are in areas at high risk, 0 at medium risk and 2 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 25 addresses are between 25 m and 28 m above sea level (26 m on average).
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 | Romsey 457,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 7.1 km (4.4 miles) |
| Mottisfont and Dunbridge 29,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 7.7 km (4.8 miles) | |
| Dean (Wilts) 38,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 8.7 km (5.4 miles) | |
| Bus stops | 6 stops within 400 m (0.2 miles), 12 within 800 m (0.5 miles); nearest Slab Lane West Wellow | 80 m |
| Bus or coach station | Bus Station Romsey | 6.6 km (4.1 miles) |
| EV charging points | PoGo Charge | 3.6 km (2.3 miles) |
| Airport with scheduled flights | Southampton Airport SOU | 16.4 km (10 miles) |
| Nearest large airport | Bristol Airport BRS | 91.2 km (57 miles) |
Local services
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| GP surgeries | Whiteparish Surgery | 6.2 km (3.8 miles) |
| Pharmacies | 1 pharmacies within 1.6 km (1 mile); nearest Pharmacy Direct | 250 m |
| NHS dentists | Adp Romsey | 6.7 km (4.2 miles) |
| Hospital | Romsey Hospital | 7.8 km (4.9 miles) |
| Police station | Romsey Police Station | 7 km (4.3 miles) |
| Cash machines | Hillswick Shop Cashzone | 1.4 km (0.9 miles) |
Parks and green space
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Park or garden | Bramshaw Common 5.5 ha | 1.4 km (0.9 miles) |
| Play area | 1 within 800 m (0.5 miles); nearest Unnamed 520 m² | 140 m |
| Playing field | 1 within 800 m (0.5 miles); nearest Unnamed 2.4 ha | 100 m |
Landmarks
The nearest historic landmark is Moated site 100m south of Manor Farm, Plaitford, a scheduled monument, 2 km (1.2 miles) north-west. 16 listed buildings are within 1 km (0.6 miles).
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| Moated site 100m south of Manor Farm, Plaitford | Scheduled monument | 2 km (1.2 miles) north-west |
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| Gore Copse | Wood | 810 m (0.5 miles) north-west |
| Ham Lake | Lake or reservoir | 1.2 km (0.7 miles) east |
| Black Hill | Hill | 1.4 km (0.8 miles) south-east |
| Ham Down | Wood | 1.4 km (0.9 miles) east |
| Penn Marsh | Wetland | 2.6 km (1.6 miles) south-west |
| Woodside Bottom | Valley | 3.5 km (2.2 miles) south-west |
Air quality
| Pollutant | Here | UK limit | WHO guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 5.4 | 40 | 10 |
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 5.6 | 20 | 5 |
| Particles (PM10) | 8.5 | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 65 to 69 | 1 | 0 |
| 60 to 64 | 7 | 0 |
| 55 to 59 | 5 | 0 |
| Under 55 | 12 | 25 |
13 of the postcode's 25 addresses are modelled at 55 dB or more from road traffic, above the WHO guidelines.
Climate, daylight and earthquakes
Monthly temperatures and rainfall, sunrise and sunset through the year, and earthquakes recorded nearby since 1970 are much the same across the area, so they are worked out once for Test Valley: see them on the Test Valley page.
People and work
Who lives here
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Median age | 47 | 40 |
| Children under 15 | 20% | 17% |
| Aged 65 and over | 26% | 18% |
Homes
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Owned (outright or with a mortgage) | 46% | 61% |
| Owned outright | 22% | 33% |
| Shared ownership | under 1% | 1% |
| Social rented | 45% | 17% |
| Private rented | 8% | 21% |
Work and commuting
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Adults (16 and over) in work | 51% | 57% |
| Unemployment (of those working or looking for work) | 6% | 6% |
| Retired (of adults) | 32% | 22% |
| Long-term sick or disabled (of adults) | 7% | 4% |
| Work mainly from home (of those in work) | 29% | 32% |
| Travel to work by car or van | 62% | 48% |
| By train, Underground, metro or tram | 0% | 4% |
| By any public transport, including bus | 0% | 8% |
| On foot or by bicycle | 6% | 10% |
| Work within 10 km (6 miles) of home (of those who travel to work) | 47% | 65% |
| Work 30 km (19 miles) or more away | 9% | 8% |
Education and languages
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Degree or other higher qualification, Level 4+ (of adults) | 26% | 34% |
| No qualifications | 28% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship as highest qualification | 6% | 5% |
| Main language English (aged 3 and over) | 98% | 91% |
| Cannot speak English well or at all | under 1% | 2% |
Deprivation
The neighbourhood around this postcode is in decile 7 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.
The full dossier for this postcode's main street is on Gurnays Mead.