Watercress Rise, Biddenham, Bedford, MK40 4US

People

Gender

In the UK, the overall gender distribution is approximately 49% male and 51% female. The area surrounding MK40 4US has a slightly higher male population, with 51.1% of residents being male. Several factors can contribute to this, including areas with industries or sectors that predominantly employ men, proximity to universities or technical schools with a higher enrollment of male students, presence of all-male or predominantly male institutions (military academies, boarding schools).

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Female	51%	48.9%	-2.1%	51.0%	-2.1%
Male	49%	51.1%	2.1%	49.0%	2.1%

Partnership Status

Across the UK, the average relationship status breakdown is roughly 44% married, 38% single, 9% divorced, 6% widowed, and 2% separated.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Single	19.7%	38.4%	18.7%	37.9%	0.5%
Married: Opposite sex	71.9%	49.5%	-22.4%	44.2%	5.3%
Separated	1.7%	3.2%	1.5%	2.2%	1.0%
Divorced	4.1%	7.3%	3.2%	9.1%	-1.8%
Widowed	2.7%	1.6%	-1.1%	6.1%	-4.5%

Health

Across the UK, the average 48.4% rated their health as Very Good, 33.6% as Good, 12.7% as Fair, 4% as Bad, and 1.2% as Very Bad.

Population age significantly impacts residents' health. Additionally, socioeconomic status plays a crucial role: higher income levels and lower poverty rates are linked to better health outcomes. Affluent areas benefit from higher living standards, access to private healthcare, and healthier lifestyle choices.

This area has a high percentage of residents reporting their health as Good or Very Good (93.5%) compared to the average (82%). This typically indicates either a younger population or more affluent area.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Very good health	60.4%	67%	6.6%	48.4%	18.6%
Good health	29.1%	26.5%	-2.6%	33.6%	-7.1%
Fair health	6.6%	5.6%	-1.0%	12.7%	-7.1%
Bad health	3.4%	0.7%	-2.7%	4.0%	-3.3%
Very bad health	0.6%	0.2%	-0.4%	1.2%	-1.0%

Education and Qualifications

During the 2021 census, the educational qualifications of residents across the UK were as follows: 18.2% had no qualifications, 9.6% had 1-4 GCSEs, 13.4% had 5 or more GCSEs and 1-2 A/AS Levels, 16.9% had 2 or more A Levels, 33.8% held a degree (or equivalent), and 5.4% had completed an apprenticeship.

In the area around MK40 4US this area, 7.7% of residents have no qualifications. This is significantly lower than the UK average of 18.2%. This area stands out for its high percentage of residents with higher education degree or similar. The UK average is 33.8%, while in this area it is 51.9%.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
No qualifications	6.4%	7.7%	1.3%	18.2%	-10.5%
1-4 GCSEs or Equivalent	8.5%	5.8%	-2.7%	9.6%	-3.8%
5 or more GCSEs, an A-Level or 1-2 AS Levels	11.5%	10.6%	-0.9%	13.4%	-2.8%
Apprenticeship	1.4%	3.5%	2.1%	5.3%	-1.8%
HNC, HND or 2+ A Levels	9.5%	17.9%	8.4%	16.9%	1.0%
Degree or Similar	59%	51.9%	-7.1%	33.8%	18.1%
Other	3.7%	2.6%	-1.1%	2.8%	-0.2%

Culture

Ethnic Group

In this area, the population is more ethnically diverse compared to the UK average. While 61.1% of the residents identify as white, which is lower than the UK average of 81.4%, there are significant representations of other ethnic groups.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Bangladeshi	0%	3.8%	3.8%	1.1%	2.7%
Chinese	0.3%	0%	-0.3%	0.7%	-0.7%
Indian	10.3%	8.3%	-2.0%	3.1%	5.2%
Pakistani	0%	5.1%	5.1%	2.7%	2.4%
Other Asian	2.3%	4.9%	2.6%	1.6%	3.3%
Black African	1.1%	4.7%	3.6%	2.5%	2.2%
Black Caribbean	0.6%	1.8%	1.2%	1.0%	0.8%
Other Black	0%	0.7%	0.7%	0.5%	0.2%
Mixed White and Asian	1.4%	0.7%	-0.7%	0.8%	-0.1%
Mixed White and African	0.9%	0.9%	0.0%	0.4%	0.5%
Mixed White and Caribbean	0%	2.7%	2.7%	0.9%	1.8%
Mixed Other	0.6%	2.5%	1.9%	0.8%	1.7%
White	82.6%	61.1%	-21.5%	81.4%	-20.3%
Roma	0%	0.9%	0.9%	0.2%	0.7%
Arab	0%	0.4%	0.4%	0.6%	-0.2%
Other	0%	1.6%	1.6%	1.6%	0.0%

Country of Birth

In this area, 76.1% of the population were born in the United Kingdom, which is similar to the UK average of 83.2%.

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
United Kingdom	86.3%	76.1%	-10.2%	83.2%	-7.1%
European Union	4%	8.1%	4.1%	6.1%	2.0%
Rest of Europe	0%	0.7%	0.7%	0.8%	-0.1%
Africa	3.1%	3.8%	0.7%	2.7%	1.1%
Middle East and Asia	6.6%	8.3%	1.7%	5.6%	2.7%
The Americas and the Caribbean	0%	3.1%	3.1%	1.3%	1.8%

Length of Residence

	2011	2021	10y change (pp)	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
Born in the UK	86.3%	76.4%	-9.9%	83.2%	-6.8%
10+ Years	0.3%	14.6%	14.3%	9.8%	4.8%
5-10 Years	0.9%	4%	3.1%	2.9%	1.1%
2-5 Years	0.6%	3.6%	3.0%	2.2%	1.4%
Less than 2 years	12%	1.3%	-10.7%	1.9%	-0.6%

Passport Held

	2021	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
United Kingdom	78.7%	76.7%	2.0%
Ireland	0.2%	0.6%	-0.4%
Germany	0.2%	0.2%	0.0%
Italy	2.5%	0.6%	1.9%
Spain	0.2%	0.4%	-0.2%
Lithuania	0.9%	0.3%	0.6%
Poland	0.9%	1.3%	-0.4%
Romania	2.9%	0.9%	2.0%
Other EU countries	0.9%	1.5%	-0.6%
Central and Western Africa	1.1%	0.3%	0.8%
South and Eastern Africa	0.2%	0.2%	0.0%
Southern Asia	2.9%	1.2%	1.7%
North America and the Caribbean	0.4%	0.3%	0.1%
No passport held	7.8%	13.5%	-5.7%

Religion

	2021	UK Average	postcode vs UK (pp)
No religion	32.6%	37.2%	-4.6%
Christian	42.7%	46.2%	-3.5%
Hindu	6.5%	1.7%	4.8%
Muslim	12.4%	6.5%	5.9%
Sikh	1.6%	0.9%	0.7%
Other religion	0.2%	0.6%	-0.4%
Not answered	4%	6.0%	-2.0%

Safety

Is Watercress Rise Street dangerous?

Over the last 12 months, the overall crime rate around Watercress Rise was 37.2 per 1,000 residents, which is 38.8% lower than the Biddenham average. The most reported crime type was Violence and sexual offences.

Watercress Rise has the 17th lowest crime rate of 37 local areas in Biddenham and the 171st lowest crime rate of 543 local areas in Bedford .

Violent and sexual offences accounted for around 14.9 crimes per 1,000 residents and have been falling year on year. Over the last decade, overall crime has risen by about 4.1%.

🔎 See full breakdown of local crime, hotspots & trends

Affluence

Household Income

Households in this area have a higher level of wealth to the average household in England and Wales. 90% of analyzed areas in England and Wales have lower average household annual income than this area.

Average Household Income
£60,900

Income Rank
9/10

Household Income in MK40 4US, Local Authority and Region

Deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) - 3/10 (low )
Indices of multiple deprivation (IMD) is used to classify the relative deprivation (a measure of poverty) of the area. It considers the following domains:
Income Deprivation Domain - 5/10 (average )
The Income Deprivation Domain measures the percentage of people in the population who are experiencing poverty due to having a low income. It includes both those who are unemployed and those who are employed but earn very little (and who satisfy the respective means tests).
Employment Deprivation Domain - 2/10 (very low )
The Employment Deprivation Domain measures the proportion of the working-age population in an area involuntarily excluded from the labour market. This includes people who would like to work but are unable to do so due to unemployment, sickness or disability, or caring responsibilities.
Education, Skills and Training Domain - 3/10 (low )
The Education, Skills, and Training Deprivation Domain measures the lack of education and skills in a local area. It has two parts: one for children and young people, and one for adults. The part for children and young people looks at their school achievements ('flow'), while the part for adults looks at the number of adults without qualifications ('stock').
Health Deprivation and Disability Domain - 1/10 (very low )
The Health Deprivation and Disability Domain measures the risk of early death and poor quality of life due to bad physical or mental health. It looks at illness, disability, and early death, but not at behaviors or environments that might affect future health.
Crime Domain - 5/10 (average )
The Crime Domain measures the risk of people and property being victims of crime in a local area.
Barriers to Housing and Services Domain - 9/10 (very high )
The Barriers to Housing and Services Domain measures how easy or hard it is to access housing and local services. It has two parts: one looks at how close local services are, and the other looks at issues like how affordable housing is.
Living Environment Deprivation Domain - 2/10 (very low )
The Living Environment Deprivation Domain measures the quality of the local environment. It has two parts: the "indoors" part looks at housing quality, and the "outdoors" part looks at air quality and road traffic accidents.
Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) - 6/10 (average )
The Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) measures how many children aged 0 to 15 live in low-income families. It is part of the Income Deprivation Domain, which looks at how many people in an area have low incomes. This includes both those who are unemployed and those who work but earn very little (and who satisfy the respective means tests).
Income Deprivation Affecting Older People Index (IDAOPI) - 1/10 (very low )
The Income Deprivation Affecting Older People Index (IDAOPI) measures the percentage of people aged 60 or older who have low income. It is part of the Income Deprivation Domain, which looks at how many people in an area have low income, including both unemployed people and those with low-paying jobs (and who satisfy the respective means tests).

Property Prices

Average property prices on Watercress Rise are based on 63 property sales since the beginning of 1995. Estimated property prices are calculated by adjusting the last sale price by current House Price Index for Bedford.
StreetScan downloads house price data directly from the HM Land Registry and uses it to create these statistics.

House Prices for Watercress Rise, Biddenham, Bedford, MK40 4US

Estimated Average Property Prices for MK40 4US

Average Price
£404,992

Semi-Detached
£341,341

Terraced
no sales

Detached
£466,285

Flats/Maisonettes
no sales

Other
no sales

Estimated Average Property Prices for Watercress Rise

Average Price
£449,080

Semi-Detached
£368,364

Terraced
no sales

Detached
£489,760

Flats/Maisonettes
no sales

Other
£1,811,580

Property Prices Comparison

Latest Property Sales on Watercress RiseStreet

Address	Sale Price	Sale Date	Price Estimate 2025
60 Watercress Rise, Bedford, Bedford Detached, an established residential building	£487,500	2025-03-05	£511,778
55 Watercress Rise, Bedford, Bedford Detached, an established residential building	£375,000	2024-12-20	£395,646
65 Watercress Rise, Bedford, Bedford Semi-Detached, an established residential building	£337,500	2024-04-19	£366,863
65 Watercress Rise, Bedford, Bedford Semi-Detached, an established residential building	£440,000	2023-07-21	£470,101
11 Watercress Rise, Bedford, Bedford Semi-Detached, an established residential building	£189,750	2023-02-23	£202,935

View All Property Sales and Other Statistics for MK40 4US

Employment

MK40 4US area has a very high level of entrepreneurship. Only 15% of streets have higher percent of entrepreneur residents. 14% of population in this area is self-employed, while the average in the UK is 9.7%. High number of entrepreneurs usually leads to relatively high economic growth, higher paid jobs and better quality of life in the area.

MK40 4US area has a low unemployment rate. According to Census 2021, 3% residents of this area were unemployed, while the average in the UK was 4.83%. A low level of unemployment in an area indicates a strong job market, where most people who are seeking work can find employment. This generally reflects a healthy economy in the area.

Economic Activity

Full-Time Employee	177
Self-Employed	43
Part-Time Employee	32
Looking after home or family	19
Other	11
Retired	10
Unemployed	9
Student (economically inactive)	8
Full-Time Student (with or without job)	5
Long-Term Sick or disabled	3

Employment Industry

Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motor cycles	30
Education	29
Human health and social work activities	25
Professional, scientific and technical activities	22
Information and communication	14
Manufacturing	13
Real estate activities	11
Other	10
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	9
Financial and insurance activities	7
Construction	7
Accommodation and food service activities	5
Transport and storage	4
Administrative and support service activities	4
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply	1

Schools

Nursery

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Peter Pan Nursery School Edward Road , MK42 9DR	4out of 4	3,523 yd	Local authority nursery school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Cherry Trees Nursery School Hawkins Road , MK42 9LS	4out of 4	4,279 yd	Local authority nursery school	Yes	Mixed	More About School

Primary

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
St James' Church of England VA Primary School Main Road , Biddenham MK40 4BD	3out of 4	869 yd	Voluntary aided school	No	Mixed	More About School
Great Ouse Primary Academy Seaforth Gardens , MK40 4TJ	- not rated	1,387 yd	Free schools	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Great Denham Primary School Greenkeepers Road , Great Denham MK40 4GG	3out of 4	1,714 yd	Foundation school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Westfield Primary School Chester Road , MK40 4HW	2out of 4	1,765 yd	Community school	No	Mixed	More About School
Bromham CofE Primary School Grange Lane , Bromham MK43 8NR	3out of 4	1,783 yd	Voluntary controlled school	No	Mixed	More About School

Secondary

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Biddenham International School and Sports College Biddenham Turn , MK40 4AZ	3out of 4	1,396 yd	Foundation school	No	Mixed	More About School
Lincroft Academy Station Road , Oakley MK43 7RE	3out of 4	2,999 yd	Academy converter	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School
Bedford Free School Cauldwell Street , MK42 9AD	3out of 4	3,548 yd	Free schools	No	Mixed	More About School
St Thomas More Catholic School Tyne Crescent , MK41 7UL	4out of 4	3,986 yd	Academy converter	No	Mixed	More About School
Daubeney Academy Orchard Street , Kempston MK42 7PS	3out of 4	4,220 yd	Academy converter	No	Mixed	More About School

16 plus

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Bedford College Cauldwell Street , MK42 9AH	- not rated	3,425 yd	Further education	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School

Not applicable

	Ofsted Overall Effectiveness	Distance	Establishment Type	Has Nursery Classes	Gender	More Info
Rushmoor School 58-60 Shakespeare Road , MK45 2RS	- not rated	2,040 yd	Other independent school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Bedford Modern School Manton Lane , MK41 7NT	- not rated	2,145 yd	Other independent school	No	Mixed	More About School
Polam School 45 Lansdowne Road , MK40 2BU	- not rated	2,495 yd	Other independent school	Yes	Mixed	More About School
St John's School Austin Canons , Bedford Road MK42 8AA	4out of 4	3,035 yd	Academy special converter	Yes	Mixed	More About School
Grange Academy Halsey Road , Kempston MK42 8AU	3out of 4	3,040 yd	Academy special converter	Not Applicable	Mixed	More About School

School statistics for this postcode are based on Ofsted rankings.

Food and Drink

Pubs, Bars, Nightclubs

Business Name	Address	Food hygiene rating	Distance
The Three Tuns	The Three Tuns, 57 Main Road		802 yd

Sport

Facility Name	Sport Objects	Distance
Biddenham Pavilion Deep Spinney	grass pitches, tennis courts	564 yd

Broadband

Technology Aviability

Percentage of premises that have Superfast Broadband (30Mbit/s or greater) coverage from fixed broadband	98.5%
Percentage of premises that have Ultrafast Broadband (100Mbit/s or greater) coverage from fixed broadband	98.5%
Percentage of premises that have Ultrafast Broadband (300Mbit/s or greater) coverage from fixed broadband	98.5%
Percentage of premises that have coverage from a Gigabit capable service from fixed broadband	98.5%

Speed Aviability

Percentage of premises unable to receive 2Mbit/s	0.0%
Percentage of premises unable to receive 5Mbit/s	0.0%
Percentage of premises unable to receive 10Mbit/s	0.0%
Percentage of premises unable to receive 30Mbit/s	1.5%

Download Speed

Median download speed	360 Mbit/s
Average download speed	360 Mbit/s
Minimum download speed	360 Mbit/s
Maximum download speed	360 Mbit/s

Upload Speed

Median upload speed	180 Mbit/s
Average upload speed	180 Mbit/s
Maximum upload speed	180 Mbit/s

Broadband statistics are based on Ofcom's Communications Market Report (CMR) 2022.