Holborn & Covent Garden · Camden · Holborn and St Pancras constituency · 51.51595, -0.12227

WC2B 5NB— Holborn & Covent Garden, Camden

Location and area intelligence for WC2B 5NB, Holborn & Covent Garden, Camden

City living at its best

 

Schools 100%Safety 14/100Transport 81/100⚠ Knotweed sites nearby

Best for: Commuters, Investors, Young professionals

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Well-connected — strong transport access

Liveability
66
Safety
14
Schools
76
Transport
81
Environment
62
Investment
88

The bottom line

WC2B 5NB offers exceptional schools (100% Good/Outstanding) and good transport links — strong value for Commuters and Investors who can accept its trade-offs.

The catch: 2 Japanese knotweed sites within 400m — may affect mortgage applications.

Less suited to Families.

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Location

WC2B 5NB

Area Profile & Benchmarks

Area identity and London comparisons

Area Identity

Urban core
HighMixed
Buyer fit: ExcellentInvestment outlook: NeutralRisk: Low

London Benchmarks

vs London income-14.0% vs London avg
vs London crime+579.0% vs London avg

Deep-dive guides for WC2B 5NB

🛡️Crime & SafetyCrime rate, trends & breakdown by type🎓SchoolsOfsted ratings, exam scores & distances🏠Rental MarketAverage rents, demand & void risk

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Postcode Personality

🚇 Hyper-Connected🎓 School Smart⚠️ Very high crime🍕 Buzzing

“City living at its best”

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How WC2B 5NB has changed

Schools

18 Apr

Nearest schools and Ofsted ratings

76

Education score

Excellent for families
★ Top school within 1km
—

Primary

St Josephs Catholic Primary School

Not yet inspected · Inspected Apr 2025 · 0 min walk

KS2: 105.4

★

Secondary

London Nautical, City of London Academy

Requires Improvement · Inspected Jun 2023 · 18 min walk

100% of local schools rated Good or Outstanding · based on 22 schools within 1.5km

Top 10% — exceptional provision

Childcare

Childcare

Thomas Coram Centre

Not inspected · 13 min walk

5 primaries · 0 secondaries · 0 childcare — within 1km

Safety

13 Jul

Crime rates and local incidents

Very high crime

441.4 incidents per 1,000 residents

Among London's highest crime areas
↑ Rising 254.7%

+174% vs borough

Note: this postcode is in the Central Activities Zone — London's business and visitor core. Crime is counted per resident, but the daytime and visitor population here is many times the resident count, so these figures reflect footfall, not residential risk.

Crime by type

Other35%
Theft19%
Anti-social behaviour17%
Violence & sexual offences14%
Burglary6%
Robbery4%
Vehicle crime3%
Drug offences2%

Stop & search

12.8

per 1,000 residents

→ Stable

trend

Road safety

100

Road safety score

0

Accidents (5yr)

2

Serious within 200m

Fire risk

LOW

Risk band

0

Incidents (1yr)

0

Incidents (5yr)

Nearest station: Soho Fire station · 666m

Crime is +579% above London average

Property

Prices, sales volume and market trends

Avg floor area39.7 m²

EPC breakdown

B
1%
C
3%
D
6%
E
2%

Based on 12 properties · Confidence: medium

Street mix

Flat 100%

LHA rates — Inner North London

Shared room£708/mo
1 bedroom£1440/mo
2 bedrooms£1794/mo
3 bedrooms£2160/mo
4 bedrooms£3060/mo

Current mortgage rates

2-year fixed4.58%
5-year fixed4.32%
SVR7.25%

Bank of England (monthly average)

Affordability

Energy & construction

Solar yield852 kWh/kWp/yr
Rebuild cost estimate£99,250
Rebuild cost per m²£2,500/m²

BCIS London average 2024. Excludes land value. Use for building insurance sum insured guidance only.

Construction era1900-1929
WallsSolid brick, as built, no insulation (assumed)
Roof(another dwelling above)
Heating fuelmains gas (not community)
GlazingSingle glazed
Council tax band Band EAnnual charge £1,982
Price growth potentialModerate

Market History

Price trajectory, velocity and distribution

Price Trajectory

2000–2019 · CAGR

+6.4%

Total change

+225%

Market Activity

Price Velocity & Acceleration

Current Velocity

+20.6%

per year

Acceleration

-66.92

change in velocity

Market State

Strong growth

Velocity (%)Acceleration

Price Distribution

P25: £350k–£400k · P75: £500k–£600k · 6 sales

Property Type Mix

Total: 6 sales

Flat/maisonette100%

By decade

2000s

2010s

Market Cycle

BullCooling bullRisingSteadyRecoveryCorrectionBear

Market Eras

EraPeriodStart priceEnd priceChangeAvg sales/yr
Late-1990s boom2000–2000£160k£160k+0%1
Post-dot-com plateau2002–2004£235k£230k-2.1%1
GFC & correction2012–2012£431k£431k+0%2
Brexit uncertainty2019–2019£520k£520k+0%1

Buyer vs Seller Score

Composite market conditions index 0–100

38out of 100SellerBuyer

Market condition

Seller's Market

Favours sellers

Higher score = better conditions for buyers

Score breakdown

Price Velocity0
Trend Position75

Transport

1 Jul

Public transport accessibility and links

PTAL 5

Very Good

1a
1b
2
3
4
5
6a
6b
Top 10% — exceptional connectivity
Holborn Underground StationCentral line
2.6 min walk
London Charing Cross→ Charing Cross
0 min

Nearby stations

Holborn Underground StationCentral · Piccadilly
3 min walk
Covent Garden Underground StationPiccadilly
4 min walk
Tottenham Court Road Underground StationNorthern · Central
7 min walk
Tottenham Court RoadElizabeth line
7 min walk
Leicester Square Underground StationNorthern · Piccadilly
8 min walk
1 bus routes · 10 stops within 400m · 48 buses/hr peak

67

Walkability score

923

Footpaths (500m)

49

Santander docks (800m)

0.1 km

Nearest cycle dock

Central London commute times

London Bridge28 min ↓
Victoria28 min ↓
Waterloo ★18 min
Canary Wharf33 min ↓
City24 min ↓

▎ marker = outer-London average per hub. ↓ green = below average. ↑ orange = above average. ≈ grey = at average. · Source: TfL Journey Planner (sampled)

Find areas within a set commute time of your workplace →

Parking & EV

Car parks, spaces and charging points

10

Car parks (800m)

7

EV chargers (800m)

Total spaces (800m)450
Nearest car park260m
Santander docks (800m)49
Nearest cycle dock0.1 km

Nearby car parks

🅿️
Bloomsbury Square Car Park450 spaces· yes
333m

Environment

2 Jul

Flood risk, air quality and noise

Flood riskLOW
Low
Minimal flood risk
Surface waterLOW
Low
Air qualityLOW
NO₂: 22.0 µg/m³ · PM2.5: 14.0 µg/m³
Better than 87% of London
NoiseLOW
none
Quieter than 70% of London
Radon riskLOW
0.5% of local properties affected
ULEZ zone · £12.50/dayCongestion charge zone✗ Not Green Belt✗ Not AONB9% green spaceTree canopy: 70%
Below average green space

Nearest SSSI: Hampstead Heath Woods SSSI — 6.7 km

Energy

Solar: 852 kWh/kWp/yr

Ground stability

Geology: SAND AND GRAVEL

Subsidence risk: Low

Shrink-swell: Low

Running sand risk: Medium

Landslide records (2km): 1

Landslide susceptibility: Low

Insurance risk

Standard

Cost band

Low

Flood risk

Low

Subsidence risk

0.5%

Flood claim prob.

Climate

Local weather conditions and energy potential

1,526 hrs/yr

Sunshine

601 mm/yr

Rainfall

22.8°C

Summer avg

3.1°C

Winter avg

Solar yield851.7 kWh/kWp/yr

Source: Met Office UK Climate Averages 1991-2020

Health

GP, dental and hospital access

SOHO CENTRE FOR HEALTH AND CARE

1ST FLOOR, 30 SOHO SQUARE, W1D 3QS

9 min walk

86%

Recommend GP

86%

Overall GP experience

7

GPs within 1km

19

Dentists within 1km

Nearest hospitalUntil SOHO · 557 m
Nearest A&EUNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST · 1.5 km
A&E 4hr targetNHS target: 95% · London avg: ~68%79.1%

Amenities

Shops, restaurants, parks and more

62

Parks (1km)

393

Restaurants (800m)

171

Cafes (800m)

29

Pubs (400m)

8

Pharmacies (800m)

15

Gyms (1km)

22

Sports (1km)

4

Convenience

Nearest supermarketJumbo · 913 m
3 tennis courts2 swimming pools2 sports halls

Nightlife (500m)

2

Nightclubs

31

Late-night venues

A
2,040 licensed premises in boroughHome Office 2023/24

1

Libraries (1km)

11

Cinemas (2km)

126m

Post office

Nearby shops

Sainsbury's Local194 m
Fabrique281 m
Little Waitrose298 m
Sunrise305 m

Nearby cafes

Fresh Organic79 m
The Black Penny88 m
Ideal90 m
Cafe Verona105 m

Nearby restaurants

Kangnam Pocha85 m
Shoryu90 m
Il Panino105 m
Takari107 m

Nearby pubs

Guanabara70 m
Piano Works West-End72 m
Lockes82 m
Hercules Pillars90 m

Nearby gyms

Soho Gym23 m
Nuffield Health Fitness & Wellbeing253 m
Bull at the Gate272 m
GymBox311 m

Nearby pharmacies

Boots187 m
Kerrs247 m
Holborn Pharmacy440 m
Zen578 m

Nearby health

Drury Lane Dental Care107 m
CYA Medical124 m
NewWoman Health155 m
CheqUp HQ167 m
Food hygiene (5-star)50% of 1250

Business

Local businesses registered here

Active businesses
0
New (last 12 months)
0
Dissolved (last 12 months)
0
Industry diversity
0
3yr survival rate
100.0%
Right-to-buy sales (5yr)
198

High street

A

High street health

Investment

Investment grade, yield and market outlook

88

Investment score

Strong

Score reflects rental yield, demand & liquidity — not capital appreciation. See Price growth potential below.

Avg monthly rent
£2,102London avg: £1,950/mo
Gentrification score63/100
Right-to-buy sales (5yr)Above average for outer London — neighbourhood in transition198

Rental market

Very High

Demand

Very Low

Void risk

Young professional

Tenant profile

+18.1%

Rent growth (1yr)

Market liquidity

Future outlook

60.7

Price growth score

C
High

Development pressure

Low

New supply risk

Strong gentrification momentumExcellent transport access

Infrastructure pipeline

Infrastructure score45/100
Bakerloo Extension route2,715m
Crossrail 2 route1,007m

Demographics

16 Jun

Population, deprivation and income

Decile 4/10

More deprived than average

Index of Multiple Deprivation

More deprived than average

Rank: 12,105 nationally

1,792

Est. population

10,101/km²

47%

Employed

52%

Degree educated

£36,100

Median income

3.9%

Claimant rate

Urban coreHigh densityMixed

32

Community stability

Age profile

17%
36%
15%
19%
Under 1817%
18–3436%
35–4915%
50–6419%
65+12%

Tenure

33%
47%
Own outright11%
Own (mortgage)7%
Private rent33%
Social rent47%
Shared ownership2%
Rent free0%

Ethnicity

31%
24%
26%
White British32%
White Other24%
Asian26%
Black7%
Mixed7%
Other6%

Employment & lifestyle

Managerial / professional35%
Routine / semi-routine11%
No car household81%
Unemployed6%
No qualifications10%

Housing tenure (Census 2021)

Social rent47%
Private rent33%

vs. London

Income vs London-14.0%

Planning

Conservation areas and development

Conservation area
Yes
Article 4 area
Yes
Listed buildings (800m)
485
Live planning apps (800m)
36
Development activity
high
Residential apps (800m)
0
Commercial apps (800m)
9
Major developments (800m)
0
Planning apps (12 months)
81
Planning apps (3 years)
76
Local approval rate
84%
Borough approval rate
87%
Historic landfill (400m)
1
Opportunity area
No
Central activities zone
Yes
CIL rate (residential)
£250/m²
Coal mining risk area
No
Japanese knotweed sites (400m)
2

Housing pipeline (800m)

Homes approved
0
Under construction
0
Completed (3yr)
32
Largest scheme
120 homes · SANDRINGHAM FLATS EAST, SANDRINGHAM FLATS EAST, CHARING CROSS ROAD, WC2
Pipeline pressure
NONE

Named schemes (500m)

BRUCE HOUSE, 20, BRUCE HOUSE, 20, KEMBLE STREET, WC279 homes
completed
43 - 49, 43 - 49, Parker Street, WC2B 5PS64 homes
completed
AVIATION HOUSE, WESTERN PART OF SITE, AVIATION HOUSE, WESTERN PART OF SITE, NEWTON STREET, WC255 homes
completed
8-18, 8-18, WILD STREET, WC251 homes
completed
Parker Street Hostel, 25, Parker Street Hostel, 25, Parker Street, London, WC2B 5PA43 homes
completed

Politics

Local councillors and MP

Ward majority
Green
Ward majority vote
14.7%
Ward turnout
37%
Election year
2026
MP
Sir Keir Starmer (Labour)
MP majority
11,572
Constituency
Holborn and St Pancras

Councillors

Hamza ChowdhuryGreen
Jim MonahanGreen
James WhiteGreen

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Key facts for WC2B 5NB

Full postcodeWC2B 5NB
Postcode districtWC2B
BoroughLondon Borough of Camden
WardHolborn & Covent Garden
Latitude51.515953
Longitude-0.122271
Parliamentary constituencyHolborn and St Pancras
CountryEngland
RegionGreater London

Trusted official data sources

Office for
National Statistics
LONDONDATASTORE
Ofsted
HM LAND
REGISTRY
Environment
Agency
DATA.POLICE.UK
GOV.UK
TfL
Transport
for London
NHS
Digital
Companies
House
Royal
Mail
Food Standards
Agency
Ofcom
Met
Office
Ordnance
Survey