Reed
Reed is a village in Hertfordshire, England, with a population of around 310. There are 4 bus stops, 1 restaurant or café, and the nearest railway station is Royston, 5.1 km away. This page gathers weather, crime, food hygiene, transport, flood risk, house prices, population, deprivation and your local MP for the Reed area — all from official UK open data.
On deprivation, the North Hertfordshire area is among the least deprived areas in England (IoD2019). The wider council area has around 133,210 residents at roughly 355 people per km².
- Council
- North Hertfordshire
- County
- Hertfordshire
- Constituency
- North East Hertfordshire
- Police force
- Hertfordshire
My Area Score
Good
Ranked 81st of 294 English council areas — better than 72% of them.
A percentile blend of eight open measures (100 = best in England); bars show this area’s England-wide percentile on each. See the rankings · methodology
Weather
16°COvercast
- Today: 22° / 15° · 37% rain
- Tomorrow: 23° / 13° · Overcast
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 06:26Sunset 19:26
13h 0m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
13US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)
Source: WAQI · Enfield - Bowes Primary School, United Kingdom
Crime
Road safety
200 reported road collisions (2024)
44 killed or seriously injured · 281 casualties · 15 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
11 food businesses within 2 miles
- 9 rated 4–5 ★ (9 top)
- 0 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Royston (5.1 km)
- 4 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Royston (5.1 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£422,616 average▲ 7.8% YoY
Across North Hertfordshire · to 2026-06
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£1,429 average monthly rent▲ 5% YoY
- 1 bed £1,020
- 2 bed £1,279
- 3 bed £1,569
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-07
Affordability
10.0× house price to earnings
A typical home costs 10.0 times median annual pay (9.9× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).
Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025
Fuel prices
- Cheapest petrol: 154.9p · Esso (8.4 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 189.9p · Esso (8.4 km)
3 stations within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
5 charging locations within ~8 km
- 3 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 150 kW
- Nearest: Royston Civic Centre (4.5 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Sport & leisure
- Swimming pools7
- Sports pitches8
- Playgrounds1
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Population
133,210 residents in North Hertfordshire · 355/km²
- Under 16: 19%
- 16–64: 61%
- 65+: 19%
Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)
Deprivation
Among the least deprived areas in England
Ranked 269 of 317 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019
Council tax
£2,449 a year · Band D, 2026-27
Most homes here are Band C (34% of 60,040)
Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27
Schools
69 schools · 19,871 pupils
53 primary · 6 secondary · 10 other
Ofsted: 26 of 30 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (87%)
65inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)
Secondary schools:
- Fearnhill SchoolGood
- The Highfield SchoolGood
- Hitchin Boys' School
- Hitchin Girls' School
- The Knights Templar School
- The Priory School
Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · North Hertfordshire
Care & health services
1,172 CQC-registered services
- Care homes257
- GP practices170
- Dentists295
- Homecare agencies329
- Hospitals & hospices34
CQC ratings: 86% of rated services Good or Outstanding · 7 Inadequate
Source: Care Quality Commission · Hertfordshire
Heritage & planning
- Not in the Green Belt
- 22 listed buildings within ~1.5 km
Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)
Planning decisions
255 applications decided
88.6% granted · 226 granted, 29 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q1
Your MP
Chris Hinchliff
Labour
North East Hertfordshire
Recent votes:
- AyeDraft Plant Health, Seeds, Seed Potatoes and Plant Propagating Material (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026
- NoHealth Bill: Report Stage: Amendment 1
- NoHealth Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 143
- NoHealth Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 142
Source: UK Parliament
Council control
Labour (minority)
- Lab 23
- Con 7
- LD 20
- Oth 1
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Schools1
- Parks & greens2
- Restaurants & cafés1
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
6,995 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2025)
Jobs
15 jobs advertised · £36,097 avg
e.g. Private Client Solicitor, Accounts Manager, Sales Assistant
Source: Adzuna
Local economy
£983 median full-time weekly pay
2.4% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits
£31,048 disposable income per head (2024)
Source: ONS / Nomis (claimant count · ASHE) · ONS regional GDHI
Energy efficiency
49% of homes rated EPC C or above
Most common band: C · 66,549 certificates
8.5% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)
Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty
Grid electricity
82% low-carbon electricity
Wind 55% · Nuclear 18% · Gas 16% · Biomass 9%
72 gCO₂/kWh · low intensity
Latest estimate for East England · National Grid ESO
Health
Life expectancy: 84 yrs women · 80.2 yrs men
66% of adults overweight or obese
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025
Wellbeing
- Life satisfaction7.6
- Feeling worthwhile7.8
- Happiness yesterday7.6
- Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.4
Average rating out of 10 · ONS personal well-being 2022-23
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in North East Hertfordshire:
- Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office374 local signatures · 205,058 nationwide
- Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership362 local signatures · 242,705 nationwide
- Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership347 local signatures · 163,883 nationwide
- Review the evidence and fund the addition of SMA to the Newborn Screening Test330 local signatures · 151,287 nationwide
- Do not ban social media for under 16s300 local signatures · 217,501 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-08-06
Notable places nearby
Reed, Hertfordshire · 0.6 kmReed is a village and civil parish in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is situated on a chalk ridge, approximately 3 miles (5 km) south of the market town of Royston. The Prime Meridian p…
- RAF Barkway · 2.2 km
Royal Air Force Barkway or more simply RAF Barkway was one of the smallest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom. It was a communications station and was a small collection of buildings and a large radio mast.
- Hawkins Wood · 2.3 km
Hawkins Wood is a 10 hectare nature reserve south of Therfield in Hertfordshire. It is managed by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust.
- Barkway Chalk Pit · 2.3 km
Barkway Chalk Pit is a small nature reserve in Barkway in North Hertfordshire. It was managed by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust (HMWT). In February 2016 HMWT announced that three sites, Barkway Chalk Pit, Hill…
St Andrew's Church, Buckland · 2.4 kmSt Andrew's Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Buckland, Hertfordshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is under th…
- Mile End Farm Mill, Reed · 2.4 km
Mile End Farm Mill is a tower mill at Reed, Hertfordshire, England which has been truncated and converted to residential accommodation.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Nearby towns
Compare North Hertfordshire with nearby areas
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Reed?
- Reed is a town in Hertfordshire, England, in the North Hertfordshire local authority.
- What is the population of Reed?
- Reed has an approximate settlement population of 310.
- How deprived is Reed?
- The North Hertfordshire local authority, which includes Reed, is among the least deprived areas in England on the IoD2019.