SO40 postcode area guide — New Forest

Where is SO40?

Broadband & internet speeds in SO40

Strong coverage

Broadband availability in the SO40 postcode district (New Forest) is Strong — superfast is near-universal and gigabit is rolling out. Across the 1,016 postcodes Ofcom measures in SO40, superfast broadband (30 Mbit/s or faster) reaches 94.4% of premises and gigabit-capable lines are available to 76.3%.

Around 0.3% of premises in SO40 fall below the Universal Service Obligation (a minimum of 10 Mbit/s download and 1 Mbit/s upload), so the overwhelming majority of homes and businesses here can already order a decent fixed line. For a business that depends on its connection, the figures that matter most are gigabit and full-fibre availability — the symmetric, low-contention services we quote leased lines and FTTP against.

Sample postcodes in SO40

Run a speed test to see what you're actually getting, or check your exact postcode.

Mobile signal around New Forest

Ofcom's coverage model for the wider New Forest district (88,786 premises):

Signal varies street by street — use the mobile coverage checker to compare EE, O2, Three and Vodafone at an exact postcode.

Crime in SO40

Police recorded 108 incidents within about a mile of the centre of SO40 in May 2026 (latest published street-level data). The breakdown:

Raw counts favour busy town centres — a high street with shops and nightlife records more incidents than a residential cul-de-sac. Source: police.uk open data (point sample around the district centroid).

House prices in SO40

Based on 460 sales registered with HM Land Registry in the last 12 months, the median sold price in SO40 is £340,000, up 4.6% on the previous year (£325,000).

Latest recorded sales in SO40

Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Who lives here? New Forest demographics

Census 2021 figures for the wider New Forest district (175,785 residents, 77,567 households):

Source: ONS Census 2021 (district level — the finest openly licensed cut we republish). © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

Schools in and around SO40

Source: DfE Get Information about Schools (England & Wales). Check Ofsted report cards for inspection detail — headline one-word grades were retired in 2024.

Food hygiene ratings in SO40

234 rated food businesses operate in SO40. 170 hold the top rating of 5, 27 are rated 4, and 5 are rated 2 or below.

Among the 5-rated: ABM CATERING AT ABBOTSWOOD JUNIOR SCHOOL, ABM CATERING AT CALMORE INFANT SCHOOL. CALMORE COUNTY INFANT SCHOOL, ABM CATERING AT CALMORE JUNIOR SCHOOL, ABM CATERING AT HAZEL WOOD INFANT SCHOOL, ABM CATERING AT LYDLYNCH INFANT SCHOOL.

Source: Food Standards Agency, food hygiene ratings (FHRS) open data.

Energy performance (EPC) in SO40

From a sample of 127 Energy Performance Certificates across 11 SO40 postcodes, the most common rating is band C (average band C). 58% of sampled homes are rated C or better.

Source: MHCLG Energy Performance of Buildings Data (England & Wales), sampled at postcode level and refreshed monthly. Individual certificates are on each postcode’s page.

Phone area codes for New Forest

Landlines around SO40 typically use:

Had a call from an unknown number? Use our free UK phone number checker to see who called.

What's it like living in SO40?

Postcodes in SO40

Neighbouring districts

All Southampton (SO) postcode districts ›

Frequently asked questions

Sources: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data, police.uk street-level crime, Ofcom Connected Nations, ONS Census 2021, DfE Get Information about Schools, Food Standards Agency FHRS — all © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are area aggregates; individual addresses vary. Energy performance (EPC) data will be added when our Open Data Communities registration is approved.