SO42 postcode area guide — New Forest
House prices, crime, broadband speeds, mobile signal, schools and demographics for the SO42 postcode district in New Forest — every official dataset on one page.
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Where is SO42?
Broadband & internet speeds in SO42
Strong coverage
Superfast (30Mb+)
83.5%
Ultrafast (300Mb+)
65.4%
Gigabit-capable
65.4%
Below USO (10Mb)
4.9%
Broadband availability in the SO42 postcode district (New Forest) is Strong — superfast is near-universal and gigabit is rolling out. Across the 163 postcodes Ofcom measures in SO42, superfast broadband (30 Mbit/s or faster) reaches 83.5% of premises and gigabit-capable lines are available to 65.4%.
Around 4.9% of premises in SO42 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 SO42
| Postcode | Superfast | Gigabit |
|---|---|---|
| SO42 7AA | 100% | 100% |
| SO42 7AB | 100% | 100% |
| SO42 7AD | 100% | 100% |
| SO42 7AE | 100% | 100% |
| SO42 7AF | 100% | 100% |
| SO42 7AG | 100% | 100% |
| SO42 7GZ | 0% | 0% |
| SO42 7PA | 100% | 100% |
| SO42 7PB | 100% | 100% |
| SO42 7PD | 100% | 100% |
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):
4G indoors — all networks
84.1%
4G outdoors — all networks
98.8%
5G outdoors — all networks
37.6%
Voice indoors — all networks
90.7%
Signal varies street by street — use the mobile coverage checker to compare EE, O2, Three and Vodafone at an exact postcode.
Crime in SO42
Police recorded 1 incidents within about a mile of the centre of SO42 in May 2026 (latest published street-level data). The breakdown:
| Category | Incidents | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Public order | 1 | 100.0% |
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 SO42
Based on 54 sales registered with HM Land Registry in the last 12 months, the median sold price in SO42 is £710,000, down 7.2% on the previous year (£765,000).
Detached
£1,080,000
29 sales
Semi-detached
£570,000
6 sales
Terraced
£550,000
7 sales
Flat / maisonette
£146,000
11 sales
Latest recorded sales in SO42
| Date | Price | Type | Street | Postcode |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 May 2026 | £645,000 | Detached | Burford Lane | SO42 7TN |
| 14 Apr 2026 | £88,000 | Flat | Grigg Lane | SO42 7QX |
| 30 Mar 2026 | £590,000 | Terraced | Silverstone Mews | SO42 7AA |
| 27 Mar 2026 | £945,000 | Detached | Partridge Road | SO42 7RZ |
| 17 Mar 2026 | £570,000 | Semi-detached | Fibbards Road | SO42 7RD |
| 6 Mar 2026 | £146,000 | Flat | Eastbank Road | SO42 7RW |
| 25 Feb 2026 | £1,140,000 | Detached | Partridge Road | SO42 7RZ |
| 11 Feb 2026 | £550,000 | Terraced | Connaught Place | SO42 7AG |
| 6 Feb 2026 | £675,000 | Flat | The Rise | SO42 7AF |
| 30 Jan 2026 | £540,000 | Detached | Chapel Lane | SO42 7WP |
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):
| Age profile | |
|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15.4% |
| 15–29 | 16.9% |
| 30–44 | 15.9% |
| 45–64 | 22.5% |
| 65+ | 29.4% |
| Housing tenure | |
|---|---|
| Owner-occupied | 74.2% |
| Private rented | 14.4% |
| Social rented | 4.4% |
Source: ONS Census 2021 (district level — the finest openly licensed cut we republish). © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.
Schools in and around SO42
| School | Phase | Ages | Pupils | Postcode |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brockenhurst Church of England Primary School & Pre-School | Primary | 2–11 | 231 | SO42 7RX |
| Beaulieu Village Primary School | Primary | 5–11 | 124 | SO42 7YD |
| Brockenhurst College | 16 plus | 16–99 | — | SO42 7ZE |
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 SO42
87 rated food businesses operate in SO42. 60 hold the top rating of 5, 15 are rated 4, and 3 are rated 2 or below.
Among the 5-rated: 5 MAD HOUNDS, A AND R BEARDSMORE LTD TA RAINBOW FISH BAR, ALBERO, ALDRIDGE HILL CAMP SITE, ARGENTOR COTTAGE.
Source: Food Standards Agency, food hygiene ratings (FHRS) open data.
Energy performance (EPC) in SO42
From a sample of 132 Energy Performance Certificates across 12 SO42 postcodes, the most common rating is band D (average band D). 28% of sampled homes are rated C or better.
Band B
5%
Band C
23%
Band D
30%
Band E
24%
Band F
12%
Band G
6%
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 SO42 typically use:
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What's it like living in SO42?
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Moving to SO42? Sort your connectivity first
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Postcodes in SO42
Neighbouring districts
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Frequently asked questions
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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.