Findings where this place differs most from its surroundings, with the evidence behind each one. A difference is not a verdict: it is a prompt to look closer.
Homesmedium confidence
Lower than England: Share of planning decisions that granted permission (Epping Forest figure)
Share of planning decisions that granted permission is 67.9% in Epping Forest council area (Year to Jun 2026), compared with 87.0% in England (19.0 percentage points lower; n = 1,282).
Epping Forest figure
67.9% Epping Forest figure87% England
How do we know this?
- Source
- Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (now Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government): Planning application statistics: live tables PS1 and PS2 (district matters) (Open Government Licence v3.0)
- Period
- Year to Jun 2026
- Geography
- Council area, compared with England
- Method
- Planning application decisions. Local planning authorities report to government every quarter how many applications for planning permission (district matters: housing, commercial and other development, excluding minerals and waste) they decided, how many they granted and refused, and how many were decided within the statutory time or an agreed extension. We add the four most recent complete quarters (July 2025 to June 2026) and compare with the four before. Percentage granted is granted divided by all decisions, which includes applications withdrawn only if reported as decided; it is a measure of the mix of applications a council receives, not of how fair or permissive it is, because many applications are refused for good reason or amended before decision. Speed is the share decided in time among decisions not covered by a planning performance agreement, shown separately for major developments (10 or more homes, or sites over 1 hectare) and for minor and other applications. Few major decisions are made each year in most authorities, so major-development figures rest on small numbers. National Park authorities and development corporations are separate planning authorities and are not included in the council totals. Wales (Welsh Government development management survey): major plus minor and householder applications over April 2025 to March 2026, summed from four quarterly returns; other consents, pre-application cases and non-material amendments are excluded. "Decided in time" covers all applications and consents decided within the statutory period or an agreed extension. Denbighshire did not supply data. Scotland (Scottish Government annual planning statistics): all applications decided in the financial year 2024/25 (the 2025/26 annual release is not yet out); the share approved is of all applications decided; "local developments decided within two months" and average weeks are for local developments without a processing agreement. Northern Ireland (Department for Infrastructure): applications received and decided by each council in 2025/26, and the share approved of those decided. Each nation counts and classifies applications differently, so the figures describe each nation's own system and should not be compared across borders.
- Limitations
- Coverage: England: local planning authorities (district matters), councils only here. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own sources.
- Covers the 12-month window Year to Jun 2026 only.
- This figure is for the Epping Forest council area, not for Waltham Abbey North itself.
Neighbourhoodsmedium confidence
Lower than England: Share of residents living in the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England (overall)
Share of residents living in the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England (overall) is 0.0% in Waltham Abbey North (2025), compared with 20.3% in England (20.3 percentage points lower; n = 7,353).
0% here20.3% England
How do we know this?
- Source
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (LSOA 2021 ranks and deciles) (Open Government Licence v3.0)
- Period
- 2025
- Geography
- Ward, compared with England
- Method
- Summarising deprivation for an area. The Indices of Deprivation rank every LSOA in England; decile 1 contains the most deprived 10 per cent of LSOAs nationally. Ranks and deciles are ordinal, so they are never averaged. An area is described by (1) how many of its LSOAs fall in each national decile, (2) how many of its residents live in LSOAs of each decile (mid-2024 population apportioned to output areas, see the area apportioning method), (3) the share of residents in the most deprived 10 and 20 per cent of LSOAs nationally, and (4) the median decile of residents. IoD is a relative measure of small areas, not of individuals: most people in a deprived LSOA are not deprived and many deprived people live elsewhere. England only. Where an area straddles the England-Wales border the figures cover the English part only and are not published unless 90 per cent of residents are covered.
- Limitations
- This figure is an estimate; see the methodology.
Homesmedium confidence
Higher than East of England: Average monthly private rent (Epping Forest figure)
Average monthly private rent is £1,844 in Epping Forest council area (Aug 2026), compared with £1,289 in East of England (43% higher).
Epping Forest figure
£1,844 Epping Forest figure£1,289 East of England
How do we know this?
- Source
- Office for National Statistics: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics (Open Government Licence v3.0)
- Period
- Aug 2026
- Geography
- Council area, compared with East of England
- Method
- Private rents (PIPR). The ONS Price Index of Private Rents measures the change in rents paid by private tenants, and publishes an average (mean) monthly rent per local authority from the same data. The figure is a mean, not a median, so a few very high rents pull it up, especially in London and where there are few lettings. It covers rents paid for homes let on the private market (not social rents) and reflects all tenancies in the stock, not only new lets, except in Scotland where the underlying data are mainly advertised new lets, which makes Scotland not directly comparable with England and Wales. Annual change is the change in the rental price index, not in the cash average. Rents are in cash terms, not adjusted for inflation. Averages by number of bedrooms are held for the latest month only.
- Limitations
- Mean, not median.
- This figure is for the Epping Forest council area, not for Waltham Abbey North itself.
Economymedium confidence
Lower than similar council areas: Change in jobs located in the area over five years (Epping Forest figure)
Change in jobs located in the area over five years is 1.8% in Epping Forest (2019..2024), compared with 11.9% across five council areas with a similar profile (Winchester, West Berkshire, Rushcliffe, Windsor and Maidenhead, Vale of White Horse); 10.1 percentage points lower. It lies outside the range of all five (5.9% to 22.4%).
Epping Forest figure
1.8% Epping Forest figure11.9% five similar council areas: Winchester, West Berkshire, Rushcliffe, Windsor and Maidenhead, Vale of White Horse
How do we know this?
- Source
- Office for National Statistics: Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES), open access, via Nomis (Open Government Licence v3.0)
- Period
- 2019..2024
- Geography
- Council area, compared with five similar council areas: Winchester, West Berkshire, Rushcliffe, Windsor and Maidenhead, Vale of White Horse
- Method
- Employment by industry (BRES). BRES is the official source of employee and employment estimates by detailed industry and area. Employment is employees plus working owners, counted at the place of work and in the survey week in September. It covers all sectors except small farm agriculture, and the self-employed who are not registered for PAYE or VAT. ONS rounds BRES employment and suppresses small cells, so industry sums may not add to the total. Jobs here are not residents: people may live elsewhere. Part-time and full-time jobs count equally (they are not full-time equivalents).
- Limitations
- Rounded inputs; the 2020 to 2021 pandemic years lie inside this window.
- This figure is for the Epping Forest council area, not for Waltham Abbey North itself.
- Similar areas are the five council areas closest on population size, share aged 65 and over, share aged under 16, share of neighbourhoods in the most deprived 20%, median house price (standardised); this is a convenience comparison, not a like-for-like guarantee.
Economymedium confidence
Higher than England: Business enterprises per 1,000 residents (Epping Forest figure)
Business enterprises per 1,000 residents is 64.0 per 1,000 in Epping Forest council area (2026), compared with 41.3 per 1,000 in England (about 1.5 times the England rate; n = 137,451).
Epping Forest figure
64 per 1,000 Epping Forest figure41.3 per 1,000 England
How do we know this?
- Source
- Office for National Statistics: UK Business Counts (Inter-Departmental Business Register), enterprises and local units, via Nomis (Open Government Licence v3.0)
- Period
- 2026
- Geography
- Council area, compared with England
- Method
- Business counts. UK Business Counts count businesses registered for VAT and/or PAYE on the ONS Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) at a March snapshot. An enterprise is the smallest combination of legal units with a degree of autonomy; a local unit is a single site of an enterprise, counted where the site is. Businesses below the VAT threshold and not running PAYE (many sole traders) are not included, so counts understate the smallest businesses. Counts are rounded to the nearest 5. Enterprises are placed in an area by where their head office or main site is registered with HMRC, which for multi-site firms may not be where staff work: local units are the better guide to where businesses operate. Size bands are by employment (employees plus working proprietors). Industry is the SIC 2007 section of the main activity.
- Limitations
- Residents are the mid-2024 estimate.
- This figure is for the Epping Forest council area, not for Waltham Abbey North itself.
Neighbourhoodsmedium confidence
Lower than East of England: Share of residents living in the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England, judged on access to housing and services
Share of residents living in the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England, judged on access to housing and services is 0.0% in Waltham Abbey North (2025), compared with 24.4% in East of England (24.4 percentage points lower; n = 7,353).
0% here24.4% East of England
How do we know this?
- Source
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (LSOA 2021 ranks and deciles) (Open Government Licence v3.0)
- Period
- 2025
- Geography
- Ward, compared with East of England
- Method
- Summarising deprivation for an area. The Indices of Deprivation rank every LSOA in England; decile 1 contains the most deprived 10 per cent of LSOAs nationally. Ranks and deciles are ordinal, so they are never averaged. An area is described by (1) how many of its LSOAs fall in each national decile, (2) how many of its residents live in LSOAs of each decile (mid-2024 population apportioned to output areas, see the area apportioning method), (3) the share of residents in the most deprived 10 and 20 per cent of LSOAs nationally, and (4) the median decile of residents. IoD is a relative measure of small areas, not of individuals: most people in a deprived LSOA are not deprived and many deprived people live elsewhere. England only. Where an area straddles the England-Wales border the figures cover the English part only and are not published unless 90 per cent of residents are covered.
- Limitations
- This figure is an estimate; see the methodology.