# SO42

Postcode district covering Brockenhurst and East Boldre, in New Forest.

SO42 is a postcode district covering Brockenhurst and East Boldre, in New Forest. Median sale price £822,500 in 2025. Recorded crime 52.4 per 1,000 people.

Postcode district. Code SO42. In: [Postcodes](https://openindex.co.uk/postcode) › [SO](https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/so)

Approximate outline worked out by Open Index from the ONS Postcode Directory: each census output area belongs to the district that holds most of its postcodes. People, homes, recorded crime and broadband add up those output areas. House sales count every sale with an SO42 postcode. [How census figures are added up](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/population)

## Key figures

- **Median sale price: £822,500** (2025). The median price paid for a home in SO42 was £822,500 in 2025. Joint 42nd most expensive of 2,235. Source: Worked out by Open Index from HM Land Registry Price Paid Data. Published 28 September 2026. https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/so42#f-house-sales-median-price
- **Population: 4,871** (2021). SO42 had 4,871 usual residents at the census (ONS Census 2021). 457th least populated of 2,756. Source: Census 2021, England and Wales and Scotland's Census 2022 and Census 2021, Northern Ireland, 2021. Published 21 July 2026. https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/so42#f-population
- **People in radon Affected Area squares: 60%** (2022). About 60% of people in SO42 live in a 1 km square that the radon atlas marks as a radon Affected Area. UK 44%. Source: Worked out by Open Index from the UKHSA and BGS radon atlas and census output areas. Published 1 December 2022. https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/so42#f-radon-affected-share
- **Gigabit broadband coverage: 78.8%** (January 2026). In SO42, 78.8% of homes and businesses could get gigabit-capable broadband in January 2026 (Ofcom). UK 87.8%. Source: Connected Nations (Ofcom), January 2026. Published 13 May 2026. https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/so42#f-gigabit-coverage

## On the map

- [Radon Affected Area by postcode district](https://openindex.co.uk/map/radon-affected-areas?place=SO42) (Worked out by Open Index · 2022): About 60% of people in SO42 live in a 1 km square that the radon atlas marks as a radon Affected Area.
- [Sales per year by postcode district](https://openindex.co.uk/map/house-sales-per-year?place=SO42) (Worked out by Open Index · 2025): 70 homes were sold in SO42 in 2025.
- [Crime and ASB by postcode district](https://openindex.co.uk/map/recorded-crime?place=SO42) (Police recorded crime and outcomes (data.police.uk) · August 2026): Crime and anti-social behaviour for SO42.
- [Population by postcode district](https://openindex.co.uk/map/population?place=SO42) (Census 2021, England and Wales): SO42 had 4,871 usual residents at the census.

## How SO42 compares

Each postcode district against every other postcode district the measure covers.

| Measure | SO42 | Rank | Compared with |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Median sale price | £822,500 | most expensive | 23 postcode districts, SO · 2025 |
| Population | 4,871 | 3rd least populated | 24 postcode districts, SO · 2021 |
| People in radon Affected Area squares | 60% | 5th most people in radon Affected Areas | 24 postcode districts, SO · 2022 |
| Gigabit broadband coverage | 78.8% | 9th lowest | 24 postcode districts, SO · Jan 2026 |

## Is SO42 safe? What police records show

In the 12 months to August 2026, police recorded crimes and anti-social behaviour in SO42 at a rate of 52.4 per 1,000 people.
That compares with 86.0 per 1,000 people across the SO postcode area.
In August 2026 alone, 42 cases of crime and anti-social behaviour were recorded in SO42.
In the 12 months to August 2026, the most common types were violence and sexual offences (66), other crime (64) and criminal damage and arson (35).
A year earlier, the recorded crime rate in SO42 was 68.9 per 1,000 people.
Worked out by Open Index from police.uk crime records and ONS and NISRA population estimates.
Rates are per resident, so places that many people work in or visit, such as Westminster, the City of London and other city centres, have far higher rates than their residents alone would suggest.

## Deprivation in SO42, neighbourhood by neighbourhood

- Deprivation is ranked by neighbourhood, so SO42 has no single figure. Of its 3 neighbourhoods with a rank:
- Decile 5: 1 neighbourhood
- Decile 9: 2 neighbourhoods

Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2025. Decile 1 is the most deprived tenth of neighbourhoods in England.

## Neighbourhoods in SO42

| Area | People (census) | Recorded crime per 1,000 | Deprivation decile | Gigabit broadband |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [New Forest 015C](https://openindex.co.uk/new-forest/neighbourhood/e01022998) | 1,737 | 51.4 per 1,000 | 9 | 91.9% |
| [New Forest 015D](https://openindex.co.uk/new-forest/neighbourhood/e01023000) | 1,748 | 47.4 per 1,000 | 9 | 90.0% |
| [New Forest 017B](https://openindex.co.uk/new-forest/neighbourhood/e01022999) | 2,081 | 74.3 per 1,000 | 5 | 53.2% |

## Your MP

- [New Forest East](https://openindex.co.uk/constituency/new-forest-east): Sir Julian Lewis (Conservative), MP since July 2024.

As of 18 October 2026. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0. Source: UK Parliament, Members API.

## Postcode sectors in SO42

[SO42 7 (164 postcodes)](https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/so42-7)

## Council

[New Forest](https://openindex.co.uk/new-forest)

## Postcode districts next to SO42

[BH24](https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/bh24), [BH25](https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/bh25), [SO40](https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/so40), [SO41](https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/so41), [SO43](https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/so43), [SO45](https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/so45)

## Nearest rail stations

[Brockenhurst (2.7 km from the middle)](https://openindex.co.uk/map/rail-stations?around=-1.5735,50.8168), [Sway (4.3 km from the middle)](https://openindex.co.uk/map/rail-stations?around=-1.6100,50.7847)

## More in the SO postcode area

[All SO postcode districts](https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/so), [Every UK postcode area](https://openindex.co.uk/postcode)

## SO42 in brief

SO42 is a postcode district covering Brockenhurst and East Boldre, in New Forest.
About 4,848 people lived in SO42 in mid-2024 (worked out by Open Index from ONS small-area estimates); the median price paid for a home was £822,500 in 2025 across 70 sales (HM Land Registry) and police recorded crimes and anti-social behaviour at a rate of 52.4 per 1,000 people in the 12 months to August 2026 (police.uk).
The median price paid for a home in SO42 was £822,500 in 2025.
SO42 had 4,871 usual residents at the census.
About 60% of people in SO42 live in a 1 km square that the radon atlas marks as a radon Affected Area.
In SO42, 78.8% of homes and businesses could get gigabit-capable broadband in January 2026.

## About

- Type: Postcode district
- Code: SO42
- Postcode area: [SO](https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/so)
- Constituency: [New Forest East †](https://openindex.co.uk/constituency/new-forest-east)
- Council: [New Forest †](https://openindex.co.uk/new-forest)
- Area: 94.73 km²
- People, mid-2024: 4,848*
- Neighbourhoods: 3
- Output areas: 16

* People: worked out by Open Index from neighbourhood estimates, shared out by where people lived at the census (by area in Northern Ireland). This area's edges do not follow neighbourhood edges, so the figure is close but not exact.
† Best fit: the constituency, council, region and nation this postcode district mostly lies in. Its edges do not follow theirs.

## Next door

[SO41](https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/so41), [SO40](https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/so40), [BH24](https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/bh24), [SO43](https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/so43), [BH25](https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/bh25), [SO45](https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/so45)

## Latest updates for SO42

- August 2026 house prices published: HM Land Registry and partners · Oct 2026.
- September 2026 rent published: ONS private rents · Oct 2026.
- Dental practices updated: NHS England · Oct 2026.
- Schools updated: Ofsted · Oct 2026.

The same figures as JSON: https://openindex.co.uk/v1/places/SO42

## How to cite

Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/so42, or to one figure with its anchor, https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/so42#f-house-sales-median-price.

Open Index's own text and the figures it works out are licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source data keeps its publishers' licences, named with each figure. Give each figure's period and source with it.

Snapshot 2026.10.9. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/so42