Bellingham Ward Profile

Introduction

Bellingham is a ward defined by strong neighbourhood networks and community pride. Anchored by Bellingham Green and a mix of housing types, and with strong connections to neighbouring wards such as Downham and Catford, the area has a clear identity rooted in long standing residents, families and grassroots activity. Community venues, faith groups and schools play an important role in supporting local cohesion, while nearby Beckenham Place Park and the Waterlink Way contribute to wellbeing and active lifestyles.

Bellingham’s quieter high street and residential streets give it a distinct, lived in feel rather than a destination centre, with local pride built around familiarity and mutual support.

Through the NCIL 2025–27 programme, a total of £2.55 million was allocated across the borough to support both borough-wide and ward-level priorities. Borough-wide projects received £621,732.92, funding 15 initiatives including four Council-led capital projects such as air quality monitors, deployable CCTV, improvements to Home Park, and a new basketball court at Hilly Fields. A further 11 community-led projects supported a range of residents and community needs, including projects for visually impaired residents, LGBTQ+ communities, refugees and migrants, autistic young people, Black-led organisations, food justice initiatives, employability support, mentoring, parenting support, and arts and performance activities.

Within this wider programme, Bellingham was allocated £53,804.26 in NCIL funding, supporting eight projects in the ward. This included two Council-led capital projects focused on street tree planting and improvements to Bellingham Youth Club, alongside six community-led projects, two of which operated across ward boundaries. These projects included community festivals, health and wellbeing initiatives, a football project, and a music project bringing together local partners and residents.

Population

Bellingham has an estimated population of 11,288 residents in 2024. Among its residents, 52.6% are female, and 47.4% are male. The population density in Bellingham is 4,926 people per square kilometre.

Diversity

Ethnicity

29.2% of Bellingham residents have an ethnicity of White British (White English, Welsh, Scottish, or Northern Irish), compared to 37.2% in Lewisham as a whole, 36.8% in London, and 73.5% in England.

Religion

52.1% of Bellingham residents identify as Christian, compared to 43.8% in Lewisham as a whole, 48.4% in London, and 59.4% in England.

Country of birth

64.4% of Bellingham residents were born in the UK, compared to 64.4% in Lewisham as a whole, 61.1% in London, and 83.5% in England.

Among those not born in the UK, the three most common countries of birth are Jamaica (12.6%), Nigeria (12.5%), and Sri Lanka (5.9%).

Languages

83% of Bellingham residents speak English as their primary language, compared to 83.8% in Lewisham as a whole, 77.9% in London, and 92% in England.

Deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

The Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) is the official measure of relative deprivation in England. It is based on multiple factors: income, employment, education, health and disability, crime, barriers to housing and services, and the living environment.

The IMD is determined for small areas called Lower-layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs). Each LSOA is ranked from most deprived to least deprived nationally, and then grouped into ten deciles. Decile 1 represents the most deprived 10% of LSOAs in England.

Of the 6 LSOAs in Bellingham, 5 rank in the bottom 20% of the country (decile 1 or 2).

Household deprivation

Household deprivation is measured across four dimensions: education, employment, health and housing. A household may be classed as deprived if it has low educational attainment, unemployment or economic inactivity due to long-term sickness or disability, poor health or disability, or housing issues such as overcrowding, shared accommodation or no central heating.

Fuel poverty and EPC

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) were first introduced in England and Wales in 2007, and are valid for 10 years. They contain information about a property’s energy use and typical energy costs, and recommendations about how to reduce energy use and save money. Dwellings are rated between A (highly energy efficient) and G (highly inefficient.) The average EPC rating for dwellings in England is D.

In Bellingham, 50% of assessed households have received an EPC rating of A, B, or C, which means they are highly energy-efficient. It is estimated that the share of highly energy-efficient dwellings in Bellingham could be as high as 87% if home owners were to carry out the improvements recommended during their assessment.

Housing and Affordability

Accommodation type and tenure

51.4% of Bellingham residents live in flats, compared to 56.4% in Lewisham as a whole, 52.6% in London, and 21.4% in England. Among Bellingham residents, the three most common accommodation types are Flat (51.4%), Terraced (24%), and Semi-detached (21%).

47.5% of Bellingham residents live in social rented accommodation, compared to 29.2% in Lewisham as a whole, 23.1% in London, and 17.1% in England. Among Bellingham residents, the three most common types of tenure are Social rented (47.5%), Owned (29.6%), and Private rented (21.1%).

House prices

House prices in Lewisham remain lower than those for London as a whole. In 2020, the median house price in the borough was £430,000 compared with £483,000 for Greater London and £249,000 for England.

In terms of relative affordability based on median prices, Lewisham had a median workplace-based income to house price ratio in 2020 of 12.3x. Based on median ratios, Lewisham was relatively more affordable than Lambeth, Greenwich and Bromley; and less affordable than Southwark, Croydon, Tower Hamlets and London overall, the South East region and England.

Relative affordability of median prices by local authority area, ONS 2021

Employment

In the 2021 Census, the unemployment rate in Bellingham was 5.5% among residents aged 16+, compared to a Lewisham average of 4.9%.

36.7% of residents are not economically active, for example because they are in education, looking after home or family, long-term sick or disabled, or in retirement.

The three most common occupations in Bellingham are Professional occupations (18.1%), Caring, leisure and other service occupations (13.3%), and Elementary occupations (12.8%).

Income

Equivalised household income adjusts total household income to account for the number of people living in a household and their age. This allows for more meaningful comparisons of living standards between areas.

In Bellingham, the estimated median equivalised household income is £35,995, compared with £44,403 in Lewisham, £46,835 in London, and £39,597 across the United Kingdom.

The estimated mean equivalised household income in Bellingham is £40,444. The difference between mean and median income can indicate the extent to which higher-income households influence the average.

Benefit Claimants

The Claimant Count measures the number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits. It provides a timely indicator of labour market conditions at local level.

In March 2026, there were 750 Claimant Count claimants in Bellingham. This represented 5% of all Lewisham claimants in March 2026.

Health and Wellbeing

Bellingham has slightly better health outcomes than Lewisham overall, with a lower proportion of residents reporting bad or very bad health, and a lower proportion of residents with disability under the Equality Act.

General health and disability

Unpaid care

Providing unpaid care includes supporting family members, friends or neighbours because of long-term physical or mental ill health, disability, or needs related to older age.

In Bellingham, 8.9% of residents aged 5 and over provide some unpaid care, compared with 7.1% in Lewisham.

A smaller group provide high-intensity care: 2.7% of Bellingham residents provide 50 or more hours of unpaid care each week, compared with 1.8% in Lewisham.

Environment

Air quality is an important factor influencing health and wellbeing. Local conditions can vary across neighbourhoods depending on traffic, urban form, and environmental factors.

Up-to-date information on air quality in Lewisham is available via the official monitoring and forecasting platform.

This site provides:

• Monitoring: real-time air quality data collected from monitoring sites across the Lewisham area, managed by Ricardo.
• Forecasts: short-term air quality forecasts based on a combination of Defra pollution data and Met Office weather forecasts.

These tools help residents and stakeholders understand current conditions and anticipate periods of poorer air quality.

Education

Educational attainment

There are nine qualification levels in England: Entry level and Levels 1–9. Levels 1–2 cover GCSE and equivalent qualifications, Level 3 covers A-level and equivalents, and Levels 4–8 cover higher education equivalents.

Crime

Data Sources

1. Ward & LSOA boundaries: Office for National Statistics (ONS)
2. Community resources: Lewisham corporate postgis (MapThat)
3. Population estimates: ONS mid-2024 population estimate
4. Diversity - Ethnicity & religion: ONS Census 2021
5. Diversity - Country of birth: ONS Census 2021
6. Diversity - Main language & English proficiency: ONS Census 2021
7. Deprivation: Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government 2025
8. Fuel poverty & EPC: Fuel poverty: Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) 2023 EPC: Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities 2022
9. Housing & affordability: Accommodation & tenure: ONS Census 2021 Affordability: ONS 2021
10. Household composition: ONS Census 2021
11. Employment (Economic activity and occupation): ONS Census 2021
12. Income: CACI PayCheck 2025
13. Benefit claimants: DWP 2025-26
14. Health and wellbeing: ONS Census 2021
15. Education: Educational attainment: ONS Census 2021
16. Crime: Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)

Further Information

Ward Profiles were produced by the Council’s Corporate Data Science, Insight & Performance Team, which is based in the Chief Executive’s Directorate.

If you have any questions, feedback or comments, please contact the Team via email: insight-and-delivery@lewisham.gov.uk.