Council tax bands in Colchester

Colchester has the joint fifth-largest share of homes built from 2000 to 2015 (17.5%) of the 318 councils in England and Wales. Among the twelve councils in Essex, it has the largest share of homes in band B (26.6%) and the largest number of homes on the valuation list (87,210 homes).

The 1960s and 1970s built the most

The biggest building periods here were from 1965 to 1982 (22.3%), from 2000 to 2015 and from 1983 to 1999 (15.9%). Some 7,760 homes were built from 2016 to 2026. The middle home built from 2016 to 2026 is in band D, a higher band than the middle home built before 2016 (band C). Bands A and B take 27.7% of these newer homes and 38.7% of the older ones. Homes from before 1919 make up 12.9%, 7.0 points below the share for England. Over the year to March 2026 the list grew by a net 690 homes (+0.80%). Homes from the three largest building periods share the same middle band, band C. The busiest single year was 2018, with 1,030 homes recorded as built.

Band B is the largest band

Band B is the most common band in Colchester, though the middle home on the list is in band C. The share in the middle bands, C to E, 54.0%, is 6.4 points above the figure for England as a whole. Ranked by number of homes, the bands run B, C, D, A, E, F, G and H. Within the East of England, the band mix closest to this one is that of Babergh. Band H, the top band, holds 170 homes.

Semis and flats, almost level

Semi-detached houses (23.2%) only just outnumber the other types in Colchester; in order they are followed by flats and maisonettes (22.2%), terraced houses (22.0%), detached houses (21.7%) and bungalows (10.2%). The typical home of each type sits in band E for detached houses, band D for bungalows, band C for semi-detached houses, band B for flats and maisonettes and band B for terraced houses. The nearest property-type mix elsewhere belongs to Chelmsford, followed by St Albans and Three Rivers. The widest gap to the rest of the East of England is in flats and maisonettes: 3.5 points above the share there (18.7%).

Three bedrooms is the usual size

Three-bedroom homes (41.3%) are the most common size, then two-bedroom (28.0%) and four-bedroom (15.8%). Band climbs with size: the middle home is in band A with one bedroom, band B with two, band C with three, band E with four and band F with five. A detached house here has 3.7 bedrooms on average, a flat 1.8. Homes here average 2.75 bedrooms, more than the 2.66 for England. One-bedroom homes make up 11.0%.

Councils with a similar band mix

By band-mix distance (0 means identical), the councils closest to Colchester are South Norfolk (4.1), South Gloucestershire (4.5) and the Isle of Wight (7.1); the furthest within the East of England is St Albans (78.3).

Compare side by side

Placed in the East of England

On the share of homes in band F or above, Colchester comes 24th of the 45 councils in the East of England (joint), just behind Basildon and just ahead of East Cambridgeshire. All East of England councils.