Atherton
Atherton is covered by postcode districts BL5, M29, M46 and WN7. It is mostly in the Wigan council area: 580 of its 657 postcodes. The others are in Bolton.
Every postcode in Atherton, and which are new since 2020
- New since 2020: 7
- In use before 2020: 650
Of the 657 postcodes in Atherton that ONS places, 7 are new since 2020 and 650 were in use before 2020.
Each mark is a postcode's centre point as ONS gives it, not a building. Press one to see its postcode and open its page. New since 2020 means it came into use in January 2020 or later. No boundary is drawn. Where marks overlap, the one first in the key is drawn; the counts include every postcode.
The middle of its postcodes: latitude 53.5271, longitude -2.4893. Open this area on OpenStreetMap
Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS) Postcode Directory, August 2026, loaded 20 October 2026, the centre point of each postcode; when each came into use: the same directory; roads, rivers and built-up areas: Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Drawn by us. Street map: Ordnance Survey, OS Open Zoomstack, Open Government Licence v3.0, drawn with MapLibre. How we use them
What is it like to live in Atherton?
Homes sold for a typical £190,000 in the 12 months to August 2026, up 4.4% on the 12 months before. At 564 of the 652 postcodes Ofcom reports on, every home and business can get gigabit broadband. The Environment Agency counts 74 homes and businesses at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea, at 69 of its 657 postcodes. It has at least 8 primary schools and 1 secondary school at its postcodes. 4 GP practices are at its postcodes. The nearest railway station is Atherton, 700 metres from the middle of its postcodes in a straight line.
We don't rate places; here are the figures so you can judge.
Source: HM Land Registry, Ofcom, the Environment Agency, the Department for Education, NHS England and the Department for Transport, as each section of this page says. See all our data sources
What do homes cost in Atherton?
Homes in Atherton sold for a typical £190,000 in the 12 months to August 2026, across 308 sales, up 4.4% on the 12 months before, HM Land Registry's figures show.
- Detached £360,000 49 sales
- Semi-detached £212,500 134 sales
- Terraced £169,500 96 sales
- Flat or maisonette £126,000 29 sales
Each bar is that kind's typical price, against the most expensive kind here.
Across the whole M46 district, Atherton's main postcode district: a typical £190,000.
Sales at the postcodes ONS places in Atherton: standard sales of homes at market value. A typical price is the median, the middle sale. Sales take weeks to be registered, so the last month or two are incomplete. Each postcode page gives the figure for its own postcode sector.
Source: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data, files dated 28 September 2026. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2021. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. How we use it
Are new homes being built in Atherton?
7 of the 657 postcodes now in use in Atherton came into use in January 2020 or later, ONS says. In the 12 months to August 2025, 1 of the 403 homes sold in Atherton were newly built (Under 1%), HM Land Registry's records show; across the M46 district, 12%.
The newest postcodes
A new postcode is often a new street or estate, but Royal Mail also makes new postcodes when it reorganises old ones, so not every one means new homes. Only postcodes still in use are counted.
New homes among the homes sold
| Period | In Atherton | Across the M46 district |
|---|---|---|
| The 12 months to August 2026 | 0 of 308 (0%) | 3 of 260 (1%) |
| The 12 months to August 2025 | 1 of 403 (Under 1%) | 47 of 387 (12%) |
Standard sales of homes at market value that HM Land Registry marks as newly built. New homes take longer to be registered than other sales, so the latest 12 months count fewer of them than were sold. A share is given from 5 sales or more.
Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS) Postcode Directory, August 2026, loaded 20 October 2026; HM Land Registry Price Paid Data, files dated 28 September 2026. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2021, Open Government Licence v3.0. How we use it
What broadband can you get in Atherton?
Ofcom reports on 652 of the 657 postcodes in Atherton. At 564 of them every home and business can get gigabit broadband, and at 1 some cannot get decent broadband (10 Mbit/s).
Ofcom gives each postcode's share of homes and businesses, not how many there are, so these count postcodes. Each postcode page has its own figures. A provider's checker answers for one address.
Check one address on Ofcom's checkerSource: Ofcom, Connected Nations, Spring 2026, data for January 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0. How we use it
Is Atherton at risk of flooding?
69 of the 657 postcodes in Atherton have a home or business in an area at risk of flooding from rivers or the sea, the Environment Agency says. At those, it puts 74 homes and businesses in an area at high or medium risk.
High: 3.3% or more a year (1 in 30). Medium: 1% to 3.3% a year. Low: 0.1% to 1% a year. Very low: under 0.1% a year (1 in 1,000). Each band is the chance of flooding in any one year.
Homes and businesses in an area at risk of flooding from rivers or the sea, as the Environment Agency counts them, added up over the postcodes. It is for the land, not each building, and leaves out surface water, groundwater and sewers. Each postcode page has its own figures and its flood warning areas.
Source: Environment Agency, Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea (postcodes in areas at risk), published 6 July 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0. How we use it
Which schools are in Atherton?
The open schools at the postcodes in Atherton (the first 8 primaries by distance from its middle). A school for ages 4 to 18 is listed under both. Distances are straight lines from the middle of its postcodes. Distance is not a catchment: each council sets its own admission rules.
Primary
- Meadowbank Primary School100 m 220 pupils, 258 places
- St Richard's Roman Catholic Primary School Atherton350 m 184 pupils, 210 places
- St Philip's CofE Primary School, Atherton400 m 397 pupils, 420 places
- Chowbent Primary School450 m 147 pupils, 210 places
- Atherton St George's CofE Primary School600 m 333 pupils, 363 places
- Parklee Primary School600 m 325 pupils, 342 places
- Rowan Tree Primary School1.1 km 131 pupils, 128 places
- Sacred Heart RC Primary School1.3 km 178 pupils, 210 places
Source: Department for Education, Get Information about Schools, read 17 October 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0. Each school opens its own record there. How we use it
How far is the station from Atherton?
The nearest railway station to the centre point of the postcodes in Atherton is Atherton Rail Station, 700 m away in a straight line.
- Atherton Rail Station Railway station 700 mWalk
- Hag Fold Rail Station Railway station 850 mWalk
- Daisy Hill Rail Station Railway station 2.2 kmCycle
Straight-line distances from the centre point, not routes. Walk: under 1.2 km. Cycle: 1.2 to 5 km. Drive: further.
Straight-line distances from the middle of the postcodes, not routes. Each postcode page lists its own nearest stations and bus stops. The Department for Transport's register does not say how often services run.
Source: Department for Transport, NaPTAN, read 17 October 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0. How we use it
Which GP surgeries are in Atherton?
The GP practices at the postcodes in Atherton. Each practice sets the area it takes patients from, so check with it before registering.
- Dr Kk Chan & Partners Care Quality Commission rating: Good CQC report August 2016, over 3 years old · Phone 01942 884026 350 mWalk
- Dr Vasanth Care Quality Commission rating: Good CQC report June 2024 · Phone 01942 481040 750 mWalk
- Meadowview Surgery Care Quality Commission rating: Good CQC report November 2017, over 3 years old · Phone 01942 481060 750 mWalk
- Bee Fold Medical Centre Care Quality Commission rating: Outstanding CQC report August 2019, over 3 years old · Phone 01942 807870 950 mWalk
Source: NHS England, Organisation Data Service (GP practices), read 17 October 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0. How we use it
Is Atherton safe? Crime recorded around it
Greater Manchester's police force has published no crime figures to Police.uk for any month from September 2024 to August 2026, so we have none to show for Atherton. A count from Police.uk here would take in only the few crimes that neighbouring forces record nearby, so we show none rather than a figure that looks like a quiet area.
Crime around one postcodeSource: Police.uk (data.police.uk), from its download of 30 September 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0. How we use it
Who runs Atherton?
- Councils
- Wigan (580) and Bolton (77)
- Parliamentary constituencies
- Leigh and Atherton (580) and Bolton West (77)
- Police force area
- Greater Manchester
- Region
- North West
- Country
- England
Where the place crosses a boundary, a row lists each side with its number of postcodes. Check a postcode for its own. What council am I in?
Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS) Postcode Directory, August 2026, loaded 20 October 2026. See all our data sources
Moving to Atherton
Who to tell and what to sort out in your first week. Most of Atherton is in Wigan; near its edge, check which council a postcode is in.
- Tell Wigan about council tax Council tax, on wigan.gov.uk
- Register to vote at the new address Register to vote on GOV.UK
- Register with a GP practice The GP practices in Atherton
- Take meter readings on the day you move in
- Power cut? Call 105. It is free. About 105, the power cut number
- Find out your bin day Find your rubbish collection day on GOV.UK
Atherton postcodes
657 postcodes in use in Atherton, by district:
Those districts are in the M postcode area, BL postcode area and WN postcode area.
Check a Atherton postcode
Enter a full postcode to see its ward, its flood risk, house prices in its sector and its nearest schools.
Do not know the postcode? What is my postcode?
Places near Atherton
With the typical price of a home in each, to set beside Atherton's £190,000. Distances are straight lines between the middles of each place's postcodes.
Questions about Atherton
- What is it like to live in Atherton?
- Homes sold for a typical £190,000 in the 12 months to August 2026, up 4.4% on the 12 months before. At 564 of the 652 postcodes Ofcom reports on, every home and business can get gigabit broadband. The Environment Agency counts 74 homes and businesses at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea, at 69 of its 657 postcodes. It has at least 8 primary schools and 1 secondary school at its postcodes. 4 GP practices are at its postcodes. The nearest railway station is Atherton, 700 metres from the middle of its postcodes in a straight line. We don't rate places; here are the figures so you can judge. Source: HM Land Registry, Ofcom, the Environment Agency, the Department for Education, NHS England and the Department for Transport, as each section of this page says.
- What is the postcode for Atherton?
- Atherton is covered by postcode districts BL5, M29, M46 and WN7, across 657 postcodes in use. Source: ONS Postcode Directory.
- How much are houses in Atherton?
- Homes in Atherton sold for a typical £190,000 in the 12 months to August 2026, across 308 sales, up 4.4% on the 12 months before. Source: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data, files dated 28 September 2026.
- What schools are in Atherton?
- In Atherton, primary schools at its postcodes include Meadowbank Primary School, St Richard's Roman Catholic Primary School Atherton and St Philip's CofE Primary School, Atherton; secondary schools at its postcodes include Atherton High School. Source: Department for Education, Get Information about Schools, read 17 October 2026.
- Does Atherton have a railway station?
- Yes: Atherton is 700 metres from the centre point of the postcodes in Atherton, in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, NaPTAN, read 17 October 2026.
- What broadband can you get in Atherton?
- Ofcom reports on 652 of the 657 postcodes in Atherton. At 564 of them every home and business can get gigabit broadband, and at 1 some cannot get decent broadband (10 Mbit/s). Source: Ofcom, Connected Nations, Spring 2026.
- Is Atherton at risk of flooding?
- 69 of the 657 postcodes in Atherton have a home or business in an area at risk of flooding from rivers or the sea, the Environment Agency says. At those, it puts 74 homes and businesses in an area at high or medium risk. This is long-term risk for the land, and leaves out surface water. Source: Environment Agency.
- Are new homes being built in Atherton?
- 7 of the 657 postcodes now in use in Atherton came into use in January 2020 or later, ONS says. In the 12 months to August 2025, 1 of the 403 homes sold in Atherton were newly built (Under 1%), HM Land Registry's records show; across the M46 district, 12%. Source: ONS Postcode Directory and HM Land Registry Price Paid Data.
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