Buying a home in OL16 (Rochdale)
OL16 covers the Balderstone & Kirkholt, Bamford, Central Rochdale, Kingsway, Littleborough Lakeside, Milkstone & Deeplish, Milnrow & Newhey, Shaw, Smallbridge & Firgrove and Wardle, Shore & West Littleborough wards, in Oldham and Rochdale.
What the records show in OL16 (Rochdale): parts of the area are a radon Affected Area, with up to 10–30% of homes above the action level; the British Geological Survey rates landslides as significant near all 8 postcodes we checked; and old landfill lies within 500 m of 4 of the 8 postcodes we checked.
Land Registry recorded 15 sales there in the last 3 years, with a median price of £185,000, and the most common were semi-detached homes.
From official records at 8 postcodes. Conditions change from street to street, so check the home you're buying.
Check a home in OL16
Enter a postcode or address for the free area check at that exact postcode.
At a glance
- Rivers and seaOutside mapped flood areas at all 8 postcodes we checked
- Surface waterLow or very low at all 7 postcodes we checked
- RadonUp to 10–30% of homes above the action level
- GroundLandslides and clay shrink-swell recorded nearby
- Median sale£185,000 across 15 sales in the last 3 years
Facts from official records at sample postcodes, not a rating of OL16 or of any home.
Flooding from rivers and the sea
We checked each postcode centre against the Environment Agency's flood zones.
All 8 postcodes we checked are outside mapped river and sea flood areas. Homes nearer a river or the coast can still be in one.
Surface water flooding
Flooding from heavy rain that can't drain away.
- Low: 2 of 7 postcodes
- Very low: 5 of 7 postcodes
We couldn't check 1 postcode when this guide was built, so they aren't counted above.
Radon
From the UK Health Security Agency's map of each 1 km square.
At all 8 postcodes we checked, parts of the surrounding square are a radon Affected Area. The highest is up to 10–30% of homes above the action level.
The map shows the highest value in each square, not a measurement for any home. A three-month test tells you about a particular house.
Ground stability
British Geological Survey ratings for the surrounding area, not a particular plot.
- Landslides: significant near all 8 postcodes we checked
- Clay shrink-swell: moderate near all 8 postcodes we checked
Non-coal mining hazard is low or none at every postcode we checked.
Ask your surveyor to look for cracking and movement, and the seller about subsidence claims.
Old landfill sites
Historic landfill sites within 500 m of each postcode centre.
Most old landfill causes no problems, but a home on or next to one can be harder to mortgage.
Conservation areas and listed buildings
Whether each postcode centre falls in a conservation area, on a listed building's site, or under similar protections.
None of the 8 postcode centres we checked falls in a conservation area or on a listed building's site.
Broadband and mobile
Ofcom's predictions for every address at the 8 postcodes we checked.
We couldn't get Ofcom's figures when this guide was built.
House prices
The average price in Rochdale was £211,022 in August 2026, up 3.3% on a year earlier, across every home in the council area.
At the postcodes we checked, Land Registry has 15 sales in the last 3 years, with a median of £185,000 and a range of £120,000 to £246,312.
| Type | Sales | Median price |
|---|---|---|
| Semi-detached | 12 | £182,500 |
| Terraced | 3 | £193,500 |
Crime
Measured around OL16 4AL, near the centre of OL16.
0 crimes were reported within about a mile of the centre in the latest month. Town centres usually have more, because of shops and nightlife.
Schools near the centre
The nearest schools by distance. Distance doesn't decide a place: each council's admissions rules do.
- Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy
Primary · ages 3–11 · Academy converter · 230 m
- St Peter's Church of England Primary School
Primary · ages 3–11 · Voluntary controlled school · 770 m
- Moorhouse Academy
Primary · ages 3–11 · Academy sponsor led · 850 m
- Belfield Community School
Primary · ages 3–11 · Community school · 990 m
- Raise Rochdale Pupil Referral Service
Primary and secondary · ages 5–16 · Pupil referral unit · 1.0 km
- Kingsway Park High School
Secondary · ages 11–16 · Academy converter · 990 m
- Brookland School
Secondary · ages 7–16 · Other independent special school · 1.8 km
- Hollingworth Academy
Secondary · ages 11–16 · Academy converter · 1.9 km
Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council: Primary admissions ↗ · Secondary admissions ↗
Postcode by postcode
Each row is one postcode centre we checked. Open a postcode for the full free area check.
| Postcode | Rivers and sea | Surface water | Radon | Ground | Landfill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OL16 4AL | Outside | Very low | 10–30% | Significant: landslides | None within 500 m |
| OL16 3AL | Outside | Very low | 1–3% | Significant: landslides | 3 within 500 m |
| OL16 3BJ | Outside | Not checked | 1–3% | Significant: landslides | 3 within 500 m |
| OL16 5AW | Outside | Very low | 1–3% | Significant: landslides | 3 within 500 m |
| OL16 5EA | Outside | Very low | 10–30% | Significant: landslides | None within 500 m |
| OL16 4FW | Outside | Low | 10–30% | Significant: landslides | None within 500 m |
| OL16 4JN | Outside | Low | 10–30% | Significant: landslides | None within 500 m |
| OL16 5BE | Outside | Very low | 1–3% | Significant: landslides | 3 within 500 m |
What this guide can't tell you
- It covers 8 postcodes, not every street, and leaves out planning applications: check the postcode you're buying in.
- It isn't a survey, a search or advice, and doesn't rate OL16 or any home.
Sources
Checked 30 October 2026. We refresh these guides every month.
- HM Land Registry Price Paid Data
- Contains British Geological Survey materials © UKRI 2026. BGS/UKHSA Indicative Atlas of Radon
- Environment Agency, Historic Landfill Sites (Environment Agency Conditional Licence). Contains Environment Agency information © Environment Agency and/or database right.
- British Geological Survey, GeoSure 5 km and mining hazard 1 km hex grids (Open Government Licence). Contains NERC materials ©NERC 2026.
- Environment Agency, Risk of Flooding from Surface Water (Open Government Licence)
- UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry and Registers of Scotland), Open Government Licence. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right. Contains Registers of Scotland data © Crown copyright and database right.
- data.police.uk street-level crime (Open Government Licence)
- Department for Education, Get Information about Schools (Open Government Licence)
- Planning Data England (planning.data.gov.uk)