What it's like to live in Fazeley

Fazeley is largely a home-owning town in a home-owning district. Across the Lichfield council area, 73.3% of homes are owned outright or with a mortgage, 12.7% are privately rented and 13% are social rented, a little below the England figure of 17.1%. Of that social housing, the great majority is housing association rather than council: just 1.6% is council-owned.

That matters for a swap. Bromford Housing Association is by far the biggest landlord locally with over 5,000 homes, followed by Midland Heart, Platform Housing, Walsall Housing Group and Orbit. If you are hoping to move here, your exchange will most likely be with a housing association tenant.

Rents are reasonable by national standards. Average weekly social rents in the Lichfield area for 2024/25 were about £95 for a one bed, £111 for two beds and £123 for three. For context on demand, 583 households were on the council's housing register at March 2025 and 319 social homes were let through the council that year. A register is not a straight queue, but it shows a mutual exchange is often the more practical route in.

There is a good cluster of primary schools here. Millfield Primary School is the closest at roughly 0.2 miles, with Two Gates Community Primary School about 0.6 miles away, Hanbury's Farm Primary School around 0.9 miles, and St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School about a mile. Having several within pram-pushing distance gives you real choice, which is not always the case in a town this size.

For secondary, Two Rivers High School is about 1.5 miles away and The Wilnecote School about 1.6 miles. Landau Forte Academy QEMS is roughly 1.9 miles, Landau Forte Academy Amington about 2 miles, and The Rawlett School around 2.6 miles. Most of these are a short bus ride or a manageable cycle. Always check admissions and catchment yourself before you commit to a swap.

For the rest of family life, Victory Terrace Recreation Ground is practically on the doorstep, and the Dino Trail and Tameside Local Nature Reserve are both around 0.4 miles. County Drive and Manor Road recreation grounds add more open space. Tamworth Library is about 1.4 miles, with Wilnecote and Glascote libraries a similar distance.

Fazeley is small enough to cross on foot, and most of the essentials, the shops, the pharmacy, the pubs and Victory Terrace Recreation Ground, sit within a few minutes' walk of the centre.

For trains, Wilnecote station is about 0.9 miles away and Tamworth station about 1.6 miles. Tamworth is the bigger of the two and puts a good range of destinations within reach, including the West Midlands and points north and south. Whether you walk, cycle or catch a bus to the station will depend on where in Fazeley you land.

Buses run from Atherstone Street right in the town, with further stops at Drayton Manor Park and outside the Asda store towards Tamworth. That covers local trips into town well enough, though as with most smaller places, check evening and Sunday times before you rely on them.

By car you are close to the main routes around Tamworth, which makes commuting to Birmingham or across Staffordshire realistic. Parking varies street by street, so it is worth looking at the specific road when you view a property.

Drayton Manor is the headline attraction and it is right here, about 0.6 miles away, with its own 4D cinema. If you have children, having that on your doorstep rather than a day trip away is a genuine perk, and the bus stop at Drayton Manor Park makes it easy to reach.

For everyday outings, Tameside Local Nature Reserve and the Dino Trail are both within half a mile, and there are several recreation grounds for a kickabout or a dog walk. Ventura Retail Park, Ankerside Shopping Centre and Tame Retail and Trade Park are all a mile or so away for shopping, and ODEON Luxe Tamworth covers mainstream cinema.

Fazeley has a decent run of pubs for its size: The Fazeley Inn, the Three Horseshoes, The Plough and Harrow, The Three Tuns and Fazeley Park Restaurant are all close to the centre. For anything livelier you head into Tamworth, where ATIK is about 1.5 miles away. On the fitness side, Gym Unity is around 0.2 miles, with CrossFit Tamworth, PureGym and Castle Strength & Conditioning roughly a mile off.

Fazeley's position is its strongest card for work. You are on the edge of Tamworth, close to main roads and within easy reach of two train stations, so commuting into Birmingham or across Staffordshire is realistic whether you drive or take the train.

Locally, the retail parks and shopping centres around Tamworth are a significant source of jobs, along with the supermarkets, the leisure attractions nearby and health services including Sir Robert Peel Community Hospital, about a mile away. Pubs, shops and gyms in Fazeley itself provide some work closer to home.

Across the wider Lichfield council area, 57% of adults are in work, almost exactly the England figure of 57.4%. Unemployment sits at 2.4%, below the England rate of 3.5%, and claimant numbers are similarly low at 2.4% of working-age people against 4% nationally. That points to a fairly steady local jobs picture, though it says nothing about pay. If your work is tied to a particular site, check the door-to-door journey before you agree a swap.