Written By Faryal Raza Bhatti, Marketing Manager, Heritage Car Insurance
Expert commentary by Mark Wilkinson, Managing Director. Heritage Car Insurance
Last updated: August 2026
East of England is home to 177,929 classic cars, the third region with largest number of classic cars. We analysed the latest DVLA data to find the exact postcode districts where the most historic vehicles are registered, and how many are still being driven.
At Heritage Car Insurance, we’ve spent more than 60 years insuring classic and specialist vehicles, so we know how much where you live shapes classic car ownership. To map it properly, we obtained a Freedom of Information response from the DVLA covering every vehicle in its historic tax class, cars 40 years or older, and broke East of England down to postcode-district level.
The result is a clear ranking of the classic car hotspots across East of England, showing not just where the most classics are kept, but whether they’re taxed and on the road or tucked away off it.
The top spot goes to PE12 (Spalding), with 2,905 classic cars, ahead of CO10 (Sudbury) (2,497) and CM3 (Chelmsford) (2,288).
Which postcode has the most classic cars in East of England?
PE12 (Spalding) leads East of England with 2,905 historic vehicles. Of those, 1,580 are taxed and on the road and 1,325 are declared off the road on a SORN. The full top 20 is below.
The top 20 classic car hotspots in East of England
| Rank | Postcode district | Taxed | SORN | Total |
| 1 | PE12 (Spalding) | 1,580 | 1,325 | 2,905 |
| 2 | CO10 (Sudbury) | 1,382 | 1,115 | 2,497 |
| 3 | CM3 (Chelmsford) | 1,322 | 966 | 2,288 |
| 4 | PE22 (Boston) | 1,064 | 1,139 | 2,203 |
| 5 | IP14 (Stowmarket) | 1,260 | 872 | 2,132 |
| 6 | PE28 (Huntingdon) | 1,164 | 920 | 2,084 |
| 7 | PE14 (Wisbech) | 988 | 1,085 | 2,073 |
| 8 | IP13 (Woodbridge) | 927 | 1,097 | 2,024 |
| 9 | CB6 (Ely) | 963 | 808 | 1,771 |
| 10 | CO7 (Colchester) | 915 | 815 | 1,730 |
| 11 | IP22 (Diss) | 957 | 735 | 1,692 |
| 12 | SG8 | 955 | 710 | 1,665 |
| 13 | CO9 | 873 | 755 | 1,628 |
| 14 | PE11 (Spalding) | 836 | 766 | 1,602 |
| 15 | NR20 (Dereham) | 860 | 713 | 1,573 |
| 16 | PE13 (Wisbech) | 750 | 809 | 1,559 |
| 17 | LU7 | 880 | 669 | 1,549 |
| 18 | PE6 | 892 | 643 | 1,535 |
| 19 | CM7 | 846 | 686 | 1,532 |
| 20 | NR12 (Wroxham) | 814 | 714 | 1,528 |
Source: DVLA (FOIR13488), Heritage Car Insurance analysis. Figures combine taxed and SORN vehicles per postcode district.
Are East of England’s classic cars driven or stored?
Across East of England, 54.5% of classic cars are taxed and on the road, while 45.5% are declared off the road on a SORN. That’s a lower off-road rate than the UK average, suggesting owners here are getting good use out of their classics. Nationally, the split between taxed and SORN classics is almost exactly even, and it shifts noticeably from place to place.
