B20 1AR Birmingham
Live postcode, introduced January 1980. Ward: Handsworth Wood. Region: West Midlands.
Streets
- Grestone Avenue, Birmingham: 21 addresses
Council tax
What each band costs in Birmingham in 2026-27: Band D £2,363 a year on average, including the police, fire and any county and parish charges.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £1,575 | £1,838 | £2,100 | £2,363 | £2,888 | £3,413 | £3,938 | £4,726 |
Homes by band in the neighbourhood around this postcode: most are in band D (31% of about 640 homes).
Planning and heritage
- Conservation area: no postcode centre in this postcode is in one.
- Listed buildings within 100 m of this postcode: none.
- Article 4 direction (removing permitted development rights): CITY WIDE HMO.
- Tree preservation orders: none recorded, though not every council has published theirs.
- Green belt: no.
Brownfield land registered for housing within 1 km (0.6 miles)
- 1 Friary Road, Handsworth Wood, Birmingham, B20 1BD: up to 1 home, permissioned (410 m (0.3 miles))
- ADJACENT 176 GRESTONE AVENUE: up to 1 home, permissioned (530 m (0.3 miles))
- 106 Somerset Road, Handsworth Wood, Birmingham, B20 2JG: up to 1 home, permissioned (600 m (0.4 miles))
- The Uplands, Oxhill Road, Handsworth, Birmingham: up to 39 homes, permissioned (650 m (0.4 miles))
- St John Wall Roman Catholic School, Oxhill Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, permissioned (700 m (0.4 miles))
- 29 SOMERSET ROAD: up to 2 homes, permissioned (700 m (0.4 miles))
- Sharmway, 113 Handsworth Wood Road, Handsworth Wood, Birmingham, permissioned (780 m (0.5 miles))
- Sharmway, 113 Handsworth Wood Road, Handsworth Wood: up to 1 home, permissioned (790 m (0.5 miles))
Flood risk
Rivers, the sea or surface water: in this postcode, 0 addresses are in areas at high risk, 0 at medium risk and 4 at low risk. Each address counts once, at the higher of its rivers-and-sea and surface-water risk.
Rivers and the sea alone: no home is in an area at risk.
High: 3.3% (1 in 30) or more chance of flooding a year. Medium: 1% to 3.3%. Low: 0.1% to 1%. Very low: under 0.1%. The rivers and sea figures allow for flood defences. Counts cover whole postcodes, which can include other streets.
Flood zone for planning: no postcode centre is in flood zone 2 or 3.
Height above sea level
The postcode's 21 addresses are between 120 m and 128 m above sea level (123 m on average).
Broadband
Superfast 100%, ultrafast 100%, gigabit 100% of premises; 0% cannot get 10 Mbit/s. Ofcom Connected Nations, data as at January 2026.
Getting around
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Railway stations | Hamstead (Birmingham) 231,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 1.5 km (1 mile) |
| The Hawthorns 334,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 2.3 km (1.4 miles) | |
| Perry Barr 185,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 2.5 km (1.5 miles) | |
| Bus stops | 4 stops within 400 m (0.2 miles), 35 within 800 m (0.5 miles); nearest Ashcombe Avenue Leveretts | 20 m |
| Bus or coach station | West Bromwich Bus Station | 3.8 km (2.4 miles) |
| Car parks | Baker Street Car Park | 1.7 km (1 mile) |
| EV charging points | 8 within 1.6 km (1 mile); nearest ubitricity | 610 m (0.4 miles) |
| Airport with scheduled flights | Birmingham Airport BHX | 14.8 km (9.2 miles) |
Local services
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| GP surgeries | 3 practices within 1.6 km (1 mile); nearest The Slieve Surgery | 790 m (0.5 miles) |
| Pharmacies | 5 pharmacies within 1.6 km (1 mile); nearest Gill Pharmacy | 480 m (0.3 miles) |
| NHS dentists | 5 practices within 1.6 km (1 mile); nearest Dental Surgery | 570 m (0.4 miles) |
| Hospital | Midland Metropolitan University Hospital | 3.1 km (1.9 miles) |
| Police station | Thornhill Road Police Station | 1.8 km (1.1 miles) |
| Cash machines | 4 machines within 800 m (0.5 miles); nearest Mibsons Service Station Uplands Cashzone | 470 m (0.3 miles) |
Parks and green space
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Park or garden | Handsworth Park 27 ha | 1.1 km (0.7 miles) |
| Play area | 1 within 800 m (0.5 miles); nearest Unnamed 540 m² | 450 m (0.3 miles) |
| Playing field | Unnamed 8.6 ha | 1.1 km (0.7 miles) |
| Allotments | 2 within 800 m (0.5 miles); nearest Uplands Allotments 15 ha | 190 m |
Landmarks
The nearest historic landmark is Parish Church of St Andrew, a listed building (Grade I), 500 m (0.3 miles) south. 11 listed buildings are within 1 km (0.6 miles), 1 of them Grade I and 1 of them Grade II*.
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| Parish Church of St Andrew | Listed building, Grade I | 500 m (0.3 miles) south |
| The Anchorage | Listed building, Grade II* | 590 m (0.4 miles) east |
| Handsworth Park (Formerly Victoria Park) | Registered park or garden, Grade II | 1.3 km (0.8 miles) south-east |
| Sandwell Priory, a Benedictine monastery | Scheduled monument | 1.8 km (1.1 miles) west |
| Dartmouth Park | Registered park or garden, Grade II | 3 km (1.9 miles) west |
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| Garden Grove | Wood | 1.5 km (0.9 miles) north |
| Halfmoon Plantation | Wood | 1.6 km (1 mile) north-east |
| Forge Mill Lake | Lake or reservoir | 1.7 km (1.1 miles) north-west |
| Swan Pool | Lake or reservoir | 2 km (1.2 miles) north-west |
| Priory Woods | Wood | 2.3 km (1.4 miles) west |
| Bromford Stop | Island | 4.8 km (3 miles) west |
Air quality
| Pollutant | Here | UK limit | WHO guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 14.5 | 40 | 10 |
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 8.1 | 20 | 5 |
| Particles (PM10) | 12.5 | 40 | 15 |
All three are within the UK legal limits; nitrogen dioxide and PM2.5 are above the WHO guideline, as in most towns and cities.
Road and rail noise
| Level | Road traffic | Railways |
|---|---|---|
| Under 55 | 21 | 21 |
None of the postcode's 21 addresses is modelled at 55 dB or more from road traffic or railways.
People and work
Who lives here
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Median age | 41 | 40 |
| Children under 15 | 16% | 17% |
| Aged 65 and over | 18% | 18% |
Homes
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Owned (outright or with a mortgage) | 88% | 61% |
| Owned outright | 54% | 33% |
| Shared ownership | 0% | 1% |
| Social rented | under 1% | 17% |
| Private rented | 11% | 21% |
Work and commuting
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Adults (16 and over) in work | 49% | 57% |
| Unemployment (of those working or looking for work) | 5% | 6% |
| Retired (of adults) | 19% | 22% |
| Long-term sick or disabled (of adults) | 4% | 4% |
| Work mainly from home (of those in work) | 31% | 32% |
| Travel to work by car or van | 53% | 48% |
| By train, Underground, metro or tram | 2% | 4% |
| By any public transport, including bus | 6% | 8% |
| On foot or by bicycle | 9% | 10% |
| Work within 10 km (6 miles) of home (of those who travel to work) | 75% | 65% |
| Work 30 km (19 miles) or more away | 4% | 8% |
Education and languages
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Degree or other higher qualification, Level 4+ (of adults) | 29% | 34% |
| No qualifications | 28% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship as highest qualification | 1% | 5% |
| Main language English (aged 3 and over) | 70% | 91% |
| Cannot speak English well or at all | 10% | 2% |
Deprivation
The neighbourhood around this postcode is in decile 5 of 10 on the English Indices of Deprivation 2025, where 1 is the most deprived tenth of England's 33,755 neighbourhoods and 10 the least.
The full dossier for this postcode's main street is on Grestone Avenue.