B21 0RE Birmingham
Live postcode, introduced January 1980. Ward: Soho & Jewellery Quarter. Region: West Midlands.
Streets
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 A (59% of about 540 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 1.0 km
- 52A BOULTON ROAD: up to 2 homes, permissioned (220 m)
- Al Noor Shopping Centre, 263-265 Soho Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, B21 9RY: up to 8 homes, permissioned (370 m)
- 15 BOOTH STREET: up to 8 homes, permissioned (400 m)
- 10 Dawson Road: up to 14 homes, permissioned (430 m)
- WESTERN BUSINESS PARK: up to 310 homes, permissioned (460 m)
- SITE OF 1,3 AND 5 WAVERHILL ROAD: up to 12 homes, permissioned (620 m)
- LAND ADJACENT 80 JAMES TURNER STREET: up to 1 home, permissioned (630 m)
- 12 & 14a Holyhead Road, Handsworth: up to 18 homes, not permissioned (640 m)
Flood risk
Rivers, the sea or surface water: in this postcode, 0 addresses are in areas at high risk, 0 at medium risk and 2 at low risk. Each address counts once, at the higher of its rivers-and-sea and surface-water risk.
Rivers and the sea alone: of the 38 homes the Environment Agency counts, 1 are in areas at high risk, 0 medium, 0 low and 0 very low.
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 45 addresses are between 126 m and 137 m above sea level (130 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 | The Hawthorns 334,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 1.8 km |
| Jewellery Quarter 446,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 2.1 km | |
| Smethwick Rolfe Street 404,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 2.2 km | |
| Underground, metro or tram | Winson Green Outer Circle (West Midlands Metro) | 190 m |
| Soho Benson Road (West Midlands Metro) | 630 m | |
| Handsworth Booth Street (West Midlands Metro) | 1.0 km | |
| Bus stops | 13 stops within 400 m, 38 within 800 m; nearest Tew Park Road Handsworth | 30 m |
| Bus or coach station | West Bromwich Bus Station | 4.2 km |
| Car parks | 1 within 800 m; nearest Baker Street Car Park | 450 m |
| EV charging points | 14 within 1.6 km; nearest Shell Recharge Charging Station | 700 m |
| Airport with scheduled flights | Birmingham Airport BHX | 13.9 km |
Local services
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| GP surgeries | 12 practices within 1.6 km; nearest Kirpal Medical Practice | 360 m |
| Pharmacies | 12 pharmacies within 1.6 km; nearest Deu-Chem LTD | 350 m |
| NHS dentists | 10 practices within 1.6 km; nearest Hapi Dental | 350 m |
| Hospital | Midland Metropolitan University Hospital | 1.3 km |
| Police station | Thornhill Road Police Station | 750 m |
| Cash machines | 3 machines within 800 m; nearest Payzone | 10 m |
Parks and green space
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Park or garden | 5 within 800 m; nearest Unnamed 1.2 ha | 430 m |
| Play area | 6 within 800 m; nearest Unnamed 250 m² | 460 m |
| Playing field | 4 within 800 m; nearest The Black Patch Recreation Ground 6.3 ha | 450 m |
| Allotments | 2 within 800 m; nearest Unnamed 960 m² | 460 m |
Within 800 m: 5 parks and gardens, 3.2 hectares in all.
Landmarks
The nearest historic landmark is Bishop Latimer Memorial Church of All Saints, a listed building (Grade II*), 400 m south. 27 listed buildings are within 1.0 km, 3 of them Grade II*.
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| Bishop Latimer Memorial Church of All Saints | Listed building, Grade II* | 400 m south |
| The Red Lion Public House | Listed building, Grade II* | 400 m north |
| Remains of the Boulton and Watt Soho foundry and mint, Birmingham Canal, Smethwick | Scheduled monument | 920 m west |
| Soho Foundry Former Boulton and Watt Foundry Pattern Stores and Erecting Shops | Listed building, Grade II* | 950 m west |
| Handsworth Park (Formerly Victoria Park) | Registered park or garden, Grade II | 1.3 km north-east |
| Smethwick Engine House | Scheduled monument | 1.7 km west |
| Key Hill Cemetery | Registered park or garden, Grade II* | 1.9 km south-east |
| Engine Arm Aqueduct, Warley | Scheduled monument | 1.9 km west |
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| Soho Loop | Lake or reservoir | 1.6 km south-east |
| Icknield Port Loop | Lake or reservoir | 2.3 km south |
| Halfmoon Plantation | Wood | 3.0 km north-east |
| Smethwick Hall Pool | Lake or reservoir | 3.1 km west |
| Priory Woods | Wood | 3.2 km north-west |
| Bromford Stop | Island | 4.7 km west |
Air quality
| Pollutant | Here | UK limit | WHO guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 16.2 | 40 | 10 |
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 8.2 | 20 | 5 |
| Particles (PM10) | 12.9 | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 70 to 74 | 9 | 0 |
| 65 to 69 | 25 | 0 |
| 60 to 64 | 2 | 0 |
| Under 55 | 9 | 45 |
36 of the postcode's 45 addresses are modelled at 55 dB or more from road traffic, above the WHO guidelines.
People and work
Who lives here
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Median age | 35 | 40 |
| Children under 15 | 22% | 17% |
| Aged 65 and over | 9% | 18% |
Homes
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Owned (outright or with a mortgage) | 46% | 61% |
| Owned outright | 28% | 33% |
| Shared ownership | 3% | 1% |
| Social rented | 14% | 17% |
| Private rented | 38% | 21% |
Work and commuting
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Adults (16 and over) in work | 52% | 57% |
| Unemployment (of those working or looking for work) | 12% | 6% |
| Retired (of adults) | 6% | 22% |
| Long-term sick or disabled (of adults) | 7% | 4% |
| Work mainly from home (of those in work) | 12% | 32% |
| Travel to work by car or van | 48% | 48% |
| By train, Underground, metro or tram | 5% | 4% |
| By any public transport, including bus | 25% | 8% |
| On foot or by bicycle | 12% | 10% |
| Work within 10 km of home (of those who travel to work) | 70% | 65% |
| Work 30 km or more away | 10% | 8% |
Education and languages
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Degree or other higher qualification, Level 4+ (of adults) | 20% | 34% |
| No qualifications | 38% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship as highest qualification | 3% | 5% |
| Main language English (aged 3 and over) | 62% | 91% |
| Cannot speak English well or at all | 13% | 2% |
Deprivation
The neighbourhood around this postcode is in decile 1 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.