B21 8ET Birmingham
Live postcode, introduced January 1980. Ward: Handsworth Wood. Region: West Midlands.
Streets
- Friary Gardens, Birmingham: 33 addresses
- Unnamed street near Friary Gardens, Handsworth: 1 address
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 (79% of about 570 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
- 1 Friary Road, Handsworth Wood, Birmingham, B20 1BD: up to 1 home, permissioned (190 m)
- The Uplands, Oxhill Road, Handsworth, Birmingham: up to 39 homes, permissioned (270 m)
- St John Wall Roman Catholic School, Oxhill Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, permissioned (390 m)
- 106 Somerset Road, Handsworth Wood, Birmingham, B20 2JG: up to 1 home, permissioned (730 m)
- Land south of, 69 Laurel Road, Handsworth, Birmingham: up to 1 home, permissioned (840 m)
- ADJACENT 176 GRESTONE AVENUE: up to 1 home, permissioned (880 m)
- 29 SOMERSET ROAD: up to 2 homes, permissioned (920 m)
Flood risk
Rivers, the sea or surface water: in this postcode, 0 addresses are in areas at high risk, 1 at medium risk and 0 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.
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 | 1.9 km |
| Hamstead (Birmingham) 231,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 1.9 km | |
| Perry Barr 185,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 2.7 km | |
| Underground, metro or tram | Handsworth Booth Street (West Midlands Metro) | 1.7 km |
| The Hawthorns (West Midlands Metro) | 1.9 km | |
| Winson Green Outer Circle (West Midlands Metro) | 1.9 km | |
| Bus stops | 11 stops within 400 m, 28 within 800 m; nearest Friary Gardens Leveretts | 110 m |
| Bus or coach station | West Bromwich Bus Station | 3.5 km |
| Car parks | Baker Street Car Park | 1.5 km |
| EV charging points | 9 within 1.6 km; nearest ubitricity | 340 m |
| Airport with scheduled flights | Birmingham Airport BHX | 14.9 km |
Local services
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| GP surgeries | 7 practices within 1.6 km; nearest The Slieve Surgery | 1.1 km |
| Pharmacies | 8 pharmacies within 1.6 km; nearest Gill Pharmacy | 260 m |
| NHS dentists | 7 practices within 1.6 km; nearest Dental Surgery | 350 m |
| Hospital | Midland Metropolitan University Hospital | 2.8 km |
| Police station | Thornhill Road Police Station | 1.7 km |
| Cash machines | 5 machines within 800 m; nearest Mibsons Service Station Uplands Cashzone | 80 m |
Parks and green space
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Park or garden | Handsworth Park 27 ha | 1.1 km |
| Play area | Unnamed 540 m² | 840 m |
| Playing field | Sandwell Recreation Ground 3.8 ha | 1.0 km |
| Allotments | 3 within 800 m; nearest Uplands Allotments 15 ha | 120 m |
People and work
Who lives here
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Median age | 35 | 40 |
| Children under 15 | 20% | 17% |
| Aged 65 and over | 14% | 18% |
Homes
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Owned (outright or with a mortgage) | 45% | 61% |
| Owned outright | 30% | 33% |
| Shared ownership | 2% | 1% |
| Social rented | 14% | 17% |
| Private rented | 38% | 21% |
Work and commuting
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Adults (16 and over) in work | 48% | 57% |
| Unemployment (of those working or looking for work) | 11% | 6% |
| Retired (of adults) | 17% | 22% |
| Long-term sick or disabled (of adults) | 4% | 4% |
| Work mainly from home (of those in work) | 16% | 32% |
| Travel to work by car or van | 51% | 48% |
| By train, Underground, metro or tram | under 1% | 4% |
| By any public transport, including bus | 25% | 8% |
| On foot or by bicycle | 5% | 10% |
| Work within 10 km of home (of those who travel to work) | 82% | 65% |
| Work 30 km or more away | 5% | 8% |
Education and languages
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Degree or other higher qualification, Level 4+ (of adults) | 25% | 34% |
| No qualifications | 32% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship as highest qualification | 8% | 5% |
| Main language English (aged 3 and over) | 63% | 91% |
| Cannot speak English well or at all | 15% | 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.
The full dossier for this postcode's main street is on Friary Gardens.