B5 6AX Birmingham
Live postcode, introduced January 1980. Ward: Bordesley & Highgate. Region: West Midlands.
Streets
- Cheapside, Birmingham: 12 addresses
- Rea Street, Birmingham: 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 C (41% of about 1,700 homes).
Planning and heritage
- Conservation area: no postcode centre in this postcode is in one.
- Listed buildings within 100 m of this postcode: 1.
- 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.
Listed buildings
- THE ANCHOR PUBLIC HOUSE, grade II
Brownfield land registered for housing within 1 km (0.6 miles)
- Land bounded by Bradford Street, Moseley Street, Barford Street and Rea Street, Digbeth, Birmingham ,: up to 771 homes, permissioned (110 m)
- Smithfield Quarter: up to 1,789 homes, not permissioned (130 m)
- Connaught Square, High Street Deritend, Bordesley & Highgate: up to 167 homes, not permissioned (190 m)
- Wholesale markets , Barford St, Bordesley & Highgate: up to 1,195 homes, not permissioned (240 m)
- LAND BOUNDED BY BRADFORD STREET AND BIRCHALL STREET AND CHEAPSIDE: up to 484 homes, permissioned (260 m)
- Digbeth High Street Major Development Site 1: up to 770 homes, not permissioned (270 m)
- Land bounded by Sherlock Street, Bishop Street and Hurst Street: up to 551 homes, permissioned (270 m)
- Btw Sherlock St / Bishop St / Barford St, Bordesley & Highgate: up to 100 homes, not permissioned (280 m)
Flood risk
Rivers, the sea or surface water: in this postcode, 1 address is in areas at high risk, 0 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: the postcode centre is in flood zone 3. Zone 3 is a 1% (1 in 100) or greater annual chance of flooding from rivers, or 0.5% from the sea, ignoring defences.
Height above sea level
The postcode's addresses are about 104 m above sea level.
Broadband
Superfast 0%, ultrafast 0%, gigabit 0% of premises; 0% cannot get 10 Mbit/s. Ofcom Connected Nations, data as at January 2026.
Getting around
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Railway stations | Birmingham Moor Street 7.1 million journeys in 2024–25 | 620 m (0.4 miles) |
| Bordesley 29,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 820 m (0.5 miles) | |
| Birmingham New Street 37 million journeys in 2024–25 | 860 m (0.5 miles) | |
| Underground, metro or tram | Digbeth High Street (West Midlands Metro) | 220 m |
| Meriden Street (West Midlands Metro) | 550 m (0.3 miles) | |
| Albert Street (West Midlands Metro) | 770 m (0.5 miles) | |
| Bus stops | 27 stops within 400 m (0.2 miles), 93 within 800 m (0.5 miles); nearest Wholesale Market Digbeth | 70 m |
| Bus or coach station | Birmingham Coach Station Digbeth | 160 m |
| Car parks | 13 within 800 m (0.5 miles); nearest Digbeth Carpark | 330 m |
| EV charging points | 12 within 1.6 km (1 mile); nearest Apcoa Charging Station | 810 m (0.5 miles) |
| Airport with scheduled flights | Birmingham Airport BHX | 9.9 km (6.1 miles) |
Local services
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| GP surgeries | 7 practices within 1.6 km (1 mile); nearest Halcyon Medical | 870 m (0.5 miles) |
| Pharmacies | 13 pharmacies within 1.6 km (1 mile); nearest Boots | 560 m (0.3 miles) |
| NHS dentists | 9 practices within 1.6 km (1 mile); nearest Night Dental Limited | 600 m (0.4 miles) |
| Hospital | Birmingham Children's Hospital | 1.3 km (0.8 miles) |
| Police station | Digbeth Police Station | 280 m |
| Cash machines | 4 machines within 800 m (0.5 miles); nearest Arcadian Centre NatWest | 450 m (0.3 miles) |
Parks and green space
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Park or garden | 1 within 800 m (0.5 miles); nearest Highgate Park 3.3 ha | 480 m (0.3 miles) |
| Play area | 1 within 800 m (0.5 miles); nearest Unnamed 490 m² | 570 m (0.4 miles) |
| Playing field | Unnamed 3,490 m² | 1.3 km (0.8 miles) |
| Allotments | Storrs Place Private Allotments 1,750 m² | 2 km (1.2 miles) |
Within 800 m (0.5 miles): 1 park or garden, 3.3 hectares in all.
Landmarks
The nearest historic landmark is The de Birmingham moated site, the seat of the medieval Lords of Birmingham, a scheduled monument, 280 m north-west. 81 listed buildings are within 1 km (0.6 miles), 1 of them Grade I and 9 of them Grade II*.
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| The de Birmingham moated site, the seat of the medieval Lords of Birmingham | Scheduled monument | 280 m north-west |
| The Listed Building (formerly Floodgate School), Digbeth Campus, South Birmingham College | Listed building, Grade II* | 320 m north-east |
| The Old Crown Public House | Listed building, Grade II* | 430 m (0.3 miles) east |
| Parish Church of St Martin | Listed building, Grade II* | 440 m (0.3 miles) north-west |
| Monument to Lord Nelson | Listed building, Grade II* | 510 m (0.3 miles) north-west |
| Warstone Lane Cemetery | Registered park or garden, Grade II | 2.4 km (1.5 miles) north-west |
| Key Hill Cemetery | Registered park or garden, Grade II* | 2.5 km (1.6 miles) north-west |
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| Icknield Port Loop | Lake or reservoir | 2.8 km (1.8 miles) west |
| Soho Loop | Lake or reservoir | 3 km (1.8 miles) north-west |
| Edgbaston Pool | Lake or reservoir | 3 km (1.8 miles) south-west |
| Coldbath Pool | Lake or reservoir | 4.4 km (2.7 miles) south |
| Moor Pool | Lake or reservoir | 4.6 km (2.8 miles) west |
| The Grove | Wood | 5 km (3.1 miles) south-west |
Air quality
| Pollutant | Here | UK limit | WHO guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 20.1 | 40 | 10 |
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 8.4 | 20 | 5 |
| Particles (PM10) | 13.7 | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 55 to 59 | 13 | 0 |
| Under 55 | 0 | 13 |
13 of the postcode's 13 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 | 30 | 40 |
| Children under 15 | 23% | 17% |
| Aged 65 and over | 7% | 18% |
Homes
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Owned (outright or with a mortgage) | 7% | 61% |
| Owned outright | 5% | 33% |
| Shared ownership | 0% | 1% |
| Social rented | 41% | 17% |
| Private rented | 53% | 21% |
Work and commuting
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Adults (16 and over) in work | 49% | 57% |
| Unemployment (of those working or looking for work) | 10% | 6% |
| Retired (of adults) | 8% | 22% |
| Long-term sick or disabled (of adults) | 10% | 4% |
| Work mainly from home (of those in work) | 38% | 32% |
| Travel to work by car or van | 25% | 48% |
| By train, Underground, metro or tram | 9% | 4% |
| By any public transport, including bus | 21% | 8% |
| On foot or by bicycle | 14% | 10% |
| Work within 10 km (6 miles) of home (of those who travel to work) | 66% | 65% |
| Work 30 km (19 miles) or more away | 10% | 8% |
Education and languages
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Degree or other higher qualification, Level 4+ (of adults) | 40% | 34% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship as highest qualification | 3% | 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 2 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 Cheapside.