Birmingham’s central restaurants long had a reputation as soulless places which emptied quickly, but this state of affairs has changed dramatically, with smart, new venues sprouting up in the slipstream of the growth in the conference- and trade-fair business, particularly along Broad Street, near the ICC. There’s also a concentration of decent, reasonably priced restaurants in the Chinese Quarter, just south of New Street station, on and around Hurst Street.

Birmingham’s gastronomic speciality is the balti , a delicious and astoundingly cheap Kashmiri stew cooked and served in a small wok-like dish called a karahi , with nan bread instead of cutlery. Although balti houses have opened up within the city centre, the original and arguably the best balti houses are in the gritty suburbs of Balsall Heath , a couple of miles to the south of the centre, and Sparkhill , about three miles to the southeast. Some of these are listed here - all are unlicensed, so take your own booze.

City centre pubs vary as much as you’d expect. The liveliest, catering for a mixed bag of conference delegates and Brummies-out-on-the-ale, are liberally sprinkled along Broad Street, in the immediate vicinity of the Convention Centre, and in Brindley Place. Most of them are decorated in sharp, modern style, but there are one or two more traditional places here as well - as there are in other parts of the city centre.

Nightlife in Birmingham is thriving, and the club scene is recognized as one of Britain’s best, spanning everything from word-of-mouth underground parties to meat-market mainstream clubs. There’s a particular emphasis on special/specialist nights with leading DJs turning up at different venues on different nights.

Live music is strong in the city, too, with big-name concerts at several major venues and other, often local bands appearing at some clubs and pubs. Birmingham’s showpiece Symphony Orchestra and Royal Ballet are the spearheads of the city’s resurgent high-cultural scene. The social calendar also gets an added boost from a wide range of up-market festivals , including the Jazz Festival in the first two weeks in July, and the Film and TV Festival in November.

For current information on all events, performances and exhibitions, pick up a free copy of the excellent, fortnightly What’s On , Birmingham’s definitive listings guide. It’s available at all of the tourist offices and many public venues.

There are so many wonderful tourist attractions to see in Birmingham that there is sure to be something for everyone, with popular tourist attractions both in the centre of Birmingham and nearby.

Whether you are looking for Birmingham thrills and excitement, Birmingham history and exhibitions in Birmingham, or animals and more exotic Birmingham attractions, tourists and visitors will not have to look far in Birmingham, one of England’s most important cities. Here are some of the top tourist attractions in Birmingham.

Open-top hop on / off Birmingham guided bus tours operate throughout the day at regular intervals in central Birmingham. The Birmingham bus tours provide an easy way of sightseeing in Birmingham and with daily hop on / off tickets, they are also a very useful way to travel around Birmingham, since you can leave the bus to explore and get back on when you are ready. The Birmingham bus tours connect all of the major points of interest in Birmingham, including numerous tourist attractions, landmarks and monuments in Birmingham. Coach tours in the Birmingham area tend to travel further afield, to famous sights nearby Birmingham. Guided bus and coach tours in Birmingham are operated by several different companies, including Birmingham Tour.
Birmingham Tour - Victoria Square, Birmingham, B1 1BD, England

Birmingham attraction open: daily - 10:00 to 16:00
Birmingham attraction admission: charge, discount available for children and senior citizens

Hidden History Coach Tours - 103 Addison Road, Kings Heath, Birmingham, B14 7EP, England

Birmingham attraction open: hours vary
Birmingham attraction admission: charge, discount available for children and senior citizens

Birmingham Tourist Attractions: Walking Tours of Birmingham - Birmingham, England

The are a number of walking tours around Birmingham and these provide tourists with a real insight into some of Birmingham’s most interesting and historic attractions, landmarks and streets. Tours are available with the Birmingham Tourist Information centre, and the tour guides are often locals who live in Birmingham.
Digbeth Tuck Walking Trail (self-guided) - Digbeth, Birmingham, B5, England

Jewellery Quarter Discovery Trail (self-guided) - Jewellery Quarter, Hockley, Birmingham, B18, England

Birmingham Tourist Attractions: Canal Tours of Birmingham - Birmingham, England
Birmingham has more than 32 miles / 53 km of scenic canals to explore at your leisure. Dating back to the 18th century, Birmingham’s historic canals include the Old Main Line Canal, the New Main line Canal, the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, he Tame Valley Canal, the Birmingham and Fazaley Canal and Birmingham’s Grand Union Canal. With towpaths, many sights and a number of public houses nearby, Birmingham’s canals provide a peaceful oasis, close to busy Birmingham city life. Birmingham has several companies that provide canal cruises, including:
Ace Canal Leisure Services - Hockley Port Moorings, All Saints Street, Birmingham, B18, England

Birmingham attraction open: hours vary
Birmingham attraction admission: charge, discount available for children and senior citizens
Parties Afloat - 2 Kingston Row, Birmingham, B1 2JT, England

Birmingham attraction open: daily - from 09:30
Birmingham attraction admission: charge, discount available for children and senior citizens
Second City Canal Cruises - Gas Street Basin, Birmingham, B1 2JT, England

Birmingham attraction open: daily
Birmingham attraction admission: charge, discount available for children and senior citizens

Birmingham Tourist Attractions: Cadbury World - Linden Road. Bournville, Birmingham, B30 2LD, England

Cadbury World is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Birmingham and is located in the famous Bournville area of Birmingham. This famous, historic chocolate factory has many attractions, including a factory chocolate shop, impressive exhibitions, displays - many of which are interactive, a large gift shop and guided tours, explaining the fascinating story of the founding Cadbury family. Birmingham’s Bournville Village was built in the late 19th century by the Cadbury brothers and is a pioneering example of a garden suburb. It is advisable to book guided tours at Birmingham’s Cadbury World in advance, to avoid disappointment.
Birmingham attraction open: hours vary
Birmingham attraction admission: charge, discounts available for children

Birmingham Tourist Attractions: Birmingham Theatres - Birmingham, England
Birmingham is home to a number of excellent theatres, that regularly host Birmingham theatrical productions, dramas, comedies, concerts, operas, workshops and exhibitions. Popular theatres in Birmingham include:
Alexandra Theatre - Station Street, Birmingham, B5 4DS, England
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Located 300 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico in north central Alabama, Birmingham lies in the Jones Valley between a ridge of hills running from northeast to southwest and the Red Mountain Range, which runs in roughly the same direction. A hilly city, Birmingham stretches for about 15 miles along the valley.

The hills northeast and north of the city are the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. During the winter, Birmingham experiences rather low minimum temperatures. Occasional very low temperatures prevent the growth of some vegetation that might usually be expected in a subtropical climate. Snow accumulation, however, is seldom heavy enough to cause problems. In summer, days are very warm; from April through October the daily highs are usually above 75° F, with lows seldom falling below 50° F. Most of the summer precipitation comes in the form of thunderstorms, especially in the month of July.

The main north-south watershed of Britain actually passes through Birmingham. The Birmingham area is prone to tornadoes the most recent of which was witnessed in mid-2005. The watershed of the River Severn and River Trent can clearly be seen along the Perry Barr area of Birmingham and areas near Erdington where the level and gradient of the land changes significantly. To the south west of the city lie the Clent Hills and Walton Hill, which reach 315 m and have good views over the city.

Popular music

Although its music scene is not as renowned as those of Liverpool or Manchester, Birmingham has had a vibrant and varied musical history over the last half-century.

In the 1960s, the “Brum Beat” era featured blues and early progressive rock bands such as The Fortunes, Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, The Move and The Moody Blues.

The city is often described as the birthplace of heavy metal music, with Judas Priest and Black Sabbath coming from Birmingham. Robert Plant and John Bonham came from nearby towns, and played in local Brum Beat bands before forming one half of Led Zeppelin.

In the 1970s members of The Move and The Idle Race formed the Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard. The 1970s also saw the rise of reggae and ska in the city, with Steel Pulse and later on UB40, The Beat and Musical Youth. Singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading had many hits during this decade.

The 1980s brought Duran Duran, possibly the most successful new romantic group, and Dexy’s Midnight Runners, and the 1990s the Charlatans, Dodgy and Ocean Colour Scene. Recent chart success has come from Mike Skinner (a.k.a. The Streets), RandB singer Jamelia and Editors.

Jazz is popular in the city, and the annual Birmingham International Jazz Festival is the largest of its kind in the UK.

Party in the Park, a popular chart music event, is Birmingham’s largest music festival.

Birmingham has also been synonymous in the development of the British electronic music scene. Digbeth, near the city centre, features some of the country’s top dance clubs, and the nearby National Exhibition Centre has played host to the biggest indoor dance events in the country.

Classical music

The internationally-renowned City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra’s home venue is Symphony Hall, where it gives frequent performances.

Birmingham is one of the few remaining cities in the UK to still have the position of City Organist. Since 1834 only 7 men have held this position, the current holder, Thomas Trotter has been in post since 1983. Free weekly recitals have been given since the organ in Birmingham Town Hall was opened. The recitals are temporarily being held in St. Philip’s Cathedral, until the Town Hall organ opens again after restoration in 2006.

The equally world-renowned Birmingham Royal Ballet also resides in the city as does the world’s oldest vocational dance school, Elmhurst School for Dance.

The Birmingham Triennial Music Festival took place from 1784 - 1912 and was considered the grandest of its kind throughout Britain. Music was written for the festival by Mendelssohn, Gounod, Sullivan, Dvorak, Bantock and most notably Elgar, who wrote four of his most famous choral pieces for Birmingham.

Albert William Ketèlbey was born in Alma Street, Aston in 1875. (more…)

Sport has always been important in Birmingham, England, from the hundreds of diverse grass-roots sports clubs to internationally famous teams, associations and venues. The city has been awarded the title National City of Sport by the Sports Council.

A cricket club was in existence in Birmingham as early as 1745, and today the city is home to Warwickshire County Cricket Club whose ground at Edgbaston is also a venue for international test matches. International athletics meetings take place at the open-air Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr, the home of Birchfield Harriers athletic club, which numbers many Olympic medallists among its past and present members. The National Indoor Arena (NIA) meanwhile is a major indoor athletics stadium and in 2003 hosted the 9th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics. The NIA also hosts events in many other sports, such as the World Indoor Badminton Championships.

The first ever game of lawn tennis was played in Edgbaston in 1859; international tennis is still played at Edgbaston’s Priory Club.

The city is home to two of the UK’s oldest professional football teams: Aston Villa (1874) and Birmingham City (1875), both of whom currently play in the Premier League. The world’s first professional football league was founded at a meeting in Aston on March 22, 1885 under the auspices of William McGregor, a director of Aston Villa.

Birmingham also has a professional Rugby Union side, Moseley RFC, and there is professional basketball, boxing, hockey, skateboarding, and greyhound racing in the city.

Birmingham has been awarded the title National City of Sport by the Sports Council.

Football

The city is home to two of the UK’s oldest professional Premier League football teams: Aston Villa (1874) and Birmingham City (1875) . Nearby West Bromwich Albion’s ground The Hawthorns used to be divided by the Birmingham/ Smethwick border, but was moved completely into the latter by a minor rationalisation of local government borders in the 1960s and is now in Sandwell. The first football league was invented, by William McGregor on 22 March 1885, in Aston.

Athletics

The Birmingham Athletic Club opened a Gymnasium in King Alfred’s Place, in Aug 1865/6, and held their annual display and assault-at-arms in the Town Hall. The first festival of the Birmingham Athletic Club was held in 1868. On the 1st of March, 1880, an association was organised of many of the bicycle clubs, cricket clubs, football clubs, and similar athletic bodies in the town and neighbourhood, under the name of “The Midland Counties Amateurs’ Athletic Union.” The sport was so popular that in January, 1879 the “Midland Athlete,” newspaper was first published.

Today Athletics takes place at the open-air Alexander Stadium on a national and international level. Recent development has seen addition of a High Performance Centre for indoor intense specialist training. The Stadium is also home to Birchfield Harriers, who have contributed towards Britain’s National and International Athletics for many years. The National Indoor Arena is Britain’s Premier Indoor Athletics stadium and in 2003 successfully hosted the 9th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics. The city has been chosen to host the European Athletic Association’s European Indoor Championships in 2007.

Cricket

There was a Cricket Club in existence here in 1745, and it has been chronicled that a match was being played on the same day on which the battle of Culloden was fought. In legion The Birmingham C.C., started in 1819, the members including the young elite of the town at Ladywood. The Birchfield C.C. was organised in 1840. Among the noteworthy matches of late years are those of the All England Eleven against a local twenty-two, at the Lower Grounds, June 5, 1871, the visitors winning. More recently County Cricket is played at the Edgbaston Stadium, home to Warwickshire County Cricket Club. International test matches are also held there.

Other team sports

Rugby Union

Rugby Union is played in Birmingham by Moseley Rugby Football Club in National League 2. The club was founded in 1873 and played for most of their history at The Reddings. However, in 2000 it relocated to a temporary ground at Bournbrook in front of the University of Birmingham and now have a new ground at Billesley Common.

The Pertemps Bees are challenging for a place in the Guinness Premiership.

Basketball

Basketball is played by the Birmingham Bullets, who are in the top UK basketball league.

Hockey

Hockey is a very popular sport with Harborne and Bournville competing at professional level.

Miscellany
Lacrosse, a popular Canadian game, was introduced here June 23, 1883, by a team of Canadian Amateurs and Iroquois Indians, who exhibited their prowess at the Lower Grounds. The game never quite took off in the city.

Racket Sports

Tennis

The first ever game of lawn tennis was played in Edgbaston in 1859 by Major Thomas Henry Gem and Batista Pereira, both residents of the city, and international tennis is still played at Edgbaston’s Priory Club.

Badminton

The National Indoor Arena also hosts many other sporting events, such as the World Indoor Badminton Championships.

Other individual sports

Golf

Professional Golf is played at the Belfry (4km outside Birmingham) which sometimes hosts The Ryder Cup.

Boxing

Boxing is popular in the City with many clubs and famous professional boxers such as Pat Cowdell and Robert McKracken who have continued to support boxing in the UK by turning their skills to coaching new up- and- coming boxers. Prize-fighting was long the popular sport of high and low life blackguards, and Birmingham added many a redoubtable name to the long list of famous prize-fighters, whose deeds are recorded in “Fistiana” and other chronicles of the ring. The earliest account of a local prize-fight is of that which took place in Oct. 1782, for 100 guineas a side, between Jemmy Sargent, a professional, and Isaac Perrins, one of the Soho workmen. Jemmy knuckled under after being knocked down thirteen times, in as many rounds, by the knock-kneed hammerman fiom Soho, whose mates, it is said, won £1,500 in bets through his prowess. (more…)

Birmingham has three universities: the University of Birmingham, Aston University and the University of Central England (UCE). It also has two other higher education colleges (Newman College and the Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies). The Birmingham Conservatoire and Birmingham School of Acting, both now part of UCE, offer higher education in the arts.

The city council is England’s largest local education authority, directly or indirectly responsible for 25 nursery schools, 328 primary schools, 77 secondary schools [6] and 29 special schools . It also runs the library service, with 4 million visitors annually Facts about Birmingham Library Service www.birmingham.gov.uk , and provides around 4000 adult education courses throughout the year .

A minority of the city’s children receive private education. King Edward’s School is perhaps the most prestigious independent school in the city.

Schools

State schools

As in the rest of England and Wales, education is compulsory in Birmingham between the ages of 5 and 16. The majority of children are educated in state schools which follow the National Curriculum. These are divided into primary schools for children from Reception to Year 6 (5 to 11) and secondary schools for children from Year 7 to Year 11 (11 to 16). Most secondary schools in Birmingham also have a sixth form (Years 12 and 13), but sixth form education is also provided in a number of sixth form colleges and further education colleges.

Most of Birmingham’s state schools are community schools run directly by Birmingham City Council in its role as local education authority (LEA). However, there are a large number of voluntary aided schools within the state system, primarily Roman Catholic schools, but also schools whose religious basis is Anglican, Jewish and Islamic and schools which are non-denominational. In addition, there are a number of foundation schools in Birmingham (which were formerly grant maintained schools) which enjoy greater independence from the LEA than community schools.

Most state secondary schools in Birmingham are comprehensive, but a number of historic grammar schools, among them Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School, Handsworth Grammar School and the grammar schools of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI, survived the policy of moving to a comprehensive system in the 1960s and 1970s - mostly due to the historical accident of their exact legal relationship with the LEA.

Private schools

A minority of Birmingham’s children attend private schools which range from small institutions to historic schools of national prestige such as King Edward’s School in Edgbaston.

Further and higher education

Birmingham has three universities: The University of Birmingham founded in 1900, Aston University founded in 1966, and The University of Central England (UCE), the former Birmingham Polytechnic, which was raised to university status in 1992. There are also two higher education colleges, Newman College of Higher Education (which specialises in teacher training) and Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies which also receive funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

Both higher education and further education are offered by a number of colleges funded primarily by the Learning and Skills Council, amongst them City College, Birmingham, Josiah Mason College, Matthew Boulton College, South Birmingham College, and Sutton Coldfield College. Other further education colleges do not offer higher educational courses but do provide a range of vocational and academic teaching to full-time and part-time students.

Arts education

UCE in particular has a significant role in education in the arts in Birmingham. The Birmingham Conservatoire, now part of UCE, was formed as the Birmingham School of Music in 1859 and formerly constituted in 1886. It is one of only nine conservatoires in the United Kingdom and the only one which is also a university faculty. The conservatoire has strong links with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra whose former conductor, Simon Rattle, is the conservatoire’s president.

The Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (BIAD), another faculty of UCE, is one of the largest faculties of art, design and media education in the United Kingdom. BIAD’s School of Jewellery in the Jewellery Quarter highlights the importance of jewellery manufacture in the city.

Birmingham School of Acting, founded in 1936 is one of the United Kingdom’s leading vocational drama schools, offering higher education courses in drama as well as a range of part time, summer schools and short courses for adults and children. On June 21, 2005, its merger with UCE was announced . (more…)

Due in part to its central location in England, Birmingham is a major transport hub on the motorway, rail, and canal networks. It is served by a number of major roads, including the M5, M6, M6 Toll, M40, and M42 motorways. Junction 6 of the M6 is also one of Birmingham’s most famous landmarks, and probably the most famous motorway junction in the UK: Spaghetti Junction, officially called the Gravelly Hill Interchange.

Local public transport is by bus, local train and tram (the Midland Metro light railway system between the city centre and Wolverhampton). The number 11A and 11C outer circle bus routes are the longest urban bus routes in Europe. The city’s main station, Birmingham New Street, is at the centre of the national rail network, whilst Birmingham International railway station serves Birmingham International Airport which has flights to cities across Europe and several Asian and North American destinations.

Birmingham is also notable for its canal system; formerly the lifeblood of the city’s industries, their use is now mainly for pleasure. There are 35 miles (60 km) of canals in the city, most remaining navigable. The abundance of canals has led to the frequently made claim that “Birmingham has more canals than Venice”. Although this is in some sense correct (Venice has 26 miles), Birmingham is far larger [5], and the types of waterway are very different. Birmingham’s canals are comparatively shallow artificial channels, while those in Venice are primarily reinforced natural channels between islands of the lagoon on which the city stands.

Railways

Mainline Services

A large number of railway lines from all over Britain meet at Birmingham New Street, which is the central hub of the UK rail network and has regular train services to all of the major cities in the UK. Trains to London Marylebone Station can also be caught at Moor Street station or Snow Hill station, though Snow Hill’s London services are due to be diverted into Moor Street station in 2009.

A redevelopment of Birmingham’s New Street Station is on the cards for 2011. The £350 million scheme will transform the station, introducing an imposing glass roof to enable light to flood onto the new concourse.

Local Services

There is also a substantial network of rail services within Birmingham and the West Midlands county, operated by Central Trains and supported by Centro (the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive), among the main lines is the Cross City railway line, which operates from Lichfield through Birmingham New Street to Redditch. A similar rail service operates from Wolverhampton through New Street to Coventry.

Midland Metro

The Midland Metro, a light-rail tram system promoted by Centro, currently connects Birmingham to Wolverhampton via West Bromwich and Wednesbury. Further expansion in Birmingham City Centre has been approved. There are currently plans to extend the system across Birmingham and the West Midlands.

Possible underground system

The Conservative-Lib-Dem alliance running Birmingham City Council have proposed an underground system as an alternative to expansion of the Midland Metro. A £150,000 feasibility study is being conducted, looking at the benefits and drawbacks of a state-of-the-art, £3 billion underground system serving the city.

Buses and Coaches

Local bus services in Birmingham are largely operated by Travel West Midlands which operates a large network based on a range of services operating along main roads out of Birmingham (there are few Cross City services) and the Birmingham Outer Circle bus service, the longest urban bus service in Europe.

Most of the network is operated on a purely commercial basis, however services in evenings and on Sundays are supported by Centro. ‘Independent’ operators provide a range of services, either in competition to Travel West Midlands or under contract to Centro. Smaller operators include Peoples Express and Diamond Bus (Now part of the Go-Ahead Group), Zaks, Central Logistics and Chase. Longer distance bus services are operated from Birmingham. First Wyvern (formally First Midland Red) operates services to Worcester and Redditch. Arriva operates several services to Burton-on-Trent and Tamworth in Staffordshire.

Birmingham also forms a major hub in the National Express coach network, which is based in Birmingham and operates services from its coach station in Digbeth. This is due to be redeveloped by 2008 after plans to build a replacement coach station next to Snow Hill Station were abandoned due to a breakdown in discussions between National Express and the City Council. Birmingham also has a Megabus service to London.
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Birmingham City Council is the largest local authority in the UK, following a reorganisation of boundaries in June 2004, with 120 councillors representing just under one million people, in 40 wards.

After the election of 10 June 2004, there is no overall control, with the 120 seats being divided between the Labour, (45 councillors), Conservative (40) and Liberal Democrat (”Lib-Dem”, 32) parties, with 2 Others, and 1 vacant seat.

There is a Conservative/Lib-Dem coalition, with Conservative group leader Mike Whitby as Leader of the council and Lib-Dem group leader Paul Tilsley as Deputy Leader.

Birmingham’s eleven constituencies are represented in the House of Commons by one Conservative, one Liberal Democrat, and 9 Labour MPs. An elections scandal at the 2004 local elections saw six candidates of the then ruling Labour party accused of rigging postal votes. The rigged votes were made mostly on behalf of the large Asian community in the Aston and Bordesley Green wards. The accusations were upheld by the Election Commissioner.

Birmingham is also the seat of the Government Office for the West Midlands region.

Local government

History

Most of Birmingham was historically a part of Warwickshire, though the modern city also includes villages and towns formerly in Staffordshire or Worcestershire.

Until the 1760s Birmingham was administered by manorial and parish officials, most of whom served on a part-time and honorary basis. By the 1760s the population growth of Birmingham made this system completely inadquate, and salaried officials were needed. In 1768 a body of “Commisioners of the Streets” was established who had powers to levy a rate for functions such as cleaning and street lighting. They were later given powers to provide policing and build public buildings.

The Reform Act of 1832 gave Birmingham its first representation in Parliament initially with only two MP’s but this has been gradually expanded.

Birmingham gained the status of a municipal borough in 1838 and gained its first elected town council which took over the functions of the Street Comissioners. In 1889 it became a county borough (unitary authority) and a city. This remained unchanged until 1974 when Birmingham became a metropolitan district of the newly-created West Midlands county under the West Midlands County Council. The county council was abolished in 1986 and Birmingham effectively reverted to being a unitary authority although sharing some services with other authorities in the county.

City Council

Birmingham City Council is the largest local authority in the UK with, following a reorganisation of boundaries in June 2004, 120 councillors representing just under one million people, in 40 wards.

After the election of 10 June 2004, there was no overall control, with the 120 seats being divided between the Labour, (53 councillors), Conservative (39) and Liberal Democrat (”Lib-Dem”, 28) parties.

By-elections in 2005 altered the distribution of seats within the council with Labour holding 46 seats, Conservatives holding 40, Liberal Democrats holding 30, the People’s Justice Party holding 2 and independent councillors holding a further 2. In 2006, the People’s Justice Party joined the Liberal Democrats.

There is a Conservative/Lib-Dem coalition, with Conservative group leader Mike Whitby as Leader of the council and Lib-Dem group leader Paul Tilsley as Deputy Leader.

Joint services

The city council runs some services jointly with the other authorities in the West Midlands county.

These include the West Midlands Police, the West Midlands Fire Service and the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive which oversees public transport.

Wards

Following the June 2004 reorganisation, Birmingham’s wards are:
Acocks Green
Aston
Bartley Green
Billesley
Bordesley Green
Bournville
Brandwood
Edgbaston
Erdington
Hall Green
Handsworth Wood (more…)