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List of tallest buildings and structures in the Birmingham metropolitan area

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List of tallest buildings and structures in the Birmingham metropolitan area
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This list of the tallest buildings and structures in the Birmingham metropolitan area, West Midlands ranks buildings and free-standing structures by height, based on standard height measurements that include spires and architectural details but exclude extraneous elements added after completion of the building.[1]

Quick facts Tall buildings in the Birmingham metropoliman area, Tallest building ...
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City of Birmingham

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The City of Birmingham has more than 270 tall buildings and structures within its city boundaries, making it the most built-up city in the United Kingdom outside of London.[2][3][4] It is home to the majority of the 420 tall buildings and structures in the Birmingham metropolitan area.

The joint-tallest buildings in the City of Birmingham are Octagon, a 49-storey tower which forms part of the Paradise development in Birmingham City Centre; and One Eastside, a 51-storey tower on James Watt Queensway. These two residential skyscrapers stand at 155 metres (509 feet), surpassing Birmingham's previous tallest residential building, the 132-metre (433 ft) Mercian tower, and its tallest structure, the 140-metre (460 ft) BT Tower.

The City of Birmingham currently has 14 buildings and structures completed at a height of 100 metres or more and a further three under construction. This is the third highest number of completed or under construction tall buildings and structures (≥100m) of any city in the United Kingdom.[5][6]

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The skyline of Birmingham viewed from the north, September 2020. Completed in 2021, the 108-metre office building 103 Colmore Row is located directly ahead, with 122-metre 10 Holloway Circus visible behind. Directly to the west, 152-metre (at the time) BT Tower and 100-metre Alpha Tower. Further to the west, adjacent to 102-metre Bank II Tower, the 132-metre Mercian Tower can be seen in the final stages of construction.

History

The first structure to reach a height of 100 metres was the Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower, constructed in 1908 and located in the Edgbaston area of the city. It remains the tallest free-standing clock tower in the world.[7]

High-rise construction in Birmingham did not begin in earnest until the post war redevelopment of the 1960s and 1970s, when more than 25 commercial buildings taller than 50 metres were erected within the city centre and westwards along Broad Street to Five Ways and Hagley Road. Two further structures over 100 metres were built during this period – the 152-metre BT Tower, which remains the tallest non-building structure in Birmingham, albeit at a reduced height of 140 metres,[a] and the 100-metre, Grade II listed Alpha Tower. Other notable high-rise office buildings included Quayside Tower and Metropolitan House, both designed by John Madin and since refurbished.

This era also saw more than 150 residential tower blocks of between 12 and 32 storeys built in clusters around the periphery of the city centre and throughout its suburbs, helping to cement Birmingham's reputation as a Brutalist city.[9] By the 1990s, most of these system-built high-rises had fallen into disrepair and have since been demolished in large-scale regeneration schemes. These include all but two of the 34 tower blocks constructed on the Castle Vale estate, along with significant numbers in Aston, Lee Bank and Hodge Hill. However, in a quirk of local authority restructuring, most of the 51 blocks built in the East Birmingham suburb of Chelmsley Wood were transferred to the neighbouring metropolitan borough of Solihull in 1980, thus falling outside Birmingham City Council's programme of mass demolition.

Across the city, high-rise development slowed during the 1980s and 1990s, with few significant proposals emerging, but the turn of the 21st century saw a renewed interest in constructing tall buildings in central Birmingham. Completed in 2006, the 122-metre 10 Holloway Circus became the tallest habitable building in the city, while the Brindleyplace canalside development yielded a cluster of high-rise office buildings adjacent to the International Convention Centre and Birmingham Indoor Arena.

However, in the wake of the September 11 attacks, regulations imposed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Birmingham City Council's own 'High Places' planning policy framework restricted new buildings to a maximum height of around 120 metres, stymieing a number of appreciably taller proposals.[10][11] These included the 245-metre Arena Central Tower, which at the time was set to become the tallest skyscraper in the United Kingdom. A number of subsequent proposals, including revised plans for a 152-metre V-shaped building at Arena Central, the 201-metre Regal Tower, and the 130-metre twin towers proposed for the New Street Station Gateway Plus project, succumbed to the 2008 financial crisis and were either scaled back or scrapped.[12][13]

Consequently, Birmingham's most iconic 21st century buildings, including the Selfridges Building, Grand Central Station and the Library of Birmingham, are under 100 metres tall.

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A section of the Birmingham skyline viewed from Digbeth, January 2023, with some of the city's most notable buildings in shot. Directly ahead, the 61-metre tall steeple of the parish church of St Martin in the Bull Ring, framed by the Grade II listed Rotunda and Future Systems' iconic Selfridges Building. To the left, 10 Holloway Circus is the tallest of four buildings in the Southside district which also include the twin 90-metre residential towers known locally as The Sentinels. In the far distance, the 132-metre Mercian Tower can be seen alongside Bank II Tower, with the upper floors of Grade II listed Alpha Tower also visible. To the right of the Selfridges Building, adjacent to the 21-storey McLaren Building, 113-metre Exchange Square tower can be seen in the final stages of construction. Beyond this are the buildings of Masshouse and the site of One Eastside, a 155-metre residential tower which began construction in January 2023 but is not yet visible on this skyline. To the foreground, site clearance for the construction of Beorma Tower, a 113-metre mixed-use building named after the 7th century Anglo-Saxon founder of the settlement of Beorma-inga-ham.

Present and future developments

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Octagon residential tower viewed from Chamberlain Square in the heart of Birmingham City Centre, with Grade I listed Birmingham Town Hall to the left, Grade II* listed Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery to the right, and the mixed-use Paradise redevelopment beyond. (March 2025)
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Birmingham's skyline viewed from the west in 2022, featuring the 132-metre Mercian tower. (September 2022)

In recent years, the City Council has sought to encourage large-scale development, and a raft of tall buildings have been approved for construction across the City Core and all six of Birmingham's City Centre QuartersEastside, Digbeth, Westside and Ladywood, Southside and Highgate, the Jewellery Quarter and St George and St Chad. These developments will form a number of tall clusters across the city centre.

Home to some of Birmingham's tallest buildings, the City Core includes the 155-metre Octagon tower at the Paradise redevelopment site in the city's civic heart. Octagon, which is the tallest octagonally-shaped residential building in the world,[14] is set to be joined by 148-metre Centenary Tower and 110-metre Cambrian Wharf, both of which have been approved for construction. In the neighbouring Historic Colmore Business District stands 103 Colmore Row (108 metres) which, upon completion in 2022, became the tallest dedicated office building to be constructed outside of London since Alpha Tower in 1973.[15] In 2025, a mixed-use development called the Goods Station, incorporating four towers ranging in height from 63 to 153 metres, was approved on the site of the former Axis building adjacent to Alpha tower.[16]

Further to the east, in the Snow Hill Commercial District, plans have been submitted for 2 Snowhill Plaza, a 48-storey residential-led tower which is set to become one of the largest Build to Rent (BTR) schemes in the United Kingdom.[17]

In Westside and Ladywood, Moda Living's 132-metre Mercian residential tower was completed in 2022 and is currently the tallest of a cluster of high rise buildings around Broad Street and Brindleyplace. Other significant residential schemes in this area include 111-metre Cortland Broad Street, 102-metre Bank Tower II and the approved 100 Broad Street (103m). All are set to be surpassed by another residential tower, the 145-metre Essington, which was approved for construction in 2024.

The Eastside district is home to One Eastside, a 155-metre residential skyscraper which forms part of the gateway to Birmingham's new HS2 railway station at Curzon Street.[18] Along with 111-metre Silver Yard, One Eastside will be joined by a 124-metre tower at Glasswater Locks, which is currently under construction.[19][20] Extending outwards from Birmingham's Knowledge Quarter, the £360m Curzon Wharf masterplan, intended to be the world's first net zero carbon mixed-use development, includes approval for two more tall buildings, one of which is a skyscraper rising to 172 metres.[21]

To the South East of the City Core, swathes of Digbeth are scheduled to be redeveloped, with 113-metre Boerma Tower currently under construction and others including the 146-metre Tower Leaf, 122-metre Garrison Circus tower, 108-metre Clyde Street tower and 102-metre Upper Trinity Street tower also approved.[22][23][24] A 32-storey mixed-use tower is planned to anchor the vast Smithfield site,[25] which will link Digbeth to the Southside and Highgate district, and another cluster of approved high-rises in and around the city's Gay Village and Chinese Quarter.[26][27][28] For nearby Smallbrook Queensway, plans have been submitted for a series of three towers up to 180-metres in height, with up to seven more tall buildings expected to transform the area between here and Holloway Circus in the forthcoming years.[29] On nearby Bristol Street, a distinctive bronze-coloured tower – the 40-storey Trifecta Residences – has also been approved for construction.[30]

Meanwhile, to the north west of the City Core, Moda Living's 126-metre residential tower on Great Charles Street, which is in the final stages of construction, has formed a gateway to St Paul's Square and the Jewellery Quarter, while at the same time marking the beginning of a high-rise convergence with the Snow Hill Commercial District.[31]

Of the Brutalist tower blocks that remain within the city's boundaries, the majority have either been comprehensively upgraded, sold to private operators, or earmarked for refurbishment. Druids Heath in South Birmingham is now the only estate with a significant cluster of the original 1960s blocks, although these are also set for demolition.[32]

In future, if all approved, proposed and planned projects come to fruition, Birmingham's skyline will comprise more than 400 tall buildings and structures, including eleven skyscrapers above 150 metres and a further 32 habitable towers above 100 metres.

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Birmingham metropolitan area

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  Birmingham
    
  Lichfield
  Coventry
    
  North Warwickshire
  Wolverhampton 
    
  Nuneaton and Bedworth 
  Dudley
    
  Redditch
  Sandwell
    
  South Staffordshire
  Solihull
    
  Stratford-upon-Avon
  Walsall
    
  Tamworth
  Bromsgrove
    
  Warwick
  Cannock Chase
    
  Urban hinterlands
Map of the Birmingham metropolitan area showing its built-up areas, morphological boundaries and catchment zones.

The City of Birmingham forms the heart of an urban agglomeration located in the West Midlands region of England with a population of around 4.3 million, making it the second largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom after London.[33] In total, at least 420 tall buildings and structures lie within its morphological boundaries.

The Birmingham metropolitan area is composed of the three cities (Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton) and four metropolitan boroughs (Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall) which make up the metropolitan county of the West Midlands, along with its commuter zones, which extend into neighbouring local authority districts including Bromsgrove and Redditch in Worcestershire; Cannock Chase, Lichfield, South Staffordshire and Tamworth in Staffordshire; and four of the five local authority districts of Warwickshire: North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Stratford-upon-Avon, and Warwick itself. With the exceptions of Cannock Chase, Redditch and Stratford-upon-Avon, each of these authorities has at least one tall building or structure (≥35 metres) located within the boundaries of the Birmingham metropolitan area.[3][1]

A number of sizeable urban settlements fall outside these boundaries but still form part of the metropolitan area's economic and infrastructural hinterland.[34][35][36][37] Amongst them, the cathedral city of Lichfield, the towns of Cannock, Hednesford and Rugeley in Staffordshire, Rugby and Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, and Kidderminster in the Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire. For completeness, the tall buildings and structures in these places are included in the listings below but, for accuracy, are not designated a metropolitan area ranking.

The following listings are colour coded according to the authority in which they are located. The Birmingham metropolitan area map can be used to find the authority for each entry and, where the building or structure is not located in a city centre, its district, town or parish.

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Tallest buildings and structures

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≥100 metres

This list ranks all complete and topped out buildings and free-standing structures in the Birmingham metropolitan area that stand at least 100 metres (328 ft) tall, based on standard height measurements. An equals sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. Buildings that have been demolished are not included.

Updated September 2025

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50–99 metres

This list ranks all complete and topped out buildings and free-standing structures in the Birmingham metropolitan area that stand between 50 metres (164 ft) and 99 metres (325 ft) tall, based on standard height measurements. An equals sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. Buildings that have been demolished are not included.

Updated September 2025

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35–49 metres

This list ranks all buildings and free-standing structures in the Birmingham metropolitan area that stand between 35 metres (115 ft) and 49 metres (161 ft) tall, based on standard height measurements. An equals sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings.

Currently updating

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Tallest by local authority district

This table includes only the buildings and structures in each local authority district that fall within the morphological boundaries of the Birmingham metropolitan area.

More information Local authority district, ≥150m ...
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Tallest under construction

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This list ranks all under-construction buildings and free-standing structures in the Birmingham metropolitan area that will stand at least 35 metres (115 ft) tall, based on standard height measurements.

Updated September 2025

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Tallest approved, proposed and planned

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Approved

This list ranks all buildings and free-standing structures in the Birmingham metropolitan area that have been granted full planning permission and will stand at least 35 metres (115 ft) tall when completed.

Updated September 2025

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This list ranks all buildings and free-standing structures in the Birmingham metropolitan area that have received outline planning permission and will stand at least 35 metres (115 ft) tall when full planning permission is sought and granted.

Updated March 2025

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Proposed

This list ranks all buildings and free-standing structures in the Birmingham metropolitan area that will stand at least 35 metres (115 ft) tall, for which planning permission has been sought but not yet granted.

Updated September 2025

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Planned

This list ranks pre-planning applications and emergent schemes for buildings and free-standing structures in the Birmingham metropolitan area that will stand at least 35 metres (115 ft) tall, if full planning permission is sought and granted. Please note that the data for each structure may not be complete.

Updated September 2025

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Tallest unbuilt

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This list ranks proposals for the construction of buildings and free-standing structures in Birmingham that were planned to rise at least 100 metres (328 ft), for which planning permission was rejected or which were otherwise withdrawn.

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Tallest demolished

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This list ranks buildings and free-standing structures in the Birmingham metropolitan area that are undergoing demolition or have been demolished since the 1990s, having stood at least 50 metres (164 ft) in height.

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Architectural history of tallest buildings and structures

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Like other regional conurbations in the United Kingdom, the Birmingham metropolitan area is polycentric, with several primary urban areas and satellite towns overlaying traditional market towns and civil parishes, separated by areas of protected green space. This is reflected in a diverse urban landscape characterised by examples of Medieval, Tudor, Jacobean, English Baroque, Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, Modern, Postmodern and Contemporary architecture. Each of these architectural periods is represented by at least one tall building or structure.

This is a list of the tallest surviving buildings and free-standing structures constructed during each of the UK's major architectural periods, listed in chronological order. Buildings are only included where their existing highest point was built during the period and in the architectural style stated.

  Was the tallest building or structure in the city or district authority upon completion.
  Currently the tallest building or structure in the city or district authority.
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City of Birmingham

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Metropolitan area

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The skyline of Coventry viewed from the roof of One Friargate, November 2020. Dominating over The Wave Water Park are the city's famous three spires, Christchurch Spire, Holy Trinity Church and the old Cathedral Church of Saint Michael. Beyond these, to the right, 76-metre CODE Coventry is the tallest of a number of newly built student accommodations in the city.
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The skyline of Wolverhampton viewed from the foot of Beacon Hill, Sedgley, May 2020. On the skyline, from left to right, the former red-brick Carillion HQ at 24 Birch Street, the spire of Church of St. John in the Square, then Mander House, the tower of St Peter's Collegiate Church, the tall chimney of the city incinerator, and 76-metre Victoria Hall. Further left, the cluster of four tower blocks in Heath Town, and three tower blocks in Wednesfield.
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The skyline of Dudley Town Centre viewed from Dudley Castle, September 2008. The skyline is dominated by the 53-metre spire of the Church of St Thomas
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The skyline of Walsall Town Centre viewed from The New Walsall Art Gallery, with three of Walsall's most recognisable buildings in shot. From left to right: Walsall Council House, Tameway Plaza and St Matthew's Church.
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The 53-metre tower of the Collegiate Church of St Mary, viewed from the ramparts of Warwick Castle, July 2009.
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See also

Notes

  1. In 2020, a refurbishment of the British Telecom Tower, which included removing older satellites and antennas that were no longer in use, reduced the overall height of the structure from 152 metres to 140 metres.[8] The refurbishment was completed in May 2022.

References

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