Film crew hire/Birmingham/Locations and permits
Filming in Birmingham. Who says yes, how much notice they want, and what it costs.
Council streets, squares, parks and buildings all go through one office, Production Central WM. The canals are the Canal & River Trust’s, New Street is Network Rail’s, the airport’s air traffic control has the sky to the east, and Bullring, Brindleyplace and the University of Birmingham each say yes for themselves. Fees and notice checked October 2026.
Street permit · up to 10 crew
£84 + VAT
Small shoot · notice
5 working days
Canals · online video
from £196 an hour
Airport drone zone
14 days’ notice
On this page
01 The short version
How filming permission works in Birmingham
01
Work out whose land it is
A pavement on Colmore Row, the lawns of Cannon Hill Park and the Library of Birmingham are council land, so they go to Production Central WM. The towpath at Gas Street Basin is the Canal & River Trust’s, the concourse at New Street is Network Rail’s, and Bullring, Grand Central and Brindleyplace are private estates that decide for themselves.
02
Apply to the right office, early enough
Production Central WM asks five working days for a small shoot and four weeks for a large one. The canals want five working days, New Street five for ten people or fewer, and a drone inside Birmingham Airport’s zone 14 days through NATS.
03
Tell the people who need telling
Residents and businesses get a letter 14 days ahead, with Production Central WM’s phone number and email on it. West Midlands Police hear through Production Central WM about weapons, police costume, staged crimes and filming from a moving vehicle.
Finding the location first
Production Central WM
Free access to its database of locations, production offices and unit bases, and a team to talk to before you apply. Its crew and supplier lists are through Filming in England.
The council’s own buildings
The Library of Birmingham, the Council House and Highbury Hall are on the council’s list of filming locations, all booked through Production Central WM. More below.
The landowners’ lists
The Canal & River Trust lists Birmingham spots such as The Bond in Digbeth and the Engine Arm Aqueduct. Network Rail lists New Street, with its atrium, concourse and platforms.
The recce
We walk it before the shoot, at the hour you’ll film, and check the vans’ route against the Clean Air Zone inside the A4540 Middleway.
Who files it
On a full production our producer applies for all of it, in our name. On a crew hire the location and its permission stay with you: Production Central WM’s permit is issued to the company named on the application, and that company carries the liability. A production manager we book can run the applications, the bays and the call sheet for you.
02 The film office
Production Central WM: one office for seven councils
Filming on council land in Birmingham goes through Production Central WM, the West Midlands film office, which took over from Film Birmingham and covers the seven combined-authority councils: Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Dudley. It’s part of the West Midlands Growth Company, and it launched in November 2025. From its own pages, its Code of Practice and its permit terms, checked October 2026.
| What you need | Minimum notice |
|---|---|
| A small-scale shoot | 5 working days |
| A large-scale shoot | 4 weeks |
| Camera track, kit in the road, or digging into the highway | 7 days, usually with a site meeting |
| A lighting tower or scaffolding licence | 7 days |
| Stunts, special effects, pyrotechnics | 7 days |
| Location contracts | 7 days |
| Police officers | 7 working days (the rate goes up with less notice) |
| A yellow-line dispensation | 5 working days |
| Parking in a pedestrian zone | 4 working days |
| A residents’ and businesses’ letter drop | 14 days |
| A short traffic hold, 5–10 minutes | 14 days, after a joint agency meeting |
| A road closure | 21 days, after a joint agency meeting; the diversion and signage plan 14 days ahead |
| An extensive road closure | 8 weeks, after a joint agency meeting |
| A Traffic Order | 2 to 6 weeks |
| Children on camera | 28 days |
| A drone with no impact on the street | 5 working days; 6 to 8 weeks if roads close |
How applying works
Talk first
Production Central WM asks you to discuss the shoot with its team, then apply through its Open Brolly portal with a risk assessment and at least £5m public liability. Questions go to hello@productioncentralwm.com.
What needs permission
Streets and pavements, pedestrianised areas and squares, parks, council land and buildings, car parks and parking bays, cemeteries and crematoriums, libraries and galleries.
No small-crew exemption
None is published: the fee bands start at a crew of up to ten. So we ask, even for two people and a tripod on Colmore Row.
Payment first
The permit is issued once it’s paid for, unless something else has been agreed. Street permits aren’t refunded.
Students
Every student project needs a permit, except equipment testing, and pays no fee.
Over the border
It covers the seven councils only. For Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire, Production Central WM points you to their own film offices.
Worth knowing
The NEC, Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International station are in Solihull, not Birmingham. It’s still Production Central WM, but on its fee sheet for the other six councils: a street permit for up to ten crew is £66.67 + VAT there, against £84 in Birmingham (checked October 2026).
03 Fees
What a permit costs: Birmingham, and the other six
Production Central WM publishes two fee sheets for 2026–27: one for Birmingham, one for Coventry, Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Dudley. Every figure is plus VAT.
| Birmingham | The other six councils | |
|---|---|---|
| Street filming, up to 10 crew | £84 | £66.67 |
| Street filming, 11–24 | £191 | £151.67 |
| Street filming, 25–74 | £357 | £283.33 |
| Street filming, 75–99 | £577 | £366.67 |
| Street filming, 100–149 | £693 | £500 |
| Street filming, 150 or more | £1,155 | £833.33 |
| Charity, student and travelogue filming | No fee | No fee |
| A drone permit | £229 | £181.67 |
| Applying within 2 business days | £182 more | £151.67 more |
| A parking suspension | £18.90 a bay | £8 to £70 a bay |
| Set-up and logistics | £106.50 a street | £50 to £102 a street |
| A parking dispensation | Not listed | £12 to £22.70 a vehicle |
| Council locations | £92 to £289 an hour | £88 to £275 an hour |
| Facilitation and staff | £63 to £100 an hour | £60 to £100 an hour |
| A road traffic notice | £560 to £2,700 | From £560 |
| A cherry picker or scaffold permit | £62 | £60 to £285 |
| Parks | On request | On request |
The 20% admin fee
Added on top of everything in Birmingham except the street filming permit itself: locations, staff, parking and traffic notices. The other sheet doesn’t list that exception.
Cancelling
In Birmingham, half the total with more than two business days’ notice in writing, the whole sum with less. On the other sheet the line is 48 hours. Street permits aren’t refunded either way.
Police time
Only a police officer can stop or divert traffic, and West Midlands Police charge for it.
Deposits
In residential and business streets the council can ask for a deposit against noise, cleaning, damage or staff time.
Unit signs
Down within a week of wrap, or the council takes them down at £50 + VAT a sign.
04 Council land
Council locations and parks: booked through the same office
The council’s buildings, parks and cemeteries go through Production Central WM too, with a signed licence agreement and a location fee, and any damage recharged. In Birmingham that’s £92 to £289 an hour for the location and £63 to £100 an hour for staff, plus VAT and the admin fee; parks are priced on request (checked October 2026). The list below is from the council’s filming page, updated July 2026.
Library of Birmingham
On Centenary Square, and on the council’s list: Lloyds Bank’s “By Your Side” advert filmed there.
The Council House
Dancing on the Edge and American Assassin both used it. Victoria Square outside, where Kingsman: The Golden Circle staged a car chase, is a public square, so Production Central WM’s as well.
Highbury Hall
On the council’s list too: the BBC’s Hustle filmed there.
Moseley Baths and Warstone Lane Cemetery
Both on the list, as are Cannon Hill Park and the Lickey Hills. The Cold War drama The Game used all four, and Perry Park was in the film Trainer.
Sutton Park
Six miles north, a National Nature Reserve, a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a scheduled monument. The Code restricts filming on SSSIs and assesses it first, so we allow more than the usual notice.
The Lickey Hills
A 524-acre country park ten miles south-west, managed by the council, with Beacon Hill at 297m.
The museums
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Aston Hall, Soho House, Thinktank and the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter are Birmingham Museums Trust’s. Requests go on its filming request form to events@birminghammuseums.org.uk, and it charges for all commercial filming.
05 Canals
The canals: the Trust’s water and towpaths
The canals, Gas Street Basin and Farmer’s Bridge Locks among them, belong to the Canal & River Trust: online video from £196 an hour plus VAT, five working days’ notice and £5m public liability (checked October 2026). The Trust prices by the kind of production.
| Production | Rate, plus VAT |
|---|---|
| General views | £94 an hour |
| Factual TV | £153 an hour |
| Brand photography and online video | From £196 an hour |
| TV ads and TV drama | From £228 an hour |
| Feature film | From £294 an hour |
| Commercial drone filming | £179 an hour |
| Student film | £151 a day |
Applying
Through FilmApp, with the Trust’s risk assessment template and £5m public liability. Once the invoice is paid and the risk assessment approved, the permit comes through FilmApp. Changes inside 48 hours can carry an admin fee.
Tell the council too
The Trust asks crews to tell the local council and film office even when the whole shoot is on the water or the towpath, so Production Central WM hears about it, and so do the boats, homes and businesses alongside.
The towpath stays open
The canals carry paying boat traffic and can’t simply be closed. Restricting the water or a towpath takes at least four weeks’ notice.
No vans on the towpath
Motorised vehicles and heavy plant generally aren’t allowed. For a dolly, track, crane or camera vehicle, the Trust wants a picture with its dimensions and weight first.
In the water
Anyone or anything going in needs its own safety and rescue method statement, and a recce with the Trust. So does a crew of more than 20.
Drones
Commercial flights through FilmApp, with drone insurance and a flight plan marking take-off and landing. No recreational drones at all.
Where
Gas Street Basin, where Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man filmed, Farmer’s Bridge Locks, The Bond in Digbeth and Thomas Telford’s 1825 Engine Arm Aqueduct are all the Trust’s. The squares beside them aren’t: Brindleyplace is a private estate.
06 Stations and trams
New Street and the stations: four stations, four landlords
Birmingham’s four main stations are managed by four different companies, and only Network Rail publishes its filming rates. From National Rail’s station pages and each operator’s own, checked October 2026.
| Station | Managed by | Who to ask |
|---|---|---|
| New Street | Network Rail | Network Rail’s filming team, filming@networkrail.co.uk, with published rates (below) |
| Moor Street | Chiltern Railways | We found no published filming policy, so we ask Chiltern first |
| Snow Hill | West Midlands Railway | Its press office. It says it can’t take most requests, and generally only where the railway is the story |
| Birmingham International, for the NEC and the airport | Avanti West Coast | Its press office: “broadcast and filming opportunities may be available” |
| New Street | Network Rail |
|---|---|
| Small crews | Ten people or fewer, cast included, on a Small Scale Filming Agreement: five working days’ notice, or £500 more inside that |
| Bigger units | Up to 50 people: enquire 15 working days ahead, with the application and risk assessment in 12 ahead. Over 50: enquire 25 working days ahead |
| Rate | Corporate and commercial work, ads and drama: £750 an hour for up to ten, £1,000 for 11 to 25 and £1,500 for up to 50, two hours minimum, plus VAT, paid in advance |
| When | Weekdays 10:00–16:00 or 20:00–06:30; weekends and bank holidays usually any time; 12 hours at most. Running into the peak isn’t allowed (a £5,000 surcharge) |
| Kit on a small crew | A handheld camera, monopod, tripod, a slider up to 1m, Steadicam (not an Easyrig), handheld or radio mics, a reflector up to 1.2m² (not silver or gold) and a wireless monitor. Nothing off the list, so no boom pole and no lights |
| Insurance | Up to £10m; at least £10m on a Small Scale Filming Agreement |
| Cancelling | Inside five working days, the whole fee and staff costs; earlier, half |
Also on the network
Grand Central
The shopping centre above New Street is Bullring & Grand Central’s, not Network Rail’s, with its own rules (below). Network Rail’s own page points to its high-level view down into the station.
New Street on screen
Network Rail lists Dead Reckoning Part One, the 2023 Mission: Impossible film, among the productions shot there. It played an airport in Abu Dhabi.
Drones near the line
Network Rail doesn’t approve anyone else’s drone flights. You tell it through Dronecloud, and flying close to the railway goes to its air operations team first.
Trams and buses
We found no published filming policy for West Midlands Metro or the buses, so we ask Production Central WM first and go to whoever it names.
Travelling with kit
Getting crew and kit here by train, and vans through the Clean Air Zone, is a separate question. It’s in the logistics guide, with when to send a runner ahead of the vans.
07 Estates and venues
Private land: the owner says yes first
Production Central WM’s permit covers council land. Its own terms say a private landowner may need asking as well, and that getting that consent is the production’s job. From each owner’s own pages, checked October 2026.
Bullring & Grand Central
Private property, operated by Hammerson. Professional filming and photography only with the centre team’s permission in advance; tripods and any other kit need it too, and shop fronts and interiors need the retailer’s as well. No filming of the building’s infrastructure or staff, and “drone equipment is not permitted in any way”. Commercial work goes to the brand partnership team. The visitor rules have the contacts.
Brindleyplace
Mostly owned by Praxis since 2023, with some buildings in other hands. Filming and photo requests go through the estate’s marketing agency, Core Marketing, from its commercial page, which lists The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and an MG car advert among the shoots there. No notice or fees are published, so ask early. The canal and towpath through it are the Canal & River Trust’s.
Colmore Row and the business district
The streets are council highway, so Production Central WM. The buildings are private, and each one’s managing agent says yes for its own floors and entrances. The Colmore BID posts filming letters for its members: in November 2021 a TV series closed Edmund Street and Margaret Street for night shoots, played the museum’s Gas Hall entrance as a bank, and suspended bays on seven streets.
The Jewellery Quarter
A conservation area. The streets go through Production Central WM, whose Code asks for extra care around historic buildings, the plans in writing, and sometimes extra insurance. Warstone Lane Cemetery is a council location, the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter is Birmingham Museums Trust’s, and the workshops are private. Ready Player One filmed here.
Digbeth
The streets through Production Central WM, the canal at The Bond through the Trust, and the yards and warehouses through their owners. Digbeth Loc. Studios, home to Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, is in the studios guide.
The University of Birmingham
Locations on the Edgbaston campus are quoted by its Creative Media team. It wants your public liability certificate and risk assessment, notice in advance for security, and parking arranged with its security control team, as its filming page sets out. Other campuses publish no rules, so we ask the university’s press office first.
The NEC, the ICC and the arenas
The NEC Group’s venues (the ICC on Centenary Square, the NEC and bp pulse LIVE by the airport, and Utilita Arena) publish no filming rules. We ask the venue’s events team first, and on an event day the organiser too.
08 Paperwork
What the paperwork looks like
Production Central WM, the Trust, Network Rail and the estates mostly ask for the same handful of documents. Here’s each one, who wants it and when.
RA
Everyone asks
Risk assessment
Production Central WM won’t issue a permit without one, and refuses the permit if it comes late. The Canal & River Trust has its own template, and the University of Birmingham asks for a copy. Ours is written for the location, not the job in general.
£5m
Everyone asks
Public liability certificate
At least £5m for Production Central WM and the canals, up to £10m for New Street. In English, for the company named on the application, before the permit is processed.
7 days
The owner
Location agreement
A signed licence for any council building, and a written agreement with every private owner, with the art department’s dressing and build plans set out. The Code asks for location contracts seven days ahead.
14 days
The neighbours
Residents’ letter
Delivered 14 days ahead to the homes and businesses affected: the dates and times, what you’re doing to keep disruption down, the location manager’s number, and Production Central WM’s phone and email. Objections can cost you the permit. A runner usually walks it round.
MS
When kit leaves the pavement
Method statements
For cables across the highway, on street furniture or flown; for filming from a moving vehicle, which goes to West Midlands Police as well as the council; and for anyone or anything going into canal water.
BS 7909
Lighting and power
Electrical safety
Production Central WM’s permit terms ask for a named Senior Person Responsible for electrical safety under BS 7909. The Code wants generators as far from homes and businesses as practical, on drip trays.
28 days
Children
Child licence
Any child on camera, paid or not, is cleared with the council’s child employment team, usually with a child performance licence. The Code says allow 28 days.
SIA
Overnight kit
Security
Anyone guarding kit or a location must hold an SIA licence and wear it where it can be seen. In a pub or bar open to the public, that means door supervisors.
09 Drones and airspace
Drones over Birmingham: who has to say yes
There’s no city-wide ban, but one flight can need four yeses: the airport inside its zone, Production Central WM on council land, the landowner, and the pilot’s own CAA paperwork. Checked October 2026.
| Permission | Who grants it | Notice |
|---|---|---|
| Birmingham Airport’s flight restriction zone: a 2.5-nautical-mile circle round the airport and 5km zones off each end of the runway, up to 2,000ft | Air traffic control at the airport, after a safety impact assessment, through the NATS portal | At least 14 days |
| Council land: streets, squares, parks | Production Central WM’s drone permit: £229 in Birmingham, £181.67 in the other six councils, plus VAT, with a flight impact zone map, RAMS and £5m to £10m insurance. A traffic plan and stewards if the flight is near a road | 5 working days; 6 to 8 weeks if roads close |
| Private land | The owner. Production Central WM still asks to be told, and flying within 50m of a road or path brings in more permissions | Ask the owner early |
| The canals | The Canal & River Trust, through FilmApp: commercial flights £179 an hour + VAT. No recreational drones | 5 working days |
| The railway | Nobody: Network Rail doesn’t approve other people’s flights. Tell it through Dronecloud, and ask its air operations team before flying close to the line | Before the flight |
| Bullring & Grand Central | Nobody: no drones on the premises at all | Not allowed |
| The CAA | Only for a Specific-category flight, such as one under PDRA01 (£524 a year) | Held by the pilot |
Where the zone reaches
The airport is on the city’s east side, in Solihull, next to the NEC. Its page names no streets, so the flight goes on the zone map before it goes on the quote.
IDs
A Flyer ID for anything of 100g or more, and an Operator ID from 250g, or from 100g with a camera. Since 1 January 2026, new drones carry a UK class mark, UK0 to UK6.
Distance
With an A2 certificate of competency, a UK2 or C2 drone keeps 30m from uninvolved people (5m in low-speed mode). Under PDRA01 a drone can fly within 150m of built-up areas, but stays 50m from people who aren’t part of the shoot.
Insurance
Third-party liability for any paid flying. Production Central WM asks £5m, and £10m for some sites.
Most of that paperwork sits with the pilot. Here’s how we book a drone operator in Birmingham.
10 On the day
The rules on the day in Birmingham
From Production Central WM’s Code of Practice and night filming guidelines. It isn’t legal advice: check the Code before you shoot.
Keep the pavement open
At least 1.5m of footway clear, and nobody pushed into the road. In the road, keep 3.5m open on a one-way street and 7m on a two-way one.
Cones don’t hold a space
They have no legal force. Suspended bays do, and they’re for technical vehicles only, parked right beside the filming. No passenger vehicle of any size counts.
Hi-vis on the highway
Everyone working on the public highway wears EN471 Class 2 at least. Without it, the permit can be withdrawn.
Cables and lights
Cables made safe as they’re laid, with rubber matting carried as standard, and a method statement for anything across the road or flown. Lights mustn’t dazzle drivers or shine into homes or offices, and stands on the pavement are attended or weighted.
Noise
No generators in a residential street before 08:00 unless they’re silent running. Playback, megaphones and speakers need Production Central WM’s consent.
After 23:00
Filming on the highway normally stops at 23:00. Going later needs the council, West Midlands Police, residents and businesses to agree. Radios go on earpieces, and the trucks may be asked to stay put until 07:00.
Weapons and uniforms
Weapons, replicas included, are discussed with Production Central WM first, which consults West Midlands Police, and an armourer is on set. Actors in police uniform cover it between takes, police-look vehicles are covered when not in shot, and sirens are never used. Replicas are in the props guide.
Only the police stop traffic
Nobody else can halt or divert it on a public road. A short hold takes 14 days’ notice and a closure 21, both after a joint agency meeting.
Fire and ambulance
The fire service is told about fire hydrants, fires, explosions and anyone dressed as a firefighter, and the ambulance service about paramedic costume and look-alike ambulances.
Wet-downs
Rain machines and wetted streets need the council and the police to agree, and they won’t in winter or at 4°C or below.
Clear up and credit
No smoking or alcohol on location unless agreed, rubbish off site every day, unit signs down within a week, and a credit for Production Central WM and the council.
11 Insurance
Public liability: £5m, £10m, and whose certificate it is
Every permit asks for a public liability certificate. In Birmingham the figure is mostly £5m, and the railway’s is £10m. Which certificate goes in depends on who the producer of record is.
| Who’s asking | Public liability |
|---|---|
| Production Central WM: streets, parks, council buildings | £5m at least, and nothing under £1m is considered. A very small shoot can ask about less in advance, a complex one may need more. The permit terms ask for £5m employer’s liability too |
| Production Central WM: drones | £5m, or £10m depending on the site |
| The Canal & River Trust | £5m |
| Network Rail: New Street | Up to £10m; at least £10m on a Small Scale Filming Agreement |
| The University of Birmingham | A copy of your certificate; no figure published |
| Bullring & Grand Central, Brindleyplace, the NEC Group | No figure published: ask with the request |
Crew hire
You’re the producer of record
The certificate the venue gets
Yours. Production Central WM, the Trust, Network Rail and the estates want your public liability, for the company named on the application.
What our insurance covers
The 2%: employers’ liability for every crew member we book, and the kit we hire in for you. Nothing else on the shoot.
What it costs
10% booking fee + 2% insurance, on everything we book.
Permits
Yours to hold.
Full production
We’re the producer of record
The certificate the venue gets
Ours: our production policy, £10m public liability included, with a certificate naming the venue.
What our insurance covers
The 5%: insurance across the whole shoot, and the contingency.
What it costs
15% production fee + 5% insurance and contingency, on the production budget.
Permits
We apply in our name, and the fees go in the budget.
Not sure which it is? If your own producer or director will run the day, it’s crew hire. If you want us to take the production on, it’s a full production quote, and the Birmingham crew page takes either brief. Shooting from abroad? Here’s how overseas teams book Birmingham.
Need a Birmingham location sorted?
Tell us where and when. We’ll come back with whose permission it needs, the notice it takes and the insurance they’ll ask for. Or call us on 07412 543822.
Quick contact form
12 Questions
Filming in Birmingham: questions
Do I need a permit to film in Birmingham?
On council land, yes. Production Central WM handles every street, square, park, council building, car park and cemetery in Birmingham and six neighbouring councils, and publishes no small-crew exemption: its Birmingham street permit starts at £84 + VAT for a crew of up to ten (checked October 2026). The canals, New Street and private places such as Bullring and Brindleyplace each give their own permission on top.
Who gives permission to film in Birmingham now Film Birmingham has gone?
Production Central WM. Film Birmingham moved into it, and it launched in November 2025 as the film office for Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Dudley. Applications go through its Open Brolly portal after a word with its team, at hello@productioncentralwm.com.
How much does a filming permit cost in Birmingham?
Checked October 2026, plus VAT: £84 for a street permit for up to ten crew, £191 for 11 to 24 and £357 for 25 to 74; £18.90 a parking bay; £229 for a drone permit; and £182 more if you apply inside two business days. Council locations charge £92 to £289 an hour. The canals charge brand and online video from £196 an hour, and New Street £750 an hour for corporate and commercial work, two hours minimum.
How much notice does Production Central WM need?
Five working days for a small shoot and four weeks for a large one. Kit in the road takes seven days, a residents’ letter 14, a road closure 21 and an extensive closure eight weeks. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours, so it’s usually the notice period that sets the date.
Can I fly a drone in Birmingham?
Yes, with planning. Inside Birmingham Airport’s flight restriction zone you need air traffic control’s permission through NATS, at least 14 days ahead. On council land you need Production Central WM’s drone permit, £229 + VAT with five working days’ notice, and on private land the owner’s say-so. The Canal & River Trust takes commercial drones at £179 an hour + VAT; Bullring & Grand Central doesn’t allow them at all.
Can I film on the canals in Birmingham?
Yes, with the Canal & River Trust’s permit through FilmApp: five working days’ notice, £5m public liability and a risk assessment. Brand photography and online video start at £196 an hour + VAT (checked October 2026). The towpath stays open, vans stay off it, and the Trust asks you to tell Production Central WM as well.
Can I film at Birmingham New Street?
Yes, with Network Rail’s permission: £750 an hour + VAT for corporate and commercial work with up to ten people, two hours minimum, five working days’ notice, weekdays 10:00–16:00 or 20:00–06:30, and up to £10m public liability. Moor Street, Snow Hill and Birmingham International are managed by Chiltern Railways, West Midlands Railway and Avanti West Coast, so you ask each one separately.
Can I film in the Bullring?
Only with the centre team’s permission in advance: Bullring & Grand Central is private property. Tripods need permission too, shops need the retailer’s, the building’s infrastructure and staff are off limits, and drones aren’t allowed. Commercial work goes through its brand partnership team.
What public liability insurance do I need to film in Birmingham?
Production Central WM and the Canal & River Trust ask at least £5m, and Network Rail up to £10m at New Street. On a crew hire you’re the producer of record, so the certificate is yours. On a full production our policy covers the shoot, £10m public liability included, and the certificate names the venue.
Around the crew
More for Birmingham shoots
01
Kit rental
Kit houses at the NEC and on Hagley Road, the crew’s own kit, and what comes up from London.
03
Studios and set builds
Digbeth Loc., Curzon Street, blackout and green screen studios, and set builds.
