Locations
Contractor accommodation in Birmingham, chosen with the motorways in mind
Birmingham sits where the M6, the M5 and the M42 meet, and that shapes where a crew should stay more than anything else. A site off the M42 by the airport, a job in Digbeth and a contract in the Black Country look close together on a map, and are three very different drives at seven in the morning.
The search begins with the site postcode, the dates and how people will travel. From there we look for a house, a serviced apartment or a hotel close to the site that takes working guests, with vehicles, shift patterns and parking settled before anything is suggested.
We arrange accommodation for teams working across the UK from our base in Peterborough, and a Birmingham requirement is planned like any other, from the site rather than from our office.
The parts of the city where the work happens
The centre, Digbeth and Eastside
Offices, apartment blocks and regeneration work concentrate in and around the city centre, with Digbeth and Eastside on its eastern side. All three central stations are here, so people who come by train can stay almost anywhere with a direct service in.
The M42: the NEC and the airport
Just over the boundary in Solihull, the NEC, Birmingham Airport and the business parks along the M42 are an area of work in their own right: event build-ups, airport shifts and logistics. Birmingham International station serves both the NEC and the airport.
Longbridge, Selly Oak and Edgbaston
To the south, Longbridge, on the site of the old car works, and the hospital and university area around Selly Oak and Edgbaston bring construction, healthcare and campus work. The Cross City line runs through this side of the city, so it is easy to reach without a vehicle.
Aston, Tyseley and the Black Country edge
Aston and Tyseley to the north and east, and the Black Country towns to the west, carry much of the area's industrial and manufacturing work. Sites out here are often easier by road than by rail, so parking at the accommodation matters.
Motorways, junctions and the three central stations
The M6, the M5 and the M42 run around Birmingham, with the M6 Toll as a way round to the north. The Gravelly Hill Interchange, better known as Spaghetti Junction, is where the M6 meets the A38(M) north of the centre, and it is slow at peak times, so a base that keeps the daily drive away from it is worth looking for.
For people travelling by train, the centre has three stations: New Street, Moor Street and Snow Hill. The Cross City line runs north to south through New Street and the West Midlands Metro tram runs through the centre, so a base near a stop on the right line can take the car out of the journey entirely.
A site out on the M42 changes the answer. A base near the motorway, or near Birmingham International station, usually makes a shorter morning than a base in the centre, however close the centre looks.
How we look is the same everywhere: where we arrange accommodation explains it, our guide to finding accommodation near a work site helps when the area is new to you, and how it works covers what happens next. If the people going are contractors or a site crew, start with contractor accommodation in the UK.
Vans and the Clean Air Zone
Inside the Middleway
The Clean Air Zone covers the city centre inside the A4540 Middleway ring road, though not the ring road itself, and it applies every day. Vans that do not meet its emission standards pay a daily charge to drive inside it.
Choose the base to suit the zone
If the site is outside the centre, a base outside the ring road keeps the vans out of the zone altogether. If the site is inside it, the daily journey crosses the zone wherever the crew stays, so the vehicle check comes first.
Check every registration
Use the GOV.UK clean air zone checker for each vehicle that will travel, hire vans arriving on day one included. The city council sets and changes the rules, so check rather than assume.
Permits and height barriers
Residents' parking schemes cover streets around the centre and in some suburbs, and city-centre car parks often have height barriers. Confirm off-street parking, and the clearance, for each van before the first night.
Common questions about a crew in Birmingham
Is the city centre the right base for a Birmingham job?
Only if the work is there, or people are coming by train. For a site out on the M42, in the Black Country or on the edge of the city, a base near the motorway or near the site is usually the easier stay, and it keeps the vans clear of the Clean Air Zone.
Does the Clean Air Zone matter if the site is outside the centre?
Only if the journey crosses it. Pick a base outside the Middleway for a site outside it and the van should never need to enter the zone. Check each registration anyway, in case the route or the plan changes.
Can a Birmingham crew get to site by train?
Often, between the three central stations, the Cross City line and the tram, as long as the base is near a stop with a direct service. For the NEC and the airport, Birmingham International is the station to be near. Industrial sites to the north, east and west are usually simpler by road.
Got a site in Birmingham?
Tell us where the site is, when people arrive, how many there are and how long they need. We look for somewhere near the site that suits the work, and tell you plainly if nothing suitable is available.
Office hours are Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.