It is quickly becoming the trendiest new city neighbourhood in the UK, thanks to a little help from the hit TV series and soon-to-be major film The Peaky Blinders. The movie is being filmed in Digbeth, Birmingham, with Steven Knight as the writer and producer. It stars Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy and is being shot at Digbeth Loc. Studios and also on location in Digbeth, the area where the real Peaky Blinders roamed.
The neighbourhood, which is often compared to ultra-cool Shoreditch in east London, even made it onto the The Sunday Times’ prestigious best place to live list. Conveniently situated just a five-minute walk from the Bullring shopping centre, Digbeth was once Birmingham’s industrial heart. Today, like its London counterpart, it boasts street art, craft beer pubs, and creative working spaces.
Home to the Midlands creative crowd, the neighbourhood’s streets are buzzing with artistic expression. Digbeth is also home to independent breweries and tap rooms, such as Dig Brew Co, and street food markets, such as Digbeth Dining Club. There is always something new to discover, day and night.
The Custard Factory (aptly named after the Bird’s Custard factory that occupied the same area) is now home to the BBC’s digital innovation unit, Channel 5’s The Gadget Show, as well as many digital start-up companies. It is also home to craft beer and cinema venues such as The Mockingbird, and Chitty’s Cakes – a cake shop that sells bespoke novelty cakes.
The neighbourhood is a magnet for young professionals moving to the city and, unlike Shoreditch, it is still actually a very affordable place to live. Modern, stylish apartments in Birmingham’s up-and-coming Digbeth starting from £159500 compared to £400,000 in Shoreditch.
The overall average house price in Digbeth comes in at £260,902 compared to £710,090 in Shoreditch.
Following the remodelling of the Inner Ring Road, Digbeth is now considered a district within Birmingham City Centre. As part of the Big City Plan, Digbeth has undergone a large redevelopment scheme to regenerate the old industrial buildings into apartments, retail premises, offices and arts facilities. The district is now considered to be Birmingham’s “Creative Quarter”.
Historically the amount of manufacturing in Digbeth made it of national importance. Industry was attracted to the area as a result of the supply of water from the River Rea and from the natural springs in the area. Digbeth was accessed by the Grand Union Canal and the Digbeth Branch Canal in the 18th and early 19th centuries.
Railways also arrived in Digbeth in the 19th century by the Great Western Railway. The mainline passed through Digbeth via a large railway viaduct built out of Staffordshire Blue Bric. As traffic at Snow Hill increased, Moor Street Station was built as another terminus to relieve congestion, with an additional goods shed to serve the nearby markets.
Peaky Blinders fans will be able to see all these sites when the film, expected to be released in the latter half of 2025 by Netflix, comes out.
Steven Knight, creator of “Peaky Blinders” and “This Town,” described Digbeth having a “fantastic and fun and irreverent spirit” and says he aims to make Birmingham a “city of choice” for filmmakers, attracting both local and international talent.
He believes HS2, the new high-speed rail line, has further boosted the city’s potential, adding “more noise, more energy, more power” to the regeneration process and put Digbeth firmly on the map as a cool place to be.
