Centre City Tower, Birmingham

The Water Services Regulation Authority, or Ofwat, is the body responsible for economic regulation of the privatised water and sewerage industry in England and Wales. Ofwat's main statutory duties include protecting the interests of consumers, securing the long-term resilience of water supply and wastewater systems, and ensuring that companies carry out their functions and are able to finance them.Ofwat primarily sets limits on the prices charged for water and sewerage services, taking into account proposed capital investment schemes (such as building new wastewater treatment works) and expected operational efficiency gains. The most recent review was carried out in 2019; reviews are carried out every five years, with the next due to take place in December 2024.The Water Act 2014 extended retail competition to all non-household customers of English water companies from April 2017 and provided for possible future competition in wholesale markets. Ofwat's role includes regulating such water and wastewater markets and promoting effective competition wherever appropriate.Ofwat consists of a board, plus an office of staff which carries out work delegated to them by the board. The Environment Agency is responsible for environmental regulation, and the Drinking Water Inspectorate for regulating drinking water quality. Water in Northern Ireland is regulated by the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation, and the supply and treatment is carried out by the government-owned Northern Ireland Water. There is no separate charge for water for residents or companies in Northern Ireland. Instead, water is paid for by the rates system. The water industry regulator in Scotland is the Water Industry Commission for Scotland.

The Electric is a cinema in Birmingham, England. It opened in Station Street in 1909, showing its first silent film on 27 December of that year. It was the first cinema in Birmingham, and as of 2022 is the oldest known working cinema in the country. The Electric has two screens, both able to show digitally-shot films and one also able to show films in 35 mm.Originally called the Electric Theatre, the cinema has undergone a number of name changes since its opening, but returned as The Electric in October 1993. It closed in December 2003 and was purchased by local film director and producer Tom Lawes, who initiated extensive renovations to the building in order to restore it to its 1930s Art Deco aesthetic. It reopened in December 2004. The cinema closed again at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with most of its staff being made redundant. In January 2022 the cinema reopened under new ownership.

Ringway Centre is a Grade B locally listed building located on Smallbrook Queensway in the city centre of Birmingham, England. The six-storey, 230 metres (750 ft) long building was designed by architect James Roberts as part of the Inner Ring Road scheme in the 1950s and is notable for its gentle sweeping curved frontal elevation.Completed in 1962, the Ringway Centre was the first part of the Inner Ring Road scheme to be completed, and the only part with street-level shops and footways. The building currently provides office space on its upper floors and commercial space at street level.

The Birmingham Theatre School is a drama school, located in Birmingham, England. The school was founded by Sir Barry Jackson in the theatre that he built, namely the Old Rep Theatre, which was also the first repertory theatre in the world. The school now has over 250 students on a variety of full and part-time. In 1942, Sir Barry Jackson appointed Mary Richards, with whom he had previously worked as an actress, to take over as principal of the drama school. In 1990, Chris Rozanski was appointed principal. The school has since relocated to The Old Fire Station [1] in Highgate, Birmingham and is no longer based at the Old Rep Theatre. As well as putting on shows as part of the schools courses the venue, costumes, props and staging is available for hire.[2] In 2023 the BTS Promenade Theatre Company was formed to provide a commercial platform for graduates of the Theatre School. The most recent production was 'One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest' in July 2023.

The Old Rep (originally Birmingham Repertory Theatre) is the United Kingdom's first ever purpose-built repertory theatre, constructed in 1913, located on Station Street in Birmingham, England. The theatre was a permanent home for Barry Jackson's Birmingham Repertory Company, formed in 1911 from his amateur theatre group, The Pilgrim Players, founded in 1907. Jackson funded the construction of the theatre and established his professional company there. Architect S. N. Cooke, a colleague from the Birmingham School of Art, collaborated with Barry Jackson in the creation of the theatre. Both Jackson and Cooke took inspiration from the democratic nature of theatres that they had visited in Germany. The design of The Old Rep was particularly influenced by Max Littmann's 1908 Künstlertheater in Munich.In 2014, Birmingham Ormiston Academy, also known as BOA, successfully tendered for The Old Rep Theatre.The theatre is situated just opposite New Street Station, from which a blue plaque, above the theatre's first floor windows, to Barry Jackson can be seen. Two doors down, Britain's oldest working cinema can be found, the Electric Cinema.

The Crown is a former pub on the corner of Station Street and Hill Street, Birmingham. It has been called the "birthplace of heavy metal", and hosted Black Sabbath's first gig.It was built in 1881, and many bands have been played there including the Who, Status Quo, UB40, Duran Duran, Thin Lizzy, Marc Bolan, Supertramp, Judas Priest and several of Robert Plant's bands before he co-founded Led Zeppelin. The bands played upstairs in what was known as Henry's Blueshouse. It has been empty since 2014 and was given Grade II listed status in March 2024 on the advice of Historic England.

St Jude's Church, Birmingham was a parish church in the Church of England in Birmingham.

Henry's Blueshouse was a regular live music night that ran in Birmingham, England from 1968 to 1970, promoted by Jim Simpson through his Big Bear Music company.

The Thorp street drill hall is a former military installation in Birmingham, England.

The Patrick Centre for the Performing Arts is a studio theatre located on Thorp Street in the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England, next to the headquarters of the Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Birmingham Hippodrome (public access is via the Hippodrome). Seating 206, it is operated by DanceXchange and specialises in the staging of contemporary dance. The theatre was designed by Associated Architects and opened in 2001.

The Birmingham Hippodrome is a theatre situated on Hurst Street in the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England. Although best known as the home stage of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, it also hosts a wide variety of other performances including visiting opera and ballet companies, touring West End shows, pantomime and drama. With a regular annual attendance of over 600,000, the Hippodrome is the busiest single theatre in the United Kingdom, and the busiest venue for dance outside London.

10 Holloway Circus (also referred to as the Holloway Circus Tower or Beetham Tower) is a 400-foot (122 m) tall mixed-use skyscraper in Birmingham city centre, England. It was originally named after the developers, Beetham Organisation, and was designed by Ian Simpson and built by Laing O'Rourke. The entire development covers an area of 7,000 square feet (650 m2). It is the second tallest building in Birmingham and the 74th tallest building in the United Kingdom.