The obvious question, then, is what has changed?

Building spoke to people before the coronavirus outbreak had really taken over everybody’s daily lives. Andy Street, the region’s metropolitan mayor, says the West Midlands will get through the crisis – but the next few weeks and months remain much of an unknown.

When the region does re-emerge, the development of HS2 will be one of the key factors in its growth story. “HS2 has undoubtedly been a huge catalyst for developers,” Mark Holbeche, the director of development at Midlands property group Regal, says.

Birmingham is a major city in England’s West Midlands region, with multiple Industrial Revolution-era landmarks that speak to its 18th-century history as a manufacturing powerhouse. It’s also home to a network of canals, many of which radiate from Sherborne Wharf and are now lined with trendy cafes and bars. In the city centre, the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is known for pre-Raphaelite masterpieces. 

Birmingham is said to be the home of heavy metal, with the likes of Black Sabbath (led by Ozzy Osbourne), Judas Priest and Robert Plant, the lead singer of Led Zeppelin, originating from the city. The Streets, UB40, Wizzard, Laura Mvula and Duran Duran also originate from Birmingham.

Birmingham is the second largest city of the United Kingdom, and also a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands metropolitan county.

Birmingham is bigger than Manchester by most measures. It’s the second biggest city in the UK with a population of over a million, twice the size of the city of Manchester.

The city of Birmingham has produced many famous names over the years, and it is also the birthplace of some high-flying actors who also went to school in the city.

The city-region has produced many eminent folk who have gone on to play a part in brilliant television dramas as well as major films in the UK and abroad.