Broad Street at a glance
Broad Street runs west from Centenary Square, the Library of Birmingham, the ICC and Symphony Hall towards Five Ways, with Brindleyplace and the canal around Gas Street Basin just behind it and the tram running along the street to Edgbaston. It is the centre of Birmingham's night-time economy: bars, clubs, restaurants and hotels sit alongside offices and a growing number of apartment buildings.
Apartments around Broad Street
Most people who live here are in apartment blocks and canal-side conversions. Flat front doors are usually fire-rated doorsets with a euro cylinder or a sashlock, a closer and sometimes a thumbturn inside, all behind a fob-controlled communal entrance or a concierge desk. Because the closer, hinges and lock are part of the door's fire rating, a lock change has to keep that rating intact.
The most common calls are lockouts when keys are left inside or lost on a night out, and cylinder changes when a tenant moves out or a key set goes missing. Many buildings are managed by an agent with rules about who can change locks, so it helps to check with them first.
Bars, hotels and offices
Commercial premises along Broad Street need heavier-duty work: shopfront and aluminium door locks, panic bars and fire-exit hardware that must open freely from inside, roller shutters, master key systems for staff areas and door closers that take constant use. After a break-in, the priority is to make the premises secure the same day and then plan a proper repair.
Before you call
Tell us the building or venue name, the entrance we should use, whether a concierge or manager needs to let us in, and any parking or loading bay we can use, as stopping on Broad Street itself is very limited. See our emergency lockouts, panic hardware and fire exits and commercial door services.