London, specifically
Getting a lorry to your door
Outside London a removal turns up and parks. Inside it, the kerb in front of your house is regulated and a vehicle next to your door is an application to a borough.
This is the part of a London move that people are most surprised by, and it is entirely mundane once you know about it. A removal vehicle needs bays formally suspended — not hopefully empty — and each of the thirty-two boroughs plus the City runs its own system, with its own fee, its own form and its own notice requirement.
On a typical London house move the two ends are in different boroughs, so there are two applications to two different systems. We make both. What we need from you is the date early enough to file them.
London, specifically
Parking is a paperwork job
Outside London a removal turns up and parks. Inside it, the kerb in front of your house is regulated, and getting a lorry legally next to your door is an application to a borough with its own fee and its own notice period.
- We handle it
Controlled parking zone suspensions
Most inner-London streets sit in a CPZ, and a removal vehicle needs bays formally suspended rather than hopefully empty. Each borough runs its own system, charges its own fee and wants its own notice period. We apply for both ends where the boroughs differ, which on a London move they usually do.
- We handle it
Red routes and clearways
A red route cannot be suspended the way a residents bay can, and loading on one without a dispensation is an immediate penalty. Where a property fronts a red route we plan the load from the nearest side street and crew for the longer carry rather than gambling.
- We handle it
Terrace streets with no driveway
The default London house has no off-street parking, a narrow pavement and cars on both sides. The vehicle size is chosen for the street, not for the volume — a larger vehicle that cannot get within fifty metres of the door is worse than a smaller one making two trips.
- Shared
Mansion blocks and porters
Where the London end is a flat in a managed block rather than a house, the building has rules: permitted hours, lift bookings, a porter who needs notice and sometimes a deposit against damage to communal areas. We contact the managing agent, but the freeholder may want authorisation from you directly.
- We handle it
ULEZ and the Congestion Charge
Our vehicles are compliant and the charges are accounted for in the quote rather than appearing afterwards as an extra. If you are driving your own vehicle alongside the move, that one is yours to think about.
- Yours
Neighbours and skip permits
If you are having a skip for the clear-out, that needs its own borough permit and it will occupy space you may want for the vehicle. Worth sequencing so the two do not collide. Telling the neighbours is not a legal requirement and it makes the morning considerably smoother.
What happens if the bay is not suspended
Someone parks in it, legally, and there is nothing anyone can do. The vehicle stands further down the street and the whole job becomes a longer carry — which means more crew hours and a slower load on a day where slow is expensive.
Worse, on some streets there is nowhere at all within a workable distance, and the alternative is a shuttle with a smaller vehicle. All of that is manageable when it is planned. None of it is manageable at eight in the morning.
The notice problem
Boroughs want notice, and the notice they want is not always compatible with how quickly a completion date firms up. This is the single most common reason a London move ends up without a suspension.
The answer is to tell us the likely date as soon as you have one, even an uncertain one. An application filed against a date that then moves is a far smaller problem than an application never filed.
Things that are genuinely yours
- Telling the neighbours. Not a legal requirement, and it makes the morning considerably smoother — particularly the neighbour whose car normally sits in the bay.
- Skip permits. If you are having a skip for the clear-out, that is its own borough permit and it will occupy space you may want for the vehicle.
- Freeholder authorisation. Where the London end is a flat in a managed block, the managing agent may want permission from you directly rather than from us.
ULEZ and the Congestion Charge
Our vehicles are compliant, and the charges are in your quote rather than appearing afterwards as an extra. If you are driving your own car alongside the move, that one is yours to think about.
Tell us where you are in the chain
Where you are moving from and to, how many bedrooms, and whether you have a date yet. Even an uncertain date is worth telling us about.