The building · KERB
There is nowhere to stop
The London problem, and the one customers least expect to be a problem. A van cannot stand on a red route, in a bus lane, in an unsuspended residents' bay or on a pavement, and across a great deal of the city there is no obvious legal place to put one.
A firm that says it will "just pull up outside" in central London is telling you something about how it operates.
How the kerb question is handled
What a van cannot legally do
Stop on a red route, at any hour where the restriction applies. Stand in a bus lane during its hours. Occupy a residents' bay that has not been suspended. Mount a pavement. Block a dropped kerb. Sit on a double yellow beyond the limited loading allowance, where one applies at all.
That removes most of the obvious places in a good deal of inner London, which is why the standing point is worked out before the booking rather than found on the morning.
Suspensions take time
Where a street needs a bay suspended, the application goes in ahead of the date and the borough processes it in its own time. There is no mechanism for arranging one on the day, and no amount of goodwill substitutes.
Nor does a granted suspension guarantee an empty bay. Somebody parks in it, occasionally with the cones still there. So a second standing point is surveyed as a matter of course.
The carry is the real cost
Where the nearest legal stop is a hundred metres away, that distance is the job. It is measurable, it is predictable, and it should appear in the crew size and the quotation rather than being discovered as a long afternoon.
We would rather tell you the carry is long and quote it properly than turn up, find out, and rush.
Covered bays and height
In the newer riverside and regeneration blocks the loading bay is underground or covered, with a headroom limit that frequently excludes a van outright. That single number changes the vehicle and sometimes the whole plan, and it is on the building's move information sheet.
There is nowhere to stop
Questions about there is nowhere to stop
- Can you park on a red route for ten minutes?
- No. Red routes are enforced continuously and the penalty arrives by post. We find the nearest legal point and carry, and we tell you how far that is beforehand.
- Do we need a suspension for a van?
- On many controlled streets, yes — the restriction applies to a van as much as to a lorry. We apply in advance, because there is no route to arranging one on the day.
- What if someone parks in the suspended bay?
- It happens. A second standing point is surveyed beforehand, so it becomes a longer carry rather than a cancelled job.
- How far will you carry?
- As far as the street requires, and it is costed into the crew and the quotation rather than absorbed. Long carries are a real cost and pretending otherwise produces a bad day.
- Will a van fit the underground loading bay?
- Check the headroom limit on the building's move information sheet, or ask the concierge. It frequently excludes a van, and it is the first thing we ask about a new block.
- Are congestion and emission charges extra?
- They are accounted for in the quotation rather than added afterwards. Our vehicles are compliant.
What is the awkward bit?
Both addresses, what the item is, and the one thing about the job that is difficult. A photograph beats any description.