Parking bay suspension: before the van arrives
Do you need a parking bay suspension for the van? Often yes, and it is one of three things to sort before loading day: parking, the lift and the stairs.
Loading days are rarely slowed by what is inside the flat. What slows them is in front of the building: nowhere to stop the van, a lift nobody booked, a staircase nobody mentioned. All of it is preventable, and the prevention is cheap.
Parking is half the day
The single best thing you can do is hold a space for the van as close to your door as you can manage. Every extra metre between the van and the doorway is walked dozens of times, in both directions, at both ends of the move.
When do you need a parking bay suspension?
Some streets need a permit, or a parking bay suspension arranged with the local council, before a van can stand outside your door for a day. Councils run them differently: each sets its own notice period and its own fee, so ask yours early. GOV.UK finds your council from your postcode.
If you tell us where the van will stand when you book, we will tell you whether that street usually needs a parking bay suspension and how to go about it.
Lifts, stairs and the long carry
If your building has a lift, book it with the building manager for the loading window; a reserved lift changes the day completely. If it is stairs, count the flights honestly, and measure the tight turns if any furniture is large. None of this is a problem, but all of it is planning.
Your booking form asks about access at both ends for exactly this reason. Answer it precisely and we plan the day around the truth, so the crew that arrives is the crew the job needs.
When the job needs more hands
Multiple floors without a lift, or a long carry from door to van, is honest physical work. You can add extra loading crew as a paid add-on, arranged in advance. What makes it work is the phrase "arranged in advance": tell us about the fourth floor when you book, not when the van arrives.
And if anything changes between booking and loading day, the building works, the closed street, the broken lift, one message from you is all the re-planning needs. The full process, from quote to delivery, is on how your move works.
Your moving day checklist
Before the van arrives, check these.
- Hold a space for the van as close to your door as you can.
- Find out whether your street needs a parking bay suspension or a permit, and apply early.
- Book the lift with the building manager for the loading window.
- Count the flights of stairs and measure any tight turn a large piece has to pass.
- Tell us about the floor, the lift and the carry at both ends when you book.
- Send one message if anything changes before loading day.