The housing round here is stone terraces on narrow lanes, cottages on steep hills and flats above shops on the market place. It is lovely to look at and it is hard to park a Luton van outside. Since removals are charged by the hour, access is not a detail. It is often the single biggest thing that decides how long your move takes.
Work out where the van can actually stop
Walk out of your front door and look at it as a driver would. Is there a stretch of kerb long enough for a van, and can it get out again afterwards? A dead-end lane where a van has to reverse the full length is slower than one it can drive through.
Check for a low bridge, a weight limit or a width restriction on the approach. There are a few round the Mendip villages and they are easier to plan for than to discover.
Note any overhanging trees. A Luton is tall and branches that a car passes under will not clear it.
Measure the carrying distance from the parking spot to your front door. Every metre gets repeated on every single trip.
Talk to the neighbours
This is the most effective thing on the list and it costs nothing. A note through the doors either side a few days beforehand, asking people to leave a gap on the morning, works far more often than not. Most people have moved house themselves and remember what it was like.
Permits and suspended bays
If you are on a permit street or in a controlled zone, the council can usually arrange a temporary permit or a suspended bay for a move. It has to be applied for in advance, typically several working days, and there is a fee. Look up the relevant council for your address, since the Mendip towns, Bath and Bristol all run their own schemes with different rules.
Clear the route inside as well
Move the car off the drive before we arrive, not while we are waiting.
Prop doors open and take up loose rugs and runners on the route from the door to the van.
Cottage staircases are the tight spot. Steep, narrow and often with a turn at the top. If a wardrobe or a bed came up those stairs in pieces, it is going back down in pieces, so let us know beforehand and we will bring the tools.
When in doubt, send a photo
A picture of the street and of your front door tells us more than a paragraph of description. Send it on WhatsApp when you enquire and we can tell you straight away whether the van will get to the door or whether we need to plan around a carry.
