Removal companies by town

What moves from these towns look like

Between them, these postcode areas sent 1,558 removal requests through our sites from June 2022 to October 2026, and they have more in common than not. In every one the 2-bed home was the most common size, from 38% of requests in Nottingham and Birmingham to 48% in Plymouth. Between 14% (Sheffield) and 21% (Newcastle and Plymouth) were moving out of a flat.

Most moves are short. Of the requests that gave a new postcode, between 54% (York) and 76% (Newcastle) were moving within the same postcode area. Where the towns differ: moves from Sheffield run bigger, with 3- and 4-bed homes nearly half; York's area reaches the coast and has the most bungalows; Nottingham's runs well into Lincolnshire, and Plymouth's across the Tamar into east Cornwall. Each town's page has its own figures, and where the people who left moved to.

Parking the van: every council does it differently

The van needs to park near the door at both ends, and the six councils handle that six different ways. As their own websites read on 28 October 2026:

• Newcastle suspends a parking bay with 3 working days' notice, for a £30 fee and £20 a bay a day, and names furniture removal among its reasons.
• Birmingham wants 48 hours' notice and charges from £18.90 a bay a day, plus setting-up and administration fees; its examples are building work and traffic, not removals.
• Sheffield wants 14 days' notice, paid 9 days ahead, and does not list removals among the reasons it accepts.
• York wants 21 days' notice and £272, and a van going into the city centre's footstreets between 10.30am and 5pm needs a £50 access permit.
• Nottingham has no bay suspension for a house move; a liveried removal vehicle is exempt from waiting restrictions while it moves furniture in or out.
• Plymouth City Council's website has nothing for suspending a bay or loading on yellow lines for a house move.

Birmingham, Sheffield and Newcastle also have clean air zones that charge a van below the emission standard, which matters if you hire one yourself. Whichever town you are moving from, ask each removal company whether it arranges the parking or expects you to, and who pays: the answer belongs in the quote.

Getting quotes you can compare

Tell us about your move once and your request goes to removal companies that cover it; up to 5 of them get in touch with their prices. Quotes for the same move can be hundreds of pounds apart, mostly because each firm has priced a different job. So give every firm the same picture: every room including the loft, shed and garage, the floor and whether there is a lift, how close the van can park, and anything that has to come apart.

Then line the quotes up on the same points: what is included (packing, dismantling, a second trip), the insurance and its limit per item, the deposit and the cancellation terms. A written, itemised quote and membership of the British Association of Removers, which you can check on bar.co.uk, are good signs; the removal costs guide lists the warning signs.

Ask 6 to 8 weeks ahead if you can. That leaves time for a survey and for any parking the council has to arrange (York's takes 21 days). Fridays are the busiest and dearest day for removers, and a mid-week date is often cheaper. The moving house checklist puts the rest in order.

Figures: totals of the removal requests made through Compare Removal Companies and our other removal comparison site from each town's postcode area, repeat requests left out; each town's page gives its own and its sources. Council rules from each council's own pages; read them again before you rely on one.