Norbury SW16, north Croydon
One vehicle, one visit, and 20 cubic yards off your Norbury site.
Grab lorry hire in Norbury means a crane-equipped eight-wheeler collecting soil, rubble and demolition waste across SW16, or delivering aggregates on the same run. Reach is up to 7.5 metres from the side of the vehicle and each load runs to 20 cubic yards and 16 tonnes, under waste carrier registration CBDU480663.
Send the site postcode, what is on the ground and when you need it moved. We will come back with a written quotation. There is no charge for a quote and no obligation to book.
Lines are answered by the people who run the lorries, not a call centre. Same-day collection is often possible but always subject to availability.
The lorry does the work from the road. It stands in a lawful position, extends the crane over the boundary and lifts the material straight into the body, so nothing waits on the pavement between visits. Our grab hire services also run the other way, delivering MOT Type 1, crushed concrete, ballast, sharp sand, building sand, topsoil or shingle into an SW16 site.
Capacity is 20 cubic yards and up to 16 tonnes per load, subject to loading and road restrictions, with the Epsilon crane reaching up to 7.5 metres from the side of the vehicle depending on the vehicle and the conditions on site. On the interwar side streets east of London Road, that reach usually covers a front garden and a driveway from a single standing position.
Pricing is by project, the quotation is free, and same-day collection is often possible but always subject to availability.
Water sits under most of the practical decisions in Norbury. The town occupies the low ground of the Norbury Brook and River Graveney valley at the far north of the borough, and the brook becomes the River Graveney west of London Road before joining the Wandle. Croydon’s adopted Local Plan identifies the main fluvial flood risk in the borough as being in the vicinity of the Norbury Brook through Thornton Heath and Norbury, and the council’s Local Flood Risk Management Strategy records flooding incidents on the brook dating back to the 1960s, listing it as one of four Environment Agency managed watercourses alongside the Wandle, the Caterham Bourne and the Chaffinch Brook.
The practical consequence is a shallow water table along the brook corridor. Excavations near it fill faster than the same dig would on the higher chalk ground in the south of the borough, where the Local Plan notes that fractures in the chalk let groundwater collect and flow underground, supplying over 70 per cent of Croydon’s drinking water. Wet spoil is heavier per cubic yard, so a load that looks like 20 cubic yards on paper can reach the 16 tonne limit sooner. Allowing for that when you plan the number of loads is the most useful thing you can do before the first lorry arrives.
Change is coming to the brook itself. The Environment Agency, working with Croydon Council, is developing a Norbury flood alleviation scheme with options including a storage area in Norbury Park with restoration of the Graveney, flood storage at Thornton Heath Recreation Ground, or both, to protect around 800 commercial and residential properties in an area previously subject to significant flooding. Removing the concrete culverts in Norbury Park and restoring the natural channel forms part of the scheme, creating wetland habitat and improving water quality, and the council has earmarked Norbury Park for potential regeneration.
Access follows the same geography. The A23 London Road, the historic London to Brighton road, is the spine of Norbury District Centre and one of only two red routes in the borough, so stopping, loading and unloading are restricted along the frontage. Green Lane runs east off it towards Norbury Park at 217 Green Lane SW16 3LX, between Green Lane and Norbury Avenue, with the park’s public car park reached off Grenville Avenue. Local Plan policy DM41.1 asks development in the district centre to match existing building heights of two up to four storeys and to keep the continuity of ground floor active frontages, which limits the scope for new access points off London Road, so most loading happens from the side roads.
Soil, stones, muck, concrete, rubble, hardcore, demolition waste and green waste are all standard. A footing dig, a patio breakout or a garden strip all produce material the grab handles well, provided it is loose and heaped rather than compacted in place.
The excluded items are the ones that cause problems downstream at a transfer station, so they are worth checking before the vehicle is on its way.
For most SW16 jobs the deciding factor is whether the material is ready to go now or accumulating over a week.
| What matters | Grab lorry | Skip hire |
|---|---|---|
| Volume in one go | 20 cubic yards and up to 16 tonnes per load | Repeat exchanges to move the same amount |
| Getting material in | Crane lifts from up to 7.5 metres away, over fences and hedges | Carried or machine-loaded over the container side |
| Road permissions | Occupies the carriageway only while loading, so no overnight container on a red route frontage | Council skip licence, and a bay suspension in the Norbury Permit Zone |
| Suits the street pattern | Works well from the narrow interwar roads off London Road | Needs a driveway or a licensed on-street position |
| Typical use | Excavated spoil, hardcore and aggregate deliveries | Gradual clearance and mixed household items |
Neither is priced from a list here, since material, volume and the standing position all affect the quotation.
Pear Tree Farm, Featherbed Lane, Croydon CR0 9AA to a Norbury address is around eight minutes in a car. Add roughly 15 to 20 per cent for a loaded eight-wheeler, and treat the result as typical rather than promised.
The A23 London Road is the obvious approach, and it is also where the delay sits. Croydon’s Borough Transport Strategy identifies London Road near Norbury railway station as a congestion hotspot on the A23 corridor, so for sites east of the district centre the run in off Green Lane is often the calmer option.
Legally, the duty of care follows the producer, so the answer is that you share it with the carrier. Prime Waste Services Ltd holds waste carrier registration CBDU480663 and operator licence OK2066087, with four vehicles authorised at the Croydon operating centre, and the business has traded since April 2023 under company number 14793814.
There is no household route for trade material. Factory Lane Reuse and Recycling Centre in West Croydon is the nearest Croydon site and is open to residents only, the South London Waste Partnership states that commercial and industrial waste must not be brought to its sites, and the council does not issue permits for vans.
Our operatives are CPCS compliant and CSCS registered, qualified, screened and fully insured, and every load leaves with the paperwork to show where it went. Customers rate the service 5.0 stars.
Off London Road in most cases. The A23 through Norbury is a red route, one of only two in the borough, so stopping, loading and unloading are restricted along the frontage, and Local Plan policy limits new access points off it. We usually load from a side street using the crane’s 7.5 metre reach. Give us the address and we will confirm the position.
It affects the load rather than the booking. The brook corridor is the borough’s main recorded fluvial flood risk, so excavations near it often produce saturated spoil. Wet material weighs more per cubic yard, meaning a lorry reaches its 16 tonne limit before it fills 20 cubic yards. Tell us the ground conditions and we will estimate the loads accordingly.
Twenty cubic yards and a maximum of 16 tonnes in a single load, subject to loading and road restrictions. That covers a typical extension footing, a driveway breakout or a garden regrade in one visit for most domestic jobs. Larger groundworks are handled as a planned sequence of loads, which we set out with you rather than leaving to chance on the day.
No. Factory Lane Reuse and Recycling Centre is a Croydon household site for residents, and the South London Waste Partnership states that commercial and industrial waste must not be brought to its sites. The council also does not issue permits for vans. Material from building, landscaping or clearance work needs a registered carrier and a waste transfer note.
Yes. Grab lorry hire in Norbury covers deliveries as well as collections, so we supply MOT Type 1, crushed concrete, ballast, sharp sand, building sand, topsoil and shingle, placed by the crane where the frontage allows rather than tipped in the road. Booking a delivery alongside a collection keeps one vehicle on a permit-controlled street instead of two, which is easier on the narrow roads off Green Lane.
Sources and further reading
Call 07778 541120 with the postcode, the material and the volume, and we will price it free of charge.
