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Crane hire in Cambridge and across Cambridgeshire
We provide crane hire in Cambridge, where a great deal of the work is laboratory and research equipment rather than steel and concrete. The Biomedical Campus and the science and business parks north and south of the city need process and laboratory kit placed accurately in buildings that are already running, and the historic centre needs a small machine in the one place it will fit.
We supply mobile cranes with operators, and we plan and run full contract lifts, across Cambridge, Trumpington, Cherry Hinton, Milton, Histon, Ely, St Ives, Huntingdon, Newmarket and Saffron Walden. Most enquiries get a quote the same working day.
Crane hire or a contract lift?
With CPA crane hire, we supply the crane and operator, and you provide the lift plan, appointed person and lifting insurance. With a contract lift, we handle all of it. Every lift is carried out to BS 7121 by CPCS or NPORS operators, with equipment inspected under LOLER and PUWER. Our guide to crane hire vs contract lifting explains the difference in more detail.
Cranes for Cambridge jobs
| Crane type | Capacity / reach | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| All-terrain mobile crane | From 40t to 1,000t | Major infrastructure, heavy plant, large structures |
| City crane / pick and carry | From 5t to 60t | College courts, laboratory access and restricted campus yards |
| Mobile tower crane | Up to 60m | Tight sites needing height and reach without a fixed tower crane |
| Tower crane | Luffing, flat top and self-erecting | Longer construction programmes and restricted city-centre sites |
Tell us the weight, radius and access for your Cambridge job and we’ll recommend the right machine. Not sure where to start? Read our guide to what size crane you need.
Contact us
Get In Touch
Please leave a few details and a member of our crane hire and contract lifting team will be in touch to discuss your requirements in more detail.
Where we work in and around Cambridge
Most of our Cambridge crane hire work falls into a handful of sectors.
The Biomedical Campus
The campus at the south of the city combines a major hospital with research and pharmaceutical buildings, and it is one of the busiest lifting environments in the city. The lifting is scanners and imaging equipment, laboratory kit, chillers, air handling units and generators, placed beside live wards and laboratories. See our healthcare and pharma page.
Science and business parks
The parks north and west of the city house research, biotech and technology businesses whose equipment is delicate, expensive and often heavier than it looks. This work is about tolerance, vibration and clean access as much as capacity. See our data centre infrastructure page.
Colleges and the historic centre
College courts and listed buildings through the centre have no vehicle access to speak of, so lifting means reaching over a roof from a narrow street, with the fabric protected and the load path agreed with the college first.
Construction and new development
Residential and commercial schemes around the edge of the city and the growth areas to the north west bring steel erection, precast, glazing and rooftop plant on sites with better access and room to set up. See our construction sector page.
Rail and infrastructure
Work at the city’s stations and along the lines out through Ely and Newmarket has to fit inside a possession, with exact start and finish times and clearances agreed in advance. See our rail sector page.
Food processing and agriculture
Processing and packing sites across Cambridgeshire and the Fens bring line installs and removals, silos, tanks and grain and vegetable handling equipment, fitted into short shutdowns. See our food and beverages page.
Access and planning for lifts in Cambridge
Every site is different, but a few things come up again and again on Cambridge jobs:
- Getting there. The A14 and M11 bring cranes to the edge of the city, with the A10, A428 and A1303 feeding in. The A14 is the pinch point for heavy loads, so timing is part of the plan and we route around low bridges and weight limits before we quote.
- Live research and hospital buildings. Standing positions, exclusion zones and timings get agreed with the estates team first, and a lot of this work happens in the evening or at a weekend so laboratories and wards are undisturbed.
- Delicate loads. Research and medical equipment is sensitive to shock and vibration as well as weight, so the rigging, the placing method and sometimes a specialist frame are all part of the plan.
- City-centre streets and cycling. Central streets are narrow, partly pedestrian and carry heavy cycle traffic, so the standing position, the exclusion zone and the marshalling are worked out early.
- Fen and low ground. Out of the city much of the land is low-lying, and peaty or made ground carries much less than it looks. We confirm ground bearing and outrigger positions and use crane mats where needed. Where a lift needs part of a road closed, we can arrange the traffic management and road closure with Cambridgeshire County Council.
Postcodes and areas we cover
We cover every CB postcode and the districts around the city:
- Cambridge: city centre, Cherry Hinton, Trumpington, Newnham, Chesterton and the Biomedical Campus
- Around the city: Great Shelford, Sawston, Milton, Histon, Waterbeach, Cottenham and Linton
- North and east: Ely, Soham, Newmarket and Haverhill
- Wider area: St Ives, Huntingdon, St Neots, Royston, Saffron Walden and Bury St Edmunds
Beyond Cambridgeshire we also work across Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. See all the areas we cover.
Why Cambridge firms choose Synergy Lifting for crane hire
- Delicate and precise work. Research and medical equipment needs a method built around shock, vibration and tolerance, not just a load chart.
- Used to live buildings. Hospitals, laboratories and occupied research buildings that stay open while we lift are normal working for us.
- Qualified and accredited. CPCS and NPORS operators, lifts planned to BS 7121, and a business certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, with Constructionline Gold Member registration.
- One contractor for the whole lift. We can take on the lift plan, appointed person, RAMS, supervision and insurance.
More than cranes
Many Cambridge jobs need more than a lift, so we also offer:
How to book a crane
- Send us the site location, load weight, access details and dates. Photos help.
- We quote, usually the same working day. Complex lifts may need a site visit first.
- For contract lifts we prepare the lift plan and RAMS. For CPA hire we advise on crane position and set-up.
- We arrive on the agreed day and carry out the lift to BS 7121.
Common questions
Can you move a scanner or laboratory equipment?
Yes, and a lot of our Cambridge work is exactly that. It usually combines a crane to get the unit into or out of the building with skates, air bearings or jacking inside, and the method is written around shock, vibration and the manufacturer’s limits.
Can you lift on the Biomedical Campus during the week?
Sometimes, but evenings and weekends are usually easier and safer. The standing position, exclusion zone and route for the load get agreed with the estates team before anything is booked.
Can you work on soft Fen ground?
Yes, with the ground checked first. Peat and made ground carry far less than they appear to, so we look at ground bearing, plan the outrigger positions and bring crane mats where the bearing is marginal.
Get a quote for crane hire in Cambridge
- Phone: 01223 790 068
- Email: cambridge@synergy-lifting.co.uk
We also provide crane hire in Peterborough, Luton, Milton Keynes and Northampton. See all the areas we cover.