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Crane hire in Leeds and across West Yorkshire
We provide crane hire in Leeds and the surrounding West Yorkshire towns, working across the city centre, the industrial estates in the south and the commercial parks along the motorway corridors. Leeds gives us two very different kinds of job: tight city-centre lifts where the standing position and the traffic decide the plan, and estate work where the load and the ground decide it.
We supply mobile cranes with operators, and we plan and run full contract lifts, across Leeds, Morley, Pudsey, Horsforth, Garforth, Wetherby, Otley and out to Wakefield, Bradford and Huddersfield. 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 Leeds 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 | City-centre streets, yards and restricted access sites |
| 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 Leeds 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 Leeds
Most of our Leeds crane hire work falls into a handful of sectors.
City-centre construction
Leeds has a long run of tall residential and commercial schemes, and the lifting that goes with them is steel, cladding, precast and rooftop plant on sites hemmed in by streets and neighbouring buildings. Work around The Headrow and the pedestrianised core is usually booked for evenings or Sundays. See our construction sector page.
Holbeck, Hunslet and Cross Green
The industrial areas south and east of the city centre are the busiest part of our Leeds work: machinery deliveries and installs, factory moves, plant removals and rooftop unit changes on older buildings with tight yards. See our industrial and HVAC sector pages.
Thorpe Park and the motorway corridors
New commercial and distribution units along the M1 and M62 corridors, including Thorpe Park, bring steel erection, mezzanine and plant lifts on sites with good access and room to set up, which usually means a bigger machine and a faster job. See our construction page.
Hospitals, laboratories and universities
Leeds has a large healthcare, laboratory and university estate. Our work on it is mostly chiller and air handling unit replacement, laboratory and imaging equipment moves and plant room work, on buildings that stay open while we lift. See our healthcare and pharma and education sector pages.
Food and drink manufacturing
West Yorkshire has a substantial food and drink manufacturing base, and lifting there means production line installs and removals, silos and tanks, and plant changes fitted into short shutdowns with hygiene and cleaning to work around. See our food and beverages page.
Rail, telecoms and utilities
Track and station work, mast and antenna lifts and substation equipment changes all come with fixed windows and exact timings. See our rail, telecoms and power and renewables sector pages.
Access and planning for lifts in Leeds
Every site is different, but a few things come up again and again on Leeds jobs:
- Getting there. The M1, M62 and M621 bring cranes close to the south of the city, with the A1(M) to the east and the A65 and A61 out towards the north. Larger all-terrain cranes and ballast loads are routed around low bridges and weight limits, and we plan the route before we quote.
- The inner ring road and the city core. Part of the ring road runs in tunnel, so tall loads need routing around it, and the pedestrianised streets and bus gates in the centre limit where a crane can approach and stand.
- Working out of hours. A lot of city-centre lifting happens in the evening, overnight or on a Sunday to keep streets and entrances open. We plan for lighting, noise and marshalling when that is the case.
- Ground conditions. Older industrial ground in Holbeck and Hunslet, cellars under pavements, canal and river frontage and railway arches all need checking. We confirm ground bearing and outrigger positions, and use crane mats where needed.
- Road closures. Where a lift needs part of a road or pavement closed, we can arrange the traffic management and road closure with Leeds City Council as part of the job.
Postcodes and areas we cover
We cover every LS postcode and the West Yorkshire districts around it:
- Leeds: city centre, Holbeck, Hunslet, Woodhouse, Burley, Headingley, Chapel Allerton, Harehills, Armley and Wortley
- North and west: Bramley, Pudsey, Farsley, Horsforth, Yeadon, Guiseley, Otley and Ilkley
- South and east: Morley, Rothwell, Cross Green, Seacroft, Garforth, Wetherby and Boston Spa
- Wider area: Wakefield, Bradford, Huddersfield and Harrogate
Beyond Leeds we also work across the rest of Yorkshire. See all the areas we cover.
Why Leeds firms choose Synergy Lifting for crane hire
- Used to tight city sites. Standing positions, exclusion zones and out-of-hours working are part of normal planning for us.
- One call for the whole job. Crane, transport, traffic management and site labour can come from us rather than from four suppliers.
- 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 Leeds 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 lift in Leeds city centre at the weekend?
Yes, and on a lot of central jobs it is the easier option. Sunday and overnight lifts keep streets, entrances and car parks in use during the week. Tell us the window you need and we’ll plan the crane, the route and the marshalling around it.
Do you arrange road closures in Leeds?
Many lifts don’t need one. If yours does need part of a road or pavement closed, we can arrange the traffic management and apply to Leeds City Council for the closure, and we’ll tell you at quote stage.
How do you get a chiller onto a city-centre roof?
Usually with a mobile crane set up on the street or in a yard, lifting over the building line into position, with the standing position, the reach and the exclusion zone worked out beforehand. Send us the unit weight, the roof position and photos of the approach and we’ll confirm the machine, or read our guide to what size crane you need.
Get a quote for crane hire in Leeds
- Phone: 0113 734 1504
- Email: leeds@synergy-lifting.co.uk
We also provide crane hire in York, Doncaster, Sheffield and Manchester. See all the areas we cover.