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Crane hire in Liverpool and across Merseyside
We provide crane hire in Liverpool and the towns around it, working the docks and the riverside, the industrial estates out towards Speke and Kirkby, and the construction sites in and around the city centre. A lot of Liverpool lifting is shaped by the river: dock estate access rules, reclaimed ground and wind coming up the Mersey all get planned for before the crane is booked.
We supply mobile cranes with operators, and we plan and run full contract lifts, across Liverpool, Bootle, Speke, Garston, Kirkby, Huyton, Birkenhead and out to Widnes, Runcorn, St Helens and Ormskirk. 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 Liverpool jobs
| Crane type | Capacity / reach | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| All-terrain mobile crane | From 40t to 1,000t | Port plant, heavy cargo and large structures |
| City crane / pick and carry | From 5t to 60t | City-centre streets and restricted factory 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 Liverpool 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 Liverpool
Most of our Liverpool crane hire work falls into a handful of sectors.
The docks and the Mersey
The dock estate from Seaforth down through Bootle and along to Garston is a working port, and lifting there means heavy cargo, port plant and equipment changes planned around vessel movements, quayside ground bearing and the site’s own access and permit rules. See our maritime sector page.
City-centre construction and the Baltic Triangle
Residential and commercial schemes through the centre and the Baltic Triangle bring steel, precast, cladding and rooftop plant on sites with narrow approaches and neighbours on every side. Many of these lifts run in the evening or on a Sunday. See our construction sector page.
Speke, Garston and the Kirkby estates
The manufacturing and distribution estates south and east of the city are steady work for us: machinery deliveries and installs, factory moves, plant removals and rooftop unit changes. Food production around Kirkby in particular tends to mean fast plant swaps inside a short shutdown. See our industrial and food and beverages sector pages.
Chemicals and process along the upper Mersey
Widnes and Runcorn carry a long-established chemical and process industry. Work on these sites is shutdown lifting, vessel and pump replacement and new installation under a permit-to-work system. See our chemicals sector page.
Hospitals, universities and schools
Chiller and air handling unit replacement, plant room equipment and laboratory kit going in and out of buildings that stay open, with university and school work usually booked into a holiday shutdown. See our healthcare and pharma and education sector pages.
Energy, utilities and offshore wind
Transformer and generator placements, substation equipment changes and supply chain work for offshore wind in the Irish Sea all come with fixed outage windows and exact timings. See our power and renewables page.
Access and planning for lifts in Liverpool
Every site is different, but a few things come up again and again on Liverpool jobs:
- Getting there. Cranes reach Merseyside on the M62, M57 and M58, with the M53 for the Wirral side. Larger all-terrain cranes and ballast loads are routed around low bridges and weight limits, and we plan the route before we quote.
- River crossings. The Mersey tunnels carry height, width and load restrictions, so anything abnormal usually routes round by the Runcorn crossings. That affects timings as much as the route, and we work it out at quote stage.
- Dock estate access. Port sites have their own inductions, permits and vehicle rules, and lifts have to fit around vessel and cargo movements rather than the other way round.
- Ground conditions. Much of the dock estate and riverside is reclaimed land with made ground, and the older parts of the city have cellars under pavements. We confirm ground bearing and outrigger positions, and use crane mats where needed.
- Wind and road closures. Lifts on the riverside can be stopped by wind, so we plan around wind limits. Where a lift needs part of a road or pavement closed, we can arrange the traffic management and road closure with Liverpool City Council as part of the job.
Postcodes and areas we cover
We cover every L postcode, including:
- L1 to L8: Liverpool city centre, the Baltic Triangle, Toxteth, Everton and Kirkdale
- L9 to L14: Aintree, Walton, Fazakerley, Norris Green and Knotty Ash
- L15 to L25: Wavertree, Allerton, Garston, Speke and Woolton
- L26 to L40: Halewood, Huyton, Prescot, Kirkby, Maghull and Ormskirk
- Wider area: Bootle, Birkenhead and the Wirral, Widnes, Runcorn, St Helens and Warrington
Beyond Merseyside we also work across Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Lancashire. See all the areas we cover.
Why Liverpool firms choose Synergy Lifting for crane hire
- Used to port and process sites. Inductions, permits, exclusion zones and working around other people’s operations are normal for us.
- Route planning done first. Tunnel restrictions, low bridges and dock access rules get settled before a date is agreed, not on the morning of the lift.
- 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 Liverpool 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 work inside the dock estate?
Yes. Port sites mean site inductions, permits and vehicle rules, and lifts planned around vessel and cargo movements. Tell us which terminal and what the site requires and we’ll build it into the lift plan.
How do abnormal loads cross the river?
Not usually through the tunnels, because of the height, width and load restrictions. Larger cranes and ballast normally route around by the Runcorn crossings instead, which we allow for when we plan the job.
Can you swap production plant inside a weekend shutdown?
Often, yes, and that is how a lot of the food and process work around Kirkby and Widnes gets done. Give us the shutdown window, the plant weights and the route in and out, and we’ll plan the crane and the machine moving side together.
Get a quote for crane hire in Liverpool
- Phone: 0151 808 1883
- Email: liverpool@synergy-lifting.co.uk
We also provide crane hire in Deeside, Warrington, Wigan and Preston. See all the areas we cover.