We help developers identify neighbouring property interests, coordinate crane oversail agreements and progress the relevant approvals before site mobilisation.
Aerovax Spatial Logistics helps construction teams and neighbouring property owners work through the property, documentation and coordination issues that can arise when tower cranes operate close to adjoining land, buildings, transport infrastructure and public highways.
Depending on the crane configuration, its working and out-of-service reach may extend beyond the construction boundary. Crane oversailing may engage neighbouring property rights and require a licence or other agreement, so the requirements should be assessed against the crane plan, the property interests and the applicable law.
We coordinate the process of identifying affected property interests, seeking the necessary agreements and progressing relevant third-party approvals before crane mobilisation. Requirements and outcomes depend on the site and the decisions of the parties involved.
We coordinate between developers and neighbouring property interests. Who we act for, and on what terms, is agreed openly at the start of each engagement.
Coordinate neighbouring-property agreements and approval requirements before site mobilisation.
Understand a proposed crane’s potential impact on your property and explore appropriate protections and terms.
Each project is assessed individually. Agreements, approvals, fees and timescales depend on the circumstances and the decisions of the relevant parties. Aerovax’s role and scope of services are agreed for each engagement.
A tower crane can slew through a full circle, at work and when it is left free to turn in the wind out of service. Choose a part of the plan to see who may need to be involved.
Oversailing may engage the property rights of whoever holds the airspace the jib could cross, and may need a licence or other agreement. Free slew when the crane is out of service is considered as well as working lifts.
Freeholders, head lessees, management companies
Where a crane could affect the railway, Network Rail’s asset protection process may apply. The agreements, risk assessment and any restrictions on the crane are confirmed with Network Rail for the particular project.
Network Rail asset protection
Crane operations near Metrolink infrastructure may require assessment, coordination and approved operating restrictions. Requirements are determined by the relevant infrastructure authority.
Transport for Greater Manchester
Oversailing a public road usually needs the highway authority’s permission. The process, the fee and the conditions vary from one authority to the next.
The council, or National Highways
A canal has an owner like any other neighbour, and oversailing it may need that owner’s agreement under its own process for works beside the water.
Canal & River Trust, or the Bridgewater Canal Company
We help identify applicable crane notification and approval requirements with the relevant aerodrome and aviation authorities.
The aerodrome operator and the Civil Aviation Authority
We coordinate photographic schedules of condition and specialist surveys to help document neighbouring properties before construction begins.
Where aerial photography is appropriate, Aerovax works with specialist third-party drone operators who hold the relevant permissions and insurance for their work.
From identifying potentially affected properties to coordinating surveys, documentation and oversail discussions, we help bring the right people together before crane mobilisation.
For the neighbouring owners, the authorities and the project team.
Surveyors, drone operators, solicitors and engineers, appointed for the work they do.
Agreements, surveys and approvals run to one programme.
Every site is different, but the order of work is usually similar. It starts with the crane plan and ends with a closing inspection after the crane has come down.
Working from the crane plan, we map each crane’s working and out-of-service reach against the surrounding property, roads, railways, tramways and waterways.
Title registers and leases are checked, with a solicitor’s input where needed, so the right parties are approached the first time.
Each relevant owner hears from us early: what is proposed, for how long, and what they are being asked to consider.
Photographic schedules of condition of neighbouring buildings, arranged through appointed surveyors and drone operators before work starts.
Fees, insurance, hours, loads and free slew are negotiated with each owner, and the third-party approvals are progressed alongside.
Your contractor receives a coordinated project pack of agreements, approvals and crane restrictions, with contacts and payment dates.
We can stay a point of contact while the crane is up, help arrange extensions if the programme moves, and coordinate the closing inspections.
Aerovax provides project coordination and liaison services to developers and property owners. We are not developers and we do not build. Our role, responsibilities, fees and any conflicts of interest are agreed transparently for each engagement.
What we do, and what we do notOur focus is Manchester city centre and Salford, where new towers go up beside Victorian warehouses, railway viaducts, the Metrolink and the canals. It is one of the most crowded skylines in the country to put a crane into, and the same kinds of neighbours and approvals come up again and again.
Working across Manchester, Salford and the rest of Greater Manchester, from Ancoats, Castlefield and Deansgate to Salford Quays, Trafford and Stockport, we bring the relevant parties together early, helping projects understand their requirements before crane mobilisation. We can also support projects elsewhere in the UK.
Generally not without the owner’s agreement or another legal basis. In England and Wales the courts have treated a crane jib in a neighbour’s airspace without consent as a trespass, notably in Anchor Brewhouse Developments v Berkley House in 1987, and oversail is usually dealt with by a licence or other agreement. The exact position depends on the land, the height and nature of the intrusion, the rights involved and any existing agreements or statutory powers, so it should be assessed for each site, and owners can take independent legal advice.
It can be. When a tower crane is out of service, at night and at weekends, it is normally left free to slew so the jib can turn with the wind like a weathervane, which protects the crane in high winds. The jib may then come to rest over neighbouring property, so free slew is usually considered alongside any working oversail. Whether an agreement is needed depends on the crane plan and the property interests involved.
Usually the developer or contractor who needs the crane pays any licence fee, and owners often ask for their reasonable survey and legal costs to be met as well. That is a matter of negotiation rather than a rule. We aim to agree arrangements under which the developer funds reasonable survey and legal costs, subject to negotiation and the terms agreed for each project.
Aerovax provides project coordination and liaison services to developers and property owners. Our role, responsibilities, fees and any conflicts of interest are agreed transparently for each engagement, and we tell everyone we deal with who we are working for. Property owners remain free to obtain independent legal and technical advice.
What we do, and what we do notAs early as possible, ideally once the crane positions are known and before the main contractor is appointed. Infrastructure approvals can take months, and owners who hear about a crane early have time to consider the proposal and take advice.
Send the address or project reference and a line on the crane plan, or ask what a crane next door could mean for your building. We will come back to you directly.
