Very little. A site address is enough to begin mapping who is around it. The more of the crane strategy there is, the more precise the first answers are, but we can start before the crane has been chosen and work through the options with your crane specialists.
How the work runs, from first drawing to final inspection
A similar order of work on most sites, whether the jib may cross one neighbour or twenty, and whatever railway, tramway or road lies beside it.
What we need to start
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Mapping the reach
We start from the crane plan: where each crane will stand, its jib length, its height and how long it will be on site. If the crane has not been chosen yet, we work from the logistics plan, with the technical information coming from the project’s crane and construction specialists.
Each crane’s working radius, and its free slew when it is out of service, are drawn over the title plans and the surrounding infrastructure. The result is a drawing of the property and infrastructure the crane may affect, and a list of the parties who may need to be involved.
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Identifying property interests
The person who answers the door is not always the person who holds the relevant rights. The title registers at HM Land Registry are checked and the relevant leases reviewed to identify the freeholder, any head lessee, the management company and the managing agent, with property solicitors advising where the position is not clear.
The same step identifies the infrastructure owners and authorities who may need to be consulted, such as Network Rail, Transport for Greater Manchester, the highway authority, the canal owner and any nearby aerodrome.
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Opening the conversation
Concerns often come from surprise. Owners hear from us early, with a plain explanation of the scheme, the crane, the programme and what an agreement might cover, and with a named person to contact. For residential blocks we can meet the board or the managing agent.
Enquiries to Network Rail, Transport for Greater Manchester and the highway authority are started early too, because their timetables can be the longest.
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Recording condition
Where it is agreed, each neighbouring building is recorded before work starts by appointed specialists: roofs, chimneys and parapets by drone where aerial photography is appropriate, walls and windows from the ground, and inside where the owner agrees. The schedule is dated and shared with both sides.
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Agreeing terms
Licence terms are negotiated with each owner who is willing to proceed: the cranes covered, the duration and any extension, working hours, what may be carried over the property, free slew when the crane is out of service, insurance, the condition record and any fee. Each party’s solicitor advises their own client and finalises the documents.
The relevant approvals are progressed in parallel, such as Network Rail’s asset protection requirements, Transport for Greater Manchester’s requirements near the Metrolink, the highway authority’s permission and any aviation notifications. Their outcomes and conditions are for those bodies to decide.
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Handing over
The main contractor receives a coordinated project pack: the agreements in place, the approvals and their conditions, the crane restrictions to programme into the crane, the condition records, the payment schedule and a contact sheet for the neighbours and authorities.
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Seeing it through
While the crane is up we can remain a point of contact for neighbours and residents, so concerns reach someone who can pass them to the right person. If the programme moves, we help arrange extensions before agreements run out rather than after.
When the crane comes down, closing inspections against the schedules of condition can be arranged, and any making good is dealt with under the terms that were agreed.
What we do, and what we do not
Aerovax coordinates the liaison, the documentation and the third-party processes around a crane. Where a project needs a solicitor, a qualified surveyor, a drone operator or a specialist engineer, that work is done by them.
What we do
- Identify potentially affected property interests and the authorities involved
- Coordinate discussions around oversail licences and other agreements
- Help prepare and progress third-party approvals and notifications
- Arrange photographic schedules of condition through appointed providers
- Keep the project pack, the contacts and the programme of agreements in order
- Act as a point of contact between the parties
What we do not do
- Give legal advice: property solicitors advise each party and finalise the documents
- Fly drones or carry out building surveys and structural assessments: appointed specialists do, under their own qualifications, permissions and insurance
- Design or operate cranes: that stays with the crane and construction specialists and the contractor
- Decide approvals: Network Rail, Transport for Greater Manchester, highway authorities and aviation bodies set their own requirements and conditions
- Guarantee outcomes: owners can refuse, authorities can impose restrictions, and projects change
- Build or develop: we are not a developer and do not carry out construction work
Our specialist delivery network
Aerovax coordinates specialist services to help developers, contractors and property owners manage the property, documentation and approval requirements associated with crane oversailing and nearby construction.
Where a project requires specialist expertise, we can coordinate with suitable third-party providers, subject to availability and the needs of the project.
These services may include
- Drone survey specialists
- Aerial photography and photographic records of condition.
- Building surveyors
- Property inspections and schedules of condition.
- Property solicitors
- Advice on oversail licences, agreements and property rights.
- Structural engineers
- Specialist structural assessments where required.
- Crane and construction specialists
- Technical information and operational coordination.
- Infrastructure stakeholders
- Liaison with the relevant railway, tramway, highway and other authorities where applicable.
Specialist services are undertaken by the relevant appointed providers. Their qualifications, permissions, insurance and scope of work are checked as appropriate to the services being commissioned.
Aerovax’s role is to coordinate communication, documentation and project delivery, helping the relevant parties work towards a clear and organised process.
Who does what
Clear roles are most of what makes these agreements quick.
- Aerovax
- Coordinates the work: maps the crane’s reach from the project’s crane information, identifies the property interests and authorities involved, runs the conversations, coordinates the submissions and the surveys, and hands over a project pack. Can stay a point of contact while the crane is up.
- The developer
- Provides the crane strategy and the programme, agrees the commercial terms and signs the licences. Responsibility for fees and the owners’ reasonable professional costs is agreed for each project.
- The owner
- Reviews the proposal, takes independent legal and technical advice, and decides whether to agree terms.
- The solicitors
- Each party’s solicitor advises their own client and finalises the licence documents.
- The specialists
- Surveyors, drone operators, structural engineers and crane specialists carry out their own work, under their own qualifications, permissions and insurance.
- The contractor
- Erects and runs the crane within the agreed terms: the slew limits, the hours, the loads and the insurance.
Insurance and third-party specialists
Aerovax may engage appropriately qualified and insured third-party specialists to carry out specific services required for a project.
Where drone photography is commissioned, the appointed operator is responsible for carrying out the work within the scope of its applicable permissions, operational requirements and insurance cover. Other specialist services are provided by the relevant appointed professionals under their agreed terms of engagement.
The scope of Aerovax’s own services and responsibilities is agreed separately for each project. Details of the relevant providers and insurance arrangements can be confirmed where appropriate before work is commissioned.
Questions about the process
All questions
Who does Aerovax act for?
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 not
How long does it take to agree oversail licences?
It depends on the number of parties, how they are organised and the terms involved. A single freeholder may agree within weeks; a block with a freeholder, a management company and a managing agent usually takes longer. Network Rail, Transport for Greater Manchester and highway authorities work to their own timetables, so it helps to start as soon as the crane positions are known.
How early should we contact you?
As 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.
What happens if a neighbour will not agree?
An owner can refuse. Concerns often come from not knowing what is proposed, or from terms that feel one-sided, and clear information can help. Where agreement is not reached, the project team may need to change the crane arrangement, for example with a different jib, a luffing crane or a slew restriction, and take its own legal advice on the options. That is one reason to identify neighbouring interests before the crane position is fixed.
Tell us about the site
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.
- 0333 188 0700 Call the Manchester team
- enquiries@aerovax.co.uk For drawings and documents
- Manchester Working across Greater Manchester and the UK