# Aerovax > Aerovax Spatial Logistics is a Manchester company that coordinates crane oversail agreements, third-party approvals and photographic schedules of condition before tower cranes are mobilised. It provides coordination and liaison services to developers, contractors and neighbouring property owners, and works with appointed solicitors, surveyors, drone operators and engineers where a project needs them. Aerovax is the trading name of Aerovax Spatial Logistics Ltd. The name refers to this company and its website, aerovax.co.uk. ## Key facts - Name: Aerovax - Registered name: Aerovax Spatial Logistics Ltd - Registered in: England and Wales - What it is: Crane oversail coordination and property protection - Based in: Manchester, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom - Works across: Greater Manchester, and elsewhere in the UK - Works with: Property developers, main contractors, freeholders, managing agents, residents’ management companies and leaseholders - Role: Project coordination and liaison. Its role, responsibilities, fees and any conflicts of interest are agreed for each engagement. Not a developer, and does not build - Specialist work: Carried out by appointed solicitors, surveyors, drone operators and engineers under their own qualifications, permissions and insurance - Costs for property owners: Agreed for each project; Aerovax aims to agree developer funding of reasonable survey and legal costs, subject to negotiation - Phone: 0333 188 0700 - Email: enquiries@aerovax.co.uk - Website: https://aerovax.co.uk/ ## Services - [Crane oversail licences](https://aerovax.co.uk/crane-oversail-licences/): Coordination of oversail licences and other agreements with neighbouring property owners before crane mobilisation, covering matters such as duration, hours, loads, insurance, condition records and fees, with each party’s solicitor finalising the documents. - [Property protection for owners](https://aerovax.co.uk/property-owners/): Help for freeholders, managing agents, residents’ management companies and leaseholders to understand a proposed crane’s potential impact on their property and to explore appropriate protections and terms. - [Schedules of condition](https://aerovax.co.uk/schedules-of-condition/): Photographic schedules of condition of neighbouring buildings before construction starts, coordinated through appointed surveyors and, where aerial photography is appropriate, specialist third-party drone operators. - [Rail, tram, road and air approvals](https://aerovax.co.uk/statutory-approvals/): Help identifying and progressing the approvals and notifications a tower crane may need near a railway, the Metrolink, a public road, a canal or an aerodrome. Requirements are set by Network Rail, Transport for Greater Manchester, the highway authority and the aviation bodies for each project. ## Questions General information on the law and practice in England and Wales, not advice on a particular site. ### What does Aerovax do? Aerovax Spatial Logistics is a Manchester company that coordinates crane oversail agreements, third-party approvals and photographic schedules of condition for projects where tower cranes work close to neighbouring land, buildings and infrastructure. It provides coordination and liaison services to developers, contractors and property owners, and works with appointed solicitors, surveyors, drone operators and engineers where a project needs them. It is not a developer and does not build. ### 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. ### Which areas do you cover? We focus on Manchester city centre, Salford and Trafford, and the rest of Greater Manchester. We can also support projects elsewhere in the UK. ### What is a crane oversail licence? A crane oversail licence is a written agreement in which a property owner allows a tower crane’s jib, and sometimes its loads, to pass through the airspace above their land for an agreed period. It usually records where the crane stands, how long it stays, when it may oversail, what it may carry, the insurance, the condition record, any fee, and what happens if anything is damaged. ### Can a developer swing a crane over my building without permission? 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. ### Is a licence needed if the crane never carries anything over the building? 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. ### Who pays for an oversail licence? 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. ### How much is an oversail licence worth? There is no fixed tariff. Fees are negotiated with reference to the site, the duration and the extent of oversailing, and they also reflect how low the jib passes, whether loads are carried over the property and how the building is used. A fee may be paid as one sum or periodically while the crane is up. Not every nearby building is entitled to compensation, and not every agreement involves a fee. ### Who needs to agree for a block of flats? It depends on who holds the relevant property interests in the airspace the jib may cross. That is often the freeholder, but a head lessee or a residents’ management company may hold rights too, and some top-floor leases include the roof. The title registers at HM Land Registry and the relevant leases are checked early, with a solicitor’s input where the position is not clear, so the right parties are approached. ### What is a schedule of condition? A schedule of condition is a dated record of a building’s condition, made with photographs and written notes before nearby construction starts. If damage is reported later, it shows what was there before. It is evidence of the condition observed at the time: it does not guarantee protection against a future claim or prove the cause of any damage. We coordinate schedules through appointed surveyors and, where aerial photography is appropriate, specialist drone operators. ### 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. ### 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 is a Network Rail BAPA? A Basic Asset Protection Agreement, or BAPA, is an agreement Network Rail commonly asks for before outside works that could affect the railway. It generally covers Network Rail’s costs of reviewing the proposals, such as the risk assessment and method statements, and of any supervision on site. Whether a BAPA or another agreement is needed, and what restrictions apply to a crane, are confirmed with Network Rail’s asset protection team for each project. ### Can a crane oversail the Metrolink? Crane operations near Metrolink infrastructure may require assessment, coordination and approved operating restrictions, and the requirements are determined by Transport for Greater Manchester for each project. Its published guidance for working near the network restricts cranes oversailing the tramway and asks for a slew restriction plan, so it is worth contacting it early, starting with its Initial Enquiry Form. ### Does a crane over a public road need a licence? Usually some form of permission is needed. The highway authority decides what is required for a crane to oversail or work beside a public road, and on what conditions: for most roads that is the local council, such as Manchester City Council or Salford City Council, and for motorways and trunk roads it is National Highways. Many councils licence tower cranes over the highway under section 178 of the Highways Act 1980, but processes, fees and conditions differ, so the requirement is confirmed with the authority for each site. ### Do tower cranes need to be notified to the airport? Often, yes. Cranes near an aerodrome, and tall cranes anywhere, may need to be notified to the aerodrome operator or the Civil Aviation Authority, and some need obstacle lighting. Requirements depend on the aerodrome, the crane height and the applicable procedures, so we help identify applicable crane notification and approval requirements with the relevant aerodrome and aviation authorities. ## Pages - [Home](https://aerovax.co.uk/): What Aerovax does for developers and for property owners, the permissions a crane operation may require, property protection and photographic records, and how the work runs. - [For developers and contractors](https://aerovax.co.uk/developers/): Oversail agreements, rail, tram, road and aviation requirements and condition records, coordinated before mobilisation, starting from the crane plan, and when to bring Aerovax in. - [For property owners and managing agents](https://aerovax.co.uk/property-owners/): For freeholders, managing agents and leaseholders with a development or crane planned next door: property rights, what may be agreed, who signs for a block of flats, and how to ask. - [Crane oversail licences](https://aerovax.co.uk/crane-oversail-licences/): General information on crane oversail in England and Wales, what a licence usually covers, how fees are worked out and how long it takes. - [Schedules of condition](https://aerovax.co.uk/schedules-of-condition/): Photographic schedules of condition coordinated through appointed surveyors and drone operators: what they record, what they are and are not, and what a schedule usually includes. - [Rail, tram, road and air approvals](https://aerovax.co.uk/statutory-approvals/): Network Rail asset protection, Transport for Greater Manchester guidance near the Metrolink, highway authority permissions, CAA crane notification, and canals. - [How we work](https://aerovax.co.uk/how-we-work/): The stages of the work from mapping the crane’s reach to the closing inspection, what Aerovax does and does not do, the specialist delivery network, who does what, and insurance. - [Questions](https://aerovax.co.uk/questions/): Every question and answer: the law, fees, blocks of flats, refusals, Network Rail, the Metrolink, highways and aerodromes. - [About Aerovax](https://aerovax.co.uk/about/): Who Aerovax is, its role between developers and owners, where it works, and the key facts. - [Contact](https://aerovax.co.uk/contact/): The enquiry form, the phone number and the email address. ## Optional - [Privacy notice](https://aerovax.co.uk/privacy/): How enquiries are handled, who processes them, cookies, how long details are kept, your rights, and who took the photographs.