Lifts, one-way streets and loading bays for a Bolton flat

The centre sits inside a ring of one-way streets. Bradshawgate, Deansgate and Newport Street run one way, so the van comes round to the right side of the block rather than stopping on a red route or across a bus stop. A flat above a shop is reached from the back street where there is one. Bolton Council can grant a dispensation to load for longer than the signs allow, at £7.90 a day, with two working days' notice, which suits a flat with a long walk to the door.

Inside, the lift decides the morning. A one-bedroom flat with a working lift is a quick load, but a sofa that will not stand on end in the car has to go down the stairs, and that takes longer. Tell us the floor, whether there is a lift and its rough size, and whether the building asks for moves to be booked with the managing agent. The van never uses an NCP multi-storey nearby, as it stands about 2.5m tall.

Lift bookings, fobs and the back door: Bolton flat checklist

Book the lift or a moving slot with the managing agent if the block asks for it
Find out where the bin store or back door is, as it is often closer to the street than the front entrance
Leave a fob or code with the driver for the day, so doors are not held open by hand
Measure the sofa against the lift car; if it will not fit, it goes down the stairs and that time is counted

Apartments, mill conversions and flats over shops around BL1 and BL3

Bradshawgate and Deansgateone-way streets where a flat is loaded from a side street or the back
Around the Deane Road campusflats and shared houses close to the university
Halliwellflats among the terraces, a short run up Halliwell Road from the centre
Inside the inner ringflats where the one-way streets decide which side the van stops on

Flat moves across Bolton and out to Manchester or Salford

Bradford → Boltona 43-mile run over the M62 and M61, 55 to 70 minutes
Bolton town centre → Salfordthe M61, M60 and M602, about 13 miles
Halliwell → Astley Bridgea flat to a first house, a short run up Blackburn Road

Floors, lifts and the walk to the door: a Bolton flat price

The floor, whether the lift can take the furniture, the walk from where the van stops to the entrance, and the distance to the new address decide the figure, fixed before the day. See how we quote for the full breakdown.