Moving to Stratford: the lift slot matters more than the van

Facts checked 18 September 2026Moving to a neighbourhood

Written by Daniel, founder, Metro City Moves

Council and TfL figures on this page are the authorities' own charges, read from their websites on the dates listed under Sources. Fees change — most councils revise theirs each April — so check the authority's page, or ask us, before relying on any figure.

Moving to Stratford is, more than almost anywhere else in London, a new-build move. East Village, the blocks around the Olympic Park, Chobham Manor, the towers by the station — most of it went up in the last fifteen years, and in buildings like that the concierge controls the day rather than the road does. The single most useful thing you can do is book the goods lift before you book anything else. Stratford is in Newham, and Newham handles suspensions through its permit portal rather than a published fee page, so the kerb cost is something we check per job.

The short version

Stratford is in Newham. Its suspension charges are handled through the council's permit portal, not a public price list.
Newham asks for at least five working days' notice and says applications take up to ten working days to process.
In a managed block, the goods lift booking is the longest lead time in the whole move.
Many buildings limit move times to weekday hours, which rules out a Saturday.
The older streets — Maryland, Forest Gate's edges, terraces off Romford Road — are a completely different job.

Newham, honestly

Newham does not publish a plain fee table for bay suspensions the way Wandsworth and Lambeth do; applications go through its MiPermit portal, and the council asks for a minimum of five working days with up to ten working days to process. It also states that a separate application is needed for each location, so a move involving two streets is two applications.

I am not going to print a per-day figure for Newham here, because every figure on our parking pages is quoted from a council's own published page and Newham's is not published that way. What we do instead is check it for your address before you commit to a date, and pass it on at cost. If you want to see how the boroughs that do publish compare, that is in what every borough charges.

The new-build move: five questions for the concierge

In East Village, Chobham Manor and the tower blocks around the station, the building decides almost everything. Ask these, and get the answers in writing:

Is there a goods lift, how is it booked, and how long is the slot? This is the constraint. Everything else bends around it.
What are the lift's internal dimensions and weight limit? Not the doorway — the box. A wardrobe that will not enter goes up the stairs, which in a tower is not realistic.
Where does the van go, and is there a height limit? Many blocks here have underground loading. A Luton with a tail lift may not fit, and then everything is carried from street level.
What times are moves permitted? Weekday-only rules are common, and they are the reason people discover on Thursday that Saturday is impossible.
What does the building need from the removals firm? Insurance details and floor protection, usually, sometimes a fortnight ahead.

Get all five and a Stratford move is one of the easiest in London. Miss the first and it is one of the most expensive.

The older Stratford, which is a different job entirely

Not all of it is new. The terraces around Maryland, off Leytonstone Road and towards Forest Gate are Victorian, mostly converted, and they behave like every other inner-London terrace: no lift, a turn on the stairs, a narrow front door, controlled parking outside. If that is your end of Stratford, what actually decides a flat move is the more useful page.

Three things specific to here

The Westfield effect. The roads around the centre and the station are busy continuously, not at predictable peaks. An early slot is worth real money.

Student and young-professional turnover. There is a lot of it, concentrated in September, and it competes for the same lift slots and the same Saturdays.

Red routes. Parts of the A11, A12 and A118 around Stratford are TfL's roads rather than Newham's, and TfL sells no suspension on a red route at any price. If either address is on one, a dispensation with working days of notice is the only route and it needs planning for.

Common questions

What does a parking suspension cost in Stratford? Newham does not publish a public fee table, so we check it for your address rather than quote a number we cannot source. Five working days' minimum notice, up to ten working days to process.

Do I even need one in a new block? Often not, if the building has a loading bay your van fits into. That is the first thing to establish, because it changes both the plan and the price.

How far ahead should I book? Work backwards from the lift slot, not from us. Two to three weeks is sensible where a concierge is involved.

Can you do a Saturday? We can. Your building may not permit it. Check before fixing the date.

Is a tower move quicker than a terrace? With a booked, working goods lift, much quicker. Without one, considerably slower than a terrace, because there are more floors to climb.