This guide covers 10 man with a van services worth considering for moves in Sheffield, from student houses in Crookes and Broomhill to flats in Kelham Island and the city centre. Sheffield has a Clean Air Zone inside the inner ring road, where older vans pay £10 a day, so it’s worth asking about your driver’s van before you book. The Van Man Co is first on the list, and the other nine are local firms with their own websites you can check.
Man with a Van in Sheffield Booking
Where does your driver need to go?
How long do you need the driver at each end?
A rough guide to the total time for loading and unloading.
- Few items: 30 mins to 1 hour
- Studio flat: 1 to 1.5 hours
- 1-bed flat: 1.5 to 2.5 hours
- 2-bed house: 2.5 to 4 hours
Every move is different. Stairs, parking and big or awkward items all add time. If unsure, round up.
Extra loading and unloading time is charged by the hour.
Estimate
Compare van sizes
How your booking & deposit works
This guide covers 10 services worth looking at for moves in Sheffield: local independents, a couple of full removal firms for the bigger jobs, and The Van Man Co first, since you’re already here.
What a man and van service actually is
You get a driver and a van, and the price is based on the time the job takes. Loading, the drive and unloading are all part of it. Some drivers work on their own and others bring a helper, depending on the job.
It handles most Sheffield moves well. A one bed flat in Kelham Island, a student room in Crookes, a single piece of furniture from Facebook Marketplace. For a full three bed house it can still work, though you’ll want to check the van size and whether a second pair of hands is included. Man and van services booked through a platform let you see the drivers and a price before you commit.
Fridays and Saturdays are the busiest days across our own bookings, so those slots go first. Sheffield has two universities, the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam, so the start and end of term are busy as well.
How it typically works
Give your pickup and drop-off postcodes and say what needs moving. Pick a van size and a time. If there’s more than one address, mention it up front.
Sheffield’s own complications are worth mentioning when you book. The city is hilly, and student areas like Crookes, Crookesmoor and Walkley are mostly Victorian terraced streets, some of them steep. That makes for a longer carry and a harder place to stop a van. Broomhill, Crookesmoor, Kelham Island and the city centre are among the areas with permit parking zones. City centre and Kelham Island flats often mean a lift and a set place to load. If any of this applies to your move, say so up front, because it all adds loading time.
1. The Van Man Co
The Van Man Co connects customers with independent local drivers covering Sheffield and the rest of the UK. There are three van sizes: medium, large and Luton. You put in your postcodes, pick a van and get a price estimate straight away, based on time and distance and including the driver’s travel to you and back.
A booking is a request until a driver confirms. Your card isn’t charged until then, when a 20% deposit is taken, and the rest is paid in cash to the driver on the day. Drivers bring blankets, straps and a trolley. Insurance cover varies by driver, and you can check a driver’s cover after making a booking request and before the deposit is charged. Find local drivers and get a price on the Sheffield man and van page.
2. G-Man with a van Sheffield
A one-man operation based in Crookes, run by Graham, who says on his site that he has been a man with a van in Sheffield since 2009. The site says the service is fully insured and available 24/7, with discounts for students and pensioners. He also carries band gear to gigs, which tells you the sort of flexible, smaller job this suits.
3. Andy’s Van
Andy says he has been trading since 2006. He usually works by himself but can provide a second man, and he mainly works in Sheffield but will go anywhere in the UK. He describes the service as an alternative to hiring a van yourself, which is about right for a room’s worth of things or a few pieces of furniture.
4. 2 Men 1 Van
Based in Birley in the south east of the city, and aimed at students, homeowners and businesses. The site lists goods in transit insurance, removals with one man or two, local and national student moves and NHS relocations. They also do house clearance and self storage, which is handy if you need both sorted in one go.
5. The Butler & The Van
Stephen Butler and one big Luton van. He covers all Sheffield postcodes and lists hours of 8am to 10pm, Monday to Sunday, so evenings and weekends are an option. The jobs on his site include student and flat moves, IKEA, eBay and Facebook Marketplace pickups, and motorbike transport.
6. Silkstone Van Man
Based in Silkstone, near Barnsley, with a page for Sheffield jobs. They run a Luton van with a tail lift, and the site states £1 million public liability insurance and goods in transit insurance. Student moves are covered, including halls of residence and shared houses.
7. CMB Removals
A Sheffield removals firm with two Luton vans and a larger truck. The site states £2,000,000 public liability and £20,000 goods in transit cover, and they are a registered waste carrier, so clearances are part of what they do. Single-item collections and student moves are listed too, and they also cover Rotherham, Barnsley and Chesterfield.
8. Bradway Premier Removals
A family-run firm based in Lowedges, with what they describe as 12 years of local experience. The site says they are Which? Trusted Trader certified. They have a separate man and van service for smaller, quicker moves, including end-of-term moves around both universities.
9. Ravenhill Removals
A full removals company in Stannington, trading since 2008 according to its site. This is one for bigger jobs: domestic, commercial and European removals, with packing, storage and house clearances. The site says its vans carry goods in transit insurance and that public liability insurance is in place.
10. Clockwork Removals and Storage
The Sheffield branch of a multi-branch removals company, on Garter Street. Its branch page shows British Association of Removers awards, and storage is part of the service. Worth a look for a whole-house move, or if you’d rather have a larger firm with a depot behind it.
How to choose between them
Comparing quotes
Most man and van firms price by the hour, and the rate varies with the van and the firm. Ask what the final number includes before you confirm: fuel or mileage, a minimum booking, and what happens if the job runs over. Our guide to how much a man and van costs shows what our own last 500 jobs came to, by van size and time booked.
The cheapest hourly rate doesn’t always give the cheapest bill. A van that’s too small means a second trip, and that costs more than a slightly bigger van that does it in one. Look at reviews alongside price, and look for jobs like yours.
Reviews and track record
Volume matters. A firm with a few hundred reviews and consistent feedback tells you more than one with four reviews and five stars. Look for reviews from the past year and watch for patterns. Late arrivals and prices that change at the end are the two complaints worth screening for.
Local experience counts for something in Sheffield too. A driver who works the terraces around Crookes and Walkley every week knows where a van can and can’t stop.
Matching the service to your job
Be accurate about what you’re moving. Vans fill up quicker than most people expect. If you have 30 boxes, a sofa, a bed and a wardrobe, say so when you book. Our van size calculator shows your own list loaded into each van.
For a bigger home, or if you want the packing done for you, price a full removal firm as well. Ravenhill Removals and Clockwork Removals and Storage are the two on this list set up for that.
The Clean Air Zone
Sheffield has a class C Clean Air Zone. It covers the inner ring road and the city centre, and it runs 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Private cars and motorcycles don’t pay. Vans do, if they don’t meet the standard: the council’s charge is £10 a day for smaller vehicles such as vans and taxis.
The standard for a van is Euro 6 for diesel and Euro 4 for petrol, according to GOV.UK’s Clean Air Zone guidance, and you can check any registration on the government’s vehicle checker. With us, charges like this are the customer’s responsibility where the route requires them. So if your move is inside the ring road, ask the driver whether their van meets the standard before you confirm.
Parking in Sheffield
Sheffield has permit parking zones in the city centre and in a ring of neighbourhoods around it, including Broomhill, Crookesmoor, Kelham Island and Neepsend, Hillsborough, Highfield and Sharrow Vale. In the city centre, permit restrictions apply seven days a week between 8am and 8:30pm. The council has a list of permit zones and a map to check an address. Some new developments are car free, which means no permits at all.
The council also has a parking bay suspension scheme. You need to apply at least 14 days before the date. The charge is £18.95 a day for each 5 metre section of bay in the city centre zone and £6.45 elsewhere, plus a £31.60 administration fee that isn’t refunded. Two things to know: the council’s page doesn’t list house moves among its reasons for a suspension, and it says it doesn’t remove vehicles from a suspended area. So ask the council whether it will grant one for your move before you count on it.
Parking is your responsibility at both ends, so sort it early, and tell the driver where the van can stop.
Common mistakes
Underestimating the load is the most common one. People leave half their boxes out when they describe a move, then the van is full before everything’s on. List what you actually have.
Not asking about the Clean Air Zone is the Sheffield one. Find out whether the van meets the standard before you confirm, not after the job.
Leaving the parking too late is the third. A bay suspension needs 14 days’ notice, and without somewhere to stop the job starts late. That isn’t a good start to moving day.
Ready to get a quote?
Frequently asked questions
How much does a man and van cost in Sheffield?
It depends on the van and how long the job takes, including the driver’s travel to you and back. Most firms charge by the hour. Our guide to how much a man and van costs shows what our own last 500 jobs came to. If your move is inside the inner ring road, ask about the Clean Air Zone as well.
Do I need to worry about the Clean Air Zone when booking?
If the move goes inside the inner ring road or the city centre, yes. Vans that don’t meet the standard pay £10 a day, and the zone runs all day, every day. Ask the driver before you confirm, or check the registration on the government’s vehicle checker.
How do I arrange parking for moving day in Sheffield?
Check whether the address is in a permit zone on the council’s website first. For a bay to be kept clear, the council’s parking bay suspension needs an application at least 14 days ahead, and its page doesn’t name house moves as a reason, so ask before relying on it.
Which parts of Sheffield are hardest to move in?
The hilly terraced streets in Crookes, Crookesmoor and Walkley, where it’s a longer carry and harder to stop a van. City centre and Kelham Island flats bring lifts, loading spots and permit parking. Mention any of these when you book.
What’s the difference between a man and van and a full removal company?
A man and van is a driver, sometimes with a helper, and one van, priced on time. A removal company sends a crew and a bigger vehicle and usually quotes for the whole job, often with packing. For a flat, a man and van is usually enough. For a full house, it’s worth pricing both.
