Man and van in Stratford
In E20 the estate runs the move: a booked loading bay and a protected lift. In E15 it is the older game of terraces, side streets and getting round the town centre.
Covering Stratford town centre, East Village, the Olympic Park, Maryland, Stratford High Street and Carpenters.
Man and van in Stratford: at East Village the bay is booked, not found
East Village, the old athletes' village, is a managed estate. Residents ask the management team ahead of the day to reserve a temporary loading bay and to protect the lift, so the van has somewhere to stand and the lift is padded rather than taken by whoever presses the button first. Chobham Manor and the newer Park neighbourhoods are block by block, each with its own managing agent and its own rule about the lift and the bay.
Book the bay before you book the driver. The hours then start with the van in place, not circling the estate looking for a kerb, and the concierge has the driver's name.
The ring round the Broadway, and the shopping-centre weekend
Stratford's centre is a tight ring of roads around the Broadway and the station, two-way since the old gyratory was undone in 2018, but with banned turns that still send a van the long way round. The old shopping centre and the new one sit either side of it, and on a Saturday the approach roads from the A11 and the A12 back up for the car parks. A move with an address near the station goes on a weekday.
Flats above the Broadway shops and in the High Street towers are loaded from the side streets or a marked bay. The High Street itself is a main road with bus lanes on parts of it and no kerb to load from.
Maryland terraces, Carpenters and the High Street towers
Away from the Park, Stratford is older. Maryland and the streets towards Forest Gate are Victorian terraces, most of them two flats behind one front door. The Carpenters Estate, between the station and the river, is post-war housing in the middle of a long rebuild; which blocks are lived in changes, so give the block name and the floor.
Along the High Street and around the station are the new towers, student halls and build-to-rent blocks. Each has a lift and a bay, and each has its own rule about booking them.
- A loading bay not booked at East Village, so the van circles while the clock runs
- Saturday traffic for the shopping centres on the A11 and A12 approaches
- A shared lift in a student block during the September and June changeovers
- An event at the London Stadium or the Park on the day
The stadium, the Park and the arena at Pudding Mill Lane
On a London Stadium match or concert day, the roads around the Park and the station carry event-day parking controls and some are closed outright. The Park's other venues and the ABBA arena at Pudding Mill Lane add evenings to the list. Check the stadium and Park event calendars before you pick a date, and keep the move to the morning if the event is in the evening.
Term dates are the other calendar. With UCL East and other campuses on the Park, September and June bring a wave of student moves, and the lifts in the halls and blocks around the station are at their busiest.
Removals in Stratford: window, block and floor
A man with a van at East Village needs the bay booking and the concierge's instructions. House removals from a Maryland terrace need the floor and whether the hall is shared. A student moving out of a High Street block needs the lift booked and a date that is not changeover week if it can be helped. Give those and the hours fit.
- East Village: book a loading bay with the management team, and ask for the lift to be protected, before booking the driver.
- The ring of roads round the Broadway has banned turns that send a van the long way; Saturdays are slowest.
- London Stadium and Park event days bring parking controls and road closures.
- September and June are student changeover months; block lifts are busiest then.
- Carpenters Estate is mid-rebuild: give the block name and the floor.
Congestion Charge and ULEZ in Stratford
Stratford is outside the Congestion Charge zone. A move within E15 or E20, or to Hackney Wick, Bow, Leyton or Forest Gate, never pays it; the zone begins miles to the west, past Whitechapel.
ULEZ and any charge are in the driver’s price. How pricing works
What a move from Stratford costs
Other areas close to Stratford
E6, E7, E12, E13, E15, E16
E2, E5, E8, E9, N1, N16
E1, E2, E3, E14
E17
Moving in Stratford: your questions
Book the loading bay first. East Village's management team reserves a temporary bay for your move and can protect the lift, subject to availability, so ask as soon as you have a date and book the van to arrive once it is confirmed.
Look at the London Stadium fixture list and the Olympic Park's event calendar. On event days the roads around the Park and the station carry parking controls and closures, so pick a different date or move in the morning.
From a side street or a marked bay. The Broadway and the High Street have no kerb a van can load from, so the driver stops behind or beside the building.
Only if the van goes west into the zone past Whitechapel. Moves within Stratford, or to Hackney, Bow, Leyton or Forest Gate, do not.