Why the last hundred metres decide the whole job

Anyone can drive a van down the A21 or along the South Circular. The part of a local delivery or house removal that catches people out is the final stretch — the turn off a main road into a terrace of Victorian cottages, the run down a residential street in Penge where cars sit bumper to bumper on both kerbs, the awkward approach to a block of flats near Bromley North where the refuse lorry has already claimed the only gap. Across Bromley, Beckenham, Chislehurst, Orpington and the surrounding South East London streets, the road layout was drawn up long before anyone imagined a seven-and-a-half-tonne vehicle would need to reach every front door. A little preparation turns a stressful job into a routine one.

Do a quick route survey before you set off

A route survey doesn't need to be formal. Five minutes with a map, a phone and a bit of local knowledge will usually do it, and it pays for itself the first time you avoid a dead end.

• Check the width of the approach road, not just the destination street. The pinch point is usually at the junction, not outside the property.
• Note any weight or width restrictions, one-way systems and banned turns on the way in.
• Identify a safe place to stop and unload — a marked bay, a wide stretch of kerb or a driveway the customer has agreed you can use.
• Work out where you could turn round if the street turns out to be blocked. Never assume you can simply reverse back out.
• If you're unsure, ask the customer for a photo of the street taken from the junction. It takes them thirty seconds and can save you twenty minutes.

Reading the street: widths, corners and turning circles

A standard panel van is around two metres wide; a 7.5-tonne lorry closer to two and a half. On many terraced streets in Anerley, Sydenham and the roads around Bromley South, parked cars on both sides leave barely three metres of clear running space. Add a wheelie bin, a skip or a badly parked tradesman's van and it gets tighter still. Kerb-to-kerb measurements can look generous on a map, but in practice cars park with two wheels up on the footway, squeezing the usable gap even further.

Watch for the classic traps: tight ninety-degree turns where a garden wall or a dropped kerb sits right on the apex; narrow railway bridges with height and width limits; overhanging trees that will take a wing mirror or a roof bar; and gentle curves that hide oncoming traffic until the last moment. On longer-wheelbase vehicles, remember your rear swing — the back end cuts in on a tight turn and can catch a gatepost, a bollard or a parked car's wing mirror before you feel a thing.

Parking restrictions, CPZs and loading rules

Bromley and the neighbouring boroughs use controlled parking zones, and the rules change street by street and hour by hour. Some bays permit loading; others don't. Single and double yellow lines often still allow loading, but not where a kerb marking or a specific ban says otherwise. Getting this wrong on a busy Saturday can mean a penalty charge and a customer waiting on the doorstep.

• Read the zone signs at the entrance to the street, not just the sign next to the bay you want.
• Check the times. A zone running from 10am to 4pm can leave you a perfectly clear window either side.
• Ask the customer whether they hold visitor or trade permits you can use.
• Never block a dropped kerb, bus stop, pedestrian crossing or fire access point, even for a couple of minutes.
• Look for suspension notices attached to posts or railings — bays are often closed in advance for roadworks or events.

Low bridges, height barriers and overhead hazards

Railway bridges are part of the furniture in this part of South East London, and many are lower than drivers expect. Measure your vehicle with the load on board, not empty — a luton van, a flatbed carrying timber or anything with a roof box changes your clearance completely. Multi-storey car parks, mews archways, shop awnings and low cables across service roads all present the same problem. If the only sensible route to an address passes under a height restriction you can't meet, the detour is always shorter than the alternative. Plan it in advance rather than discovering it with a queue of traffic behind you.

Reversing safely and keeping residents on side

Reversing should be the exception, not the plan. Where you know a street is tight, arrive with the vehicle already pointing the way you'll leave, or agree with the customer that they'll hold a space for you. If you must reverse, use a banksman wherever possible, keep windows down so you can hear, and never rely on cameras and sensors alone — children, pets and delivery riders can appear from nowhere. Keep noise to a minimum early in the morning and late in the evening, don't leave the engine idling outside someone's front room, and keep the footway clear for pushchairs and wheelchairs. A friendly wave to a resident who's waiting to get past costs nothing and buys you goodwill.

Turning good habits into a routine

None of this is complicated, but it does need to be consistent. Build a short checklist into every job: survey the route, confirm access and parking, check heights and widths, agree the unloading point, and decide the exit before you arrive. Local haulage and removals work in Bromley and South East London rewards drivers who know the streets intimately and plan around their quirks. Do that, and the narrow terraces, the tight junctions and the school-run chaos stop being obstacles and simply become part of a job done well.