Soil removal
Soil and turf from landscaping, garden levelling, or digging out a patio. Loaded direct from the heap and away by the load.
Cambridgeshire
Grab Hire in Cambridge
Serving CB1 · CB2 · CB3 · CB4 · CB5
From the £200-million Cambridge South station rebuild to the 5,650-home Eddington masterplan, Cambridge grab hire shifts soil, rubble, hardcore, aggregates and muckaway off your plot in a single visit.
- Same dayloading available*
- No hiddenextra charges
- Loaded directsingle visit
- Licensedwaste carrier
*Same-day loading is subject to availability.
About Skyward grab hire in Cambridge
We cover grab hire and aggregates delivery across Cambridge and the surrounding CB1, CB2, CB3, CB4, and CB5 postcode districts, from the city centre and Cambridge North through to Trumpington, Cherry Hinton, Chesterton, Arbury, Newnham, and King's Hedges. The same network reaches out through Waterbeach, Milton, Histon, Girton, Cambourne, Ely, Newmarket, Huntingdon, and Royston across the wider CB area where access works.
Cambridge has one of the deepest UK research-city pipelines. Eddington on the north-western edge holds outline consent for 3,000 homes plus 2,000 postgraduate bedspaces and 100,000 square metres of research space, and a revised masterplan submitted in October 2025 adds 3,800 more homes and 50 hectares of open space, taking the Eddington total to around 5,650. Marleigh at Cambridge East has up to 1,391 homes with phases 1 and 2 well under way and a 423-home phase 3 with planning permission. The Cambridge North station area is delivering 425 mixed-tenure homes and up to 578,000 square feet of science and office space at Chesterton Sidings. Waterbeach New Town has outline consent for 4,500 homes as part of an 11,000-home allocation with a relocated railway station approved. The £80-million Shaping north Cambridge programme is bringing 400 homes to Arbury Court and the Kingsway estate. Programmes like that generate a steady run of muckaway and groundworks spoil, which is exactly what a grab lorry is built to move.
On the trade side, Cambridge Science Park near A14 Junction 33 anchors more than 1.5 million square feet of commercial space alongside Cambridge Business Park and Cambridge Research Park at Landbeach. The £200-million Cambridge South station rebuild at the Biomedical Campus is expected to open in 2026, and East West Rail's Bedford to Cambridge section will approach through the same campus. Our work in Cambridge mixes new-build muckaway from the Eddington, Marleigh, and Cambridge North plots with rear extension and patio rip-outs across Cherry Hinton, Trumpington, Newnham, and Chesterton. Some Cambridge firms book this as tipper hire. That is the same chassis without the grab arm. We do both.
CoveringCB1CB2CB3CB4CB5
1 visit
Loaded direct
The lorry arrives, loads, and leaves on the same trip. No skip dropped, no chase-up.
16 t
Per grab lorry
Standard 8-wheeler grab lorry holds up to 16 tonnes. Most domestic loads fit in one visit.
0 permits
In the normal case
No road permit needed when the lorry loads from a driveway, garden, or yard.
How it works
A grab visit, end to end
Three steps from quote to clear site in Cambridge.
- 1
Get a quote
Tell us your Cambridge postcode, what you have, and the soonest you need it gone. We confirm the price, slot, and access plan, usually within the hour.
- 2
The lorry arrives and loads
An 8-wheeler grab lorry pulls up. The hydraulic arm loads soil, rubble, hardcore, or whatever is in the heap, all in a single visit. No skip is dropped, no permit to chase.
- 3
Material gone the same day
The load goes straight to the licensed tipping point. You get back to the build, we get back to the road.
Jobs we typically clear in Cambridge
The jobs we most often clear with a grab lorry. Trade also calls it grab wagon. Tipper hire on its own is the same chassis without the grab arm. We do both.
Rubble and hardcore removal
Broken brick, concrete, patio rubble, and crushed hardcore from sub-base removal. Loaded from the pile rather than wheelbarrowed into a skip.
Muck away
Mixed inert spoil from foundation digs, trenches, and groundworks. Trade often calls it muckaway. The standard grab-lorry job, priced per load.
Eddington and edge-of-city new-build groundworks
Mixed inert spoil from the Eddington 5,650-home masterplan on the north-western edge and the 1,391-home Marleigh community at Cambridge East. The kind of load a grab lorry is built for.
Cambridge North and Biomedical Campus spoil
Groundworks spoil from the Cambridge North 425-home station-area redevelopment, the £200-million Cambridge South station rebuild at the Biomedical Campus, and East West Rail approach works.
What a grab lorry can take
Soil, rubble, hardcore, sand, gravel and aggregates. The full guide explains each one and what we will not take.
We also deliver aggregates
Topsoil, ballast, hardcore, sand and gravel by the load. Quoted per delivery, tipped where you need it.
Topsoil delivery
Screened, ready to spread
Tipped directly where you need it, on driveway, lawn, or site.
Quote thisSand and gravel
Building or decorative
Sharp sand, building sand, and decorative gravels by the load.
Quote thisCrushed concrete
Recycled aggregate
Recycled crushed concrete for hardstandings and access tracks.
Quote thisDecorative gravel
Finished surfaces
Bagged or loose decorative gravels for drives, paths, and borders.
Quote thisCommon questions
Grab hire FAQs for Cambridge
Do you cover the CB area beyond central Cambridge?
Yes. The same Cambridge network reaches across CB1 to CB5 and out through Waterbeach, Milton, Histon, Girton, Cambourne, Ely, Newmarket, Huntingdon, and Royston across the wider CB area. Give us the postcode and load type and we will confirm the coverage and slot.
Can you handle an Eddington, Marleigh, or Biomedical Campus plot?
Yes. We work the kind of programmes running across Cambridge right now, from the 5,650-home Eddington masterplan and the 1,391-home Marleigh community through to the 425-home Cambridge North station-area build and the £200-million Cambridge South station rebuild at the Biomedical Campus. Site access notes are useful upfront so we send the right vehicle for the gate width and route in.
Is grab hire the same as tipper hire in Cambridge?
Grab hire and tipper hire are closely related but not the same. A grab lorry is a tipper fitted with a hydraulic arm and bucket, so the driver self-loads, reaching over walls and fences where needed. A tipper on its own is the same truck without the arm, so you load it with your own machinery or labour. Grab holds up to 16 tonnes per visit, tipper around 20. We do both across Cambridge. Tell us about the site and load and we will send the right vehicle.
How quickly can you get to Cambridge from a quote?
Most Cambridge quotes are confirmed within the hour. Next-day collection is the realistic default, and same-day is often possible if you book before mid-morning, subject to lorry availability and access at your end.
Do you deliver topsoil and aggregates to Cambridge too?
Yes. The same network delivers topsoil, ballast, hardcore, sand and gravel, crushed concrete, and decorative gravels across Cambridge and the surrounding CB area. Per-load pricing the same way, tipped where you need it.
Nearby grab hire locations
Get in touch
Get a grab hire quote
Tell us your postcode and what you need clearing. We confirm coverage, pricing, and the soonest slot upfront.
Prefer to call? We’re available Mon–Fri, 7:30am–5:30pm
0333 880 0095
or fill in the form below