Cherry picker hire costs in Teesside (2026)
Teesside cherry picker hire in 2026: self-drive £150 to £300 a day, operated hire with an IPAF-qualified operator £250 to £450 a day, half-days £150 to £250, weekly rates £600 to £1,200, delivery and collection £50 to £120 each way.
The headline rates
Every figure below is a real 2026 Teesside market range. Where a specific quote lands inside the range depends on machine size, hire length and site, all covered after the table.
| Hire type | Typical price | What is included |
|---|---|---|
| Self-drive, day | £150 to £300 | Machine only, IPAF card required |
| Operated, day | £250 to £450 | Machine plus IPAF-qualified operator |
| Half-day (small local jobs) | £150 to £250 | Operated, up to 4 hours on site |
| Weekly (self-drive) | £600 to £1,200 | Seven-day hire, best daily value |
| Delivery / collection | £50 to £120 each way | Distance and machine dependent |
What moves the price up
Working height and outreach. A 12-metre trailer boom is the value end; a 26-metre self-propelled boom costs more to hire, move and insure. Duration structure. Day rates are the expensive way to hire anything beyond three days; the week rate exists precisely because longer jobs should not pay day multiples. Site difficulty. Tight access, soft ground, public pavement or out-of-hours working all add planning time and sometimes equipment, and they appear as visible lines on an honest quote.
What moves it down
Batching jobs. The day rate is committed once the machine is on site, so every additional reachable task is close to free access. Flexible timing. If your job can slot around the hire company's diary, quieter days are often priced keener. Self-drive with a PAL card. If someone on the job holds IPAF 3b, the operator cost comes straight off.
Cherry picker vs the alternatives, honestly priced
Scaffolding: £600 to £1,000 a week for a typical semi, plus erection and strike days, plus a pavement licence where relevant. Wins for long jobs needing stacked materials; loses badly for anything under two days of actual work. Scaffold tower: £100 to £200 a week, but 8 to 10 metres maximum, manual moves, and slow on anything beyond a single face. Ladders: free, and the reason A&E sees the results. Fine for a look, wrong for work.
Reading a quote properly
A usable quote names the machine and its working height, the hire period, whether an operator is included, delivery and collection as separate lines, damage waiver or deposit terms, and confirmation of LOLER inspection and insurance. Five lines, and any quote missing one of them should be asked for it in writing before booking.