Plant hire across Cambridgeshire
Our Peterborough depot (PE1) covers Cambridgeshire, the fens and the south Lincolnshire border. Two modern JCB machines go out from here: the 1-tonne 8008 CTS micro digger at £75 per day for tight access, and the 4.8-tonne 48Z-1 zero tail swing mini excavator at £200 per day where there is depth and volume to shift. Both prices include VAT, delivery is £1 per road mile from PE1, and a trained operator is available at £200 per day if you would rather have the job done than learn a machine.
JCB 8008 CTS (1t) and JCB 48Z-1 (5t)
Including VAT. Delivery £1 per road mile.
Weekly hire: £300 for 7 days — pay four days, keep it for seven. Weekend hire (Friday afternoon to Monday morning) is charged as a single day.
- Micro digger
- JCB 8008 CTS — 1t, £75/day
- Mini excavator
- JCB 48Z-1 — 4.8t, £200/day
- Operator
- Trained operator — £200/day
- Depot
- Peterborough, PE1
- Delivery
- £1 per road mile countywide
- Minimum hire
- 1 day, or 2 days beyond 40 miles
What it is good for
- Driveway excavation and site strip
- Extension and garden-room footings
- Fen drainage, dyke clearance and land drains
- Utility trenching at depth (5t)
- Tight side-return and courtyard digs (1t)
- Yard, paddock and farm-track work
Where we deliver
Delivered and collected by us from the Peterborough depot (PE1) at £1 per road mile, worked out on real driving distance to your postcode. Sites 40 road miles or further from the nearest depot carry a two-day minimum hire.
- Peterborough
- Cambridge
- Huntingdon
- St Neots
- St Ives
- Ely
- March
- Wisbech
- Whittlesey
- Ramsey
- Chatteris
- Yaxley
- Stamford
- Oundle
Who covers what.
No surprises after you book. This is exactly where our responsibility ends and yours begins on insurance, deposits and damage — the same wording as our hire agreement.
You cover the machine while it's on your site
Plant is not automatically insured by us once it leaves the depot. You need hired-in plant cover for the full replacement value (theft and accidental damage included), or you accept liability for loss and damage yourself. We may ask to see evidence of cover before we deliver.
No separate security deposit
We don't hold a damage deposit or take a card pre-authorisation. You pay the hire and delivery total up front — by card at checkout or bank transfer — and nothing further unless damage, loss, missing fuel or extra days are chargeable after collection.
Misuse and accidents are yours, breakdowns are ours
From delivery until collection the machine and attachments are your responsibility. Damage from misuse, neglect or an accident is charged at the reasonable cost of repair, and full replacement value if it's lost, stolen or written off. Fair wear and tear or a genuine mechanical breakdown is on us — stop work, ring the depot, and we'll repair or swap the machine as fast as we can.
Back clean and refuelled
Machines arrive serviced, clean and full of fuel. Return them the same way. If a machine comes back excessively dirty or short of fuel we charge the reasonable cost of cleaning or refuelling — no arbitrary penalty fees.
Access, services and competent operators
You confirm safe, legal access for our transport, mark or trace underground services before digging, and make sure only competent, trained operators use the machine. If we can't deliver or collect because access is blocked or nobody's on site, a wasted-journey charge equal to the delivery cost may apply.
Free to cancel up to 48 hours before delivery
Full refund outside 48 hours. Inside 48 hours we may keep one day's hire for the lost slot and transport. Date changes are free subject to availability.
Read the full hire terms →Plant hire Cambridgeshire — FAQs
Do you cover the whole of Cambridgeshire?
Yes. From PE1 we deliver to Peterborough, Whittlesey, Yaxley, Ramsey, March, Chatteris, Wisbech, Huntingdon, St Ives, St Neots, Ely and Cambridge, plus Stamford, Bourne and Oundle just over the border. Delivery is £1 per road mile each way on genuine driving distance, priced live from your postcode. Cambridge sits beyond 40 miles from the depot, so hires there take a two-day minimum.
How much is digger hire in Cambridgeshire?
£75 per day including VAT for the 1-tonne JCB 8008 CTS and £200 per day for the 4.8-tonne JCB 48Z-1, plus £1 per road mile from PE1. Inside Peterborough that delivery is usually under £10; to Huntingdon or March it is roughly £16 to £20. Nothing else is added afterwards — the booking page shows the full total including delivery before you pay.
Which machine suits fen ground?
Fen peat and silt are soft and hold water. The 1-tonne micro imposes far less ground pressure and is less likely to sink, but it struggles where trench sides slump and you need real depth. The 4.8-tonne 48Z-1 gets down to 3.71 m but wants boards or mats under it on very soft ground. Tell Caiden on 07387 967 698 what the going is like and he will point you at the right machine rather than the dearer one.
Can I hire a digger with an operator in Cambridgeshire?
Yes. Operated hire is available with the JCB 8008 CTS at £200 per day on top of the machine rate. For operated hire of the 5-tonne machine, or for a priced groundworks job rather than plant hire, call Caiden on 07387 967 698 and he will quote the work.
How much is delivery?
Delivery is £1 per road mile from our Peterborough depot (PE1), charged on genuine driving distance to your postcode rather than a flat zone rate — so a job five minutes away costs a fraction of one an hour away. The booking page works the cost out live from your postcode before you pay, and all prices include VAT. Sites 40 road miles or further from the nearest depot carry a two-day minimum hire.
Do I need a licence or ticket to use it?
There is no legal requirement for a licence on private domestic work, and our machines go out on a self-drive basis to competent operators. On commercial and CDM-regulated sites your principal contractor will normally expect a CPCS or NPORS card for excavator operation. If you would rather not operate it yourself, we can supply a trained operator with the JCB 8008 CTS for £200 per day — just ask when you book.
What happens if something goes wrong on site?
Every machine leaves us serviced, fuelled and checked, and we walk you through the controls at handover. If a machine develops a genuine fault during your hire, call the depot and we will repair or swap it — you are not charged for downtime that is our fault. You are responsible for the machine while it is on your site, so it should be immobilised and secured overnight, and any accidental damage or loss is chargeable.