Newcastle · Refrigerated transport
Our partner couriers in Newcastle call at the wholesaler and the central kitchen at night or before dawn, load the meat, fish, dairy, ready meals and frozen goods, then deliver to restaurants, shops and supermarkets in the centre, Gateshead or Sunderland, each one before it opens its doors, in a refrigerated vehicle compliant with the Clean Air Zone.
Chilled and frozen in Newcastle
The Clean Air Zone charge applies 24 hours a day, and a day runs from midnight to midnight. A non-compliant refrigerated vehicle therefore pays the same charge at night as in the afternoon, and a round that stays in the zone before and after midnight pays twice. Many refrigeration units are fitted to diesel vans, which pay £12.50 a day below Euro 6. The refrigerated vehicle we book is compliant, and you pay nothing.
A bus lane signed from 7am to 7pm is open to all traffic outside those hours: before dawn, a refrigerated vehicle can use it. A lane with no times on its sign is reserved 24 hours a day, bank holidays included, for buses and, depending on the lane, a few other vehicles (taxis, private hire vehicles, motorcycles and cycles), but not for a van without written authorisation from the council. Our routing algorithms plan the night round with that difference in mind, and the time given to each customer follows that route.
Each pedestrian zone shows its hours at its entrance, and a vehicle that stops there during those hours without a dispensation gets a penalty. For a restaurant or a shop in a pedestrian zone, we place the night round’s stop before those hours begin, and the order of the other stops follows from it; if the round cannot get there in time, we tell you when you book.
Local rules checked in October 2026.
How we work
For a refrigerated round in Newcastle, we start from two times: when your production finishes and when each customer opens. Between the two, we plan a night route that is not the daytime one: our night rounds use the bus lanes signed from 7am to 7pm and keep out of those reserved 24 hours a day, and the Clean Air Zone charges a non-compliant van in the middle of the night as it does during the day. So we book a compliant vehicle, and we order the stops by each customer’s opening time.
Before we start, we agree together on the packaging of each product, its temperature range and the time when each customer can take delivery. The refrigeration unit is running before you load, and the courier arrives as production ends, whether that falls in the middle of the night or just before daybreak. The job goes to one of our partner couriers in Newcastle, chosen for their refrigerated vehicle, which carries only your goods. You almost always have several customers: we link them into a round that follows their opening hours, from central Newcastle to Gateshead and Sunderland; when they take deliveries early, it runs as a night delivery. Our team monitors each round every day from 6am to 10pm and phones any customer who does not answer, so you don’t have to. Our page on refrigerated transport describes the service in full.
For products that are not sensitive to heat, see our same-day delivery in Newcastle instead.
The service
Wherever we deliver, the service is the same. In Newcastle, we adapt it to the Clean Air Zone, the bus lanes reserved 24 hours a day and collections before dawn.
Pre-cooling the vehicle, temperature at loading, handling instructions: our team agrees the necessary precautions with you and passes them on to the transport partners.
On your regular refrigerated rounds, data loggers track temperatures during transport. If there is a deviation or anything unexpected, our team coordinates the response with the carrier and keeps you informed.
Crates, boxes or pallets: Shippr brings in equipped partners for your volumes and your temperature needs, from 0–4 °C to 0–7 °C, or −20 °C for your frozen products.
One-off delivery or a round between your stores, shops and restaurants: we adapt the transport capacity, the frequency of stops and the loading arrangements to the way you work.
A carrier unavailable, a vehicle off the road or a rise in orders? The Shippr team finds a replacement that meets your temperature requirements and adjusts the organisation of your rounds.
We coordinate the changes with the partners and let you know the new times, to limit the impact on your supply and your customers.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Frozen goods travel at −20 °C, and chilled products at 0–4 °C or 0–7 °C depending on what they can take. The refrigerated vehicle is brought down to temperature before you load, and on a regular round, an onboard logger records the temperature continuously: at the slightest deviation, we let you know.
The courier gets in with the codes or keys that you or your customer entrust to us, puts the products away in the cold inside the restaurant or shop, and the handover is recorded with its proof of delivery. It is common practice for us.
Yes, it is possible but not guaranteed: we confirm when you book whether one of our partners can take your round with a refrigerated HGV. In the Clean Air Zone, a non-compliant HGV pays £50 a day; if we book one, it is compliant with the zone.
Yes. Our refrigerated rounds cover the seven North East council areas, from County Durham to Northumberland, and can continue anywhere in the United Kingdom.
Tell us what you ship, at what temperature, when your production finishes and when each customer opens. In return, you receive the chosen refrigerated vehicle, its loading time and the planned time of the stop at each customer.