The managing director of a crate rentals company has strongly opposed Transport for London’s proposals to extend parking restrictions beyond the Olympic Route Network (ORN) and increase fines during the 2012 Games.

Said John Mitchell, of Pluscrates, which supplies crates for the relocation industry and makes daily deliveries to central London, “Companies like ours provide the logistic support that’s vital for London’s relocation business to function. We already have to bear the cost of penalty charge notices when we’re carrying out our legitimate deliveries in central London, and, even during normal times, the cost runs into tens of thousands of pounds every year.

If you are planning to take indoor, or outdoor, plants with you when moving home, a bit of preparation and planning can pay dividends, says Ruth Scruton, of PHS Teacrate. Make sure you follow these tips!

Most of us love to have plants around our homes. They help create a more pleasant and healthy environment. After years of TLC, you’ll probably wish to take your beloved indoor and favourite outdoor plants with you when you move.

Here are some tips on how to move your plants successfully:

1–2 weeks before moving day

1. If you are using a removals company, check that they’ll move plants. Some, for insurance reasons, may not accept them, particularly over long distances. Plants are perishable, living things that need air, light and comfortable temperatures – so the risk of loss or damage to them is pretty high. If your removal company won’t transport them, you’ll need to make arrangements to move them yourself.

Relocating the family pet is set to become easier – and cheaper – when new rules are introduced at the start of 2012.

The UK will harmonise its pet movement rules with the rest of the European Union from 1 January 2012, bringing its Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) into line with the most recent science.

The Government emphasises that the UK will maintain its high level of protection against animal diseases after the changes, which, it says, have the potential to save pet owners around £7m in fees.

The Crown Worldwide Group has officially begun its operation in Saudi Arabia. The company's first office in the kingdom is located in Riyadh and will provide global mobility and moving services. It will be led by country manager Alexis Saporta.

Mr Saporta, who previously worked with Crown in several European locations, including Italy and Russia, has spent the last 18 months organising the Riyadh office. He and his staff will concentrate on servicing the area's oil, bank and para-petroleum organisations.

Crown, Saudi Arabia, will serve all of the major cities in the kingdom, but mainly Riyadh, Jeddah, Khobar, Dammam, Jubail and Yanbu.

BTR International, which offers a range of international and domestic removal services, has won FIDI-FAIMISO accreditation, achieving a 99% company programme score.

"We are extremely proud of this achievement," says Jonathan Pinchin, the company’s managing director and founder. "Currently, we are one of only two organisations within the UK relocation and removals industry to have successfully achieved FIDI-FAIMISO accreditation as well as both ISO9001 and ISO1400."

To obtain the FIDI-FAIMISO quality standard, a company must achieve a certain mark in 16 key areas, including business competence, quality and environment, resources and service. BTR International outperformed the industry benchmark in almost all categories.

Says Jonathan Pinchin, "Everyone in our team deserves this accolade of holding the top three industry accreditations, and we will work hard to maintain this achievement."

Visit www.btrinternational.com for more information.

Interdean, the international relocation services company has sponsored Sir Ranulph Fiennes’ successful climb to the summit of the Eiger’s treacherous north face.

The climb was made in support of Marie Curie Cancer Care and Sir Ranulph hopes to raise £1.5 million for the Marie Curie Delivering Choice Programme, which he was moved to support after losing his wife, sister and mother to cancer all within an 18-month period.