Tunbridge Wells Roadworks This Week: Mount Sion and Rusthall Gas Works, Fireworks Closures

Updated Monday 2 November 2026. In town, the gas main replacement off Frant Road is the closure to plan round: side streets off the A267, Madeira Park and Mount Sion near Little Mount Sion are shut, with parking banned on long stretches, for up to 57 days from 19 October. In Rusthall, the gas mains programme on Grange Road, Harmony Street, Rusthall Road and Bretland Road runs in phases to 8 December at most, and The Boundary closes near number 11 from today for up to five days.

Badsell Road in Paddock Wood: the contractor’s last notice, number 06, expected the road to reopen “by the end of the working day on Friday 30th October”, weather permitting. Its project site has posted nothing since, so we cannot confirm that it did reopen. If it is still shut, the signed diversion applies. (Public Information Notice 06, read 2 November 2026)

Trains: the Tonbridge to Wadhurst closure was scheduled to end on Sunday 1 November. Southeastern’s page still gives those dates and does not mention an extension, but it does not say in terms that trains are running again, and it gives no reopening date for Tunbridge Wells station car park.

Coming up in the next fortnight:

• Dunorlan fireworks, Saturday 7 November: the A264 Pembury Road closes between Sandrock Road and Sandhurst Road from 7.30pm to 8pm, and Halls Hole Road from 5pm to 9pm. Order made.
• Hawkhurst remembrance parade, Sunday 8 November, 10am to 1pm: the A268 High Street and the A229 through the village close. Order made.
• Seven short jobs made for 2 to 6 November, including Vauxhall Lane in Southborough on 3 November and Bidborough High Street overnight on 5 November.
• Kick Off to Christmas, Friday 13 and Saturday 14 November: Grosvenor Road, Mount Pleasant Road and Monson Road close from 7pm to 10pm.
• No trains to Charing Cross, Waterloo East or Cannon Street on 14 and 15 November. Hastings line trains run to London Bridge on the Saturday and Victoria on the Sunday.
• Hook Green: Mount Pleasant, Clayhill Road and Free Heath Road stay shut to 10 March 2027 at the latest.

Kent County Council’s newest batch, dated 30 October, makes the orders for the 2 to 8 November jobs, the fireworks and the Hawkhurst parade. The 9 to 13 November jobs from the 23 October batch are still only intended. All of it is below.

This page is built to be checked rather than read once. Below: what is closed and when, what is coming, the bus gates that catch drivers every day, who runs which road, and the trains.

The long closures, on one timeline

Closures running now on the local roads

These are orders Kent County Council has made. Each runs “on or after” the date given and lasts up to the stated maximum, or until the work is finished.

(Kent County Council notices dated 16 October, 23 October and 30 October 2026)

Harland Way in Southborough, Mount Pleasant Avenue, the St Johns Road cycle lane, Taylor Street and the Colliers Green Road trimming have all reached their maximum duration, as have the A26 Eridge Road night closures, Motts Mill in Groombridge and the one day jobs at Heartenoak Road, Quaker Drive and Neills Road, so they are off this page.

The three long jobs, in detail

Hook Green (from 14 September, up to 177 days). Mount Pleasant closes from the Clay Hill Road junction for about 170 metres. Clayhill Road closes from the Mount Pleasant junction to the Furnace Lane junction. Free Heath Road closes from the Furnace Road junction to near the Old School House. The signed alternatives run the long way round through Furnace Lane and the B2100 through Lamberhurst, or for Free Heath Road through Neills Road, Buckland Hill Lane, Sleepers Stile Road and Bartley Mill Road.

Sandhurst Road, Clifton Road and Oak Road (from 7 September, up to 92 days). Sandhurst Road closes from the North Farm Road junction to the Oak Road junction. Clifton Road and Oak Road each close at their junction with Sandhurst Road. Parking is prohibited on all three.

• Northbound diversion: Upper Grosvenor Road, Meadow Road, Goods Station Road, Victoria Road, Garden Road, Lansdowne Road, Sandrock Road, A264 Pembury Road.
• Southbound diversion: A264 Pembury Road, Sandrock Road, Lansdowne Road, Gardens Road, Victoria Road, Goods Station Road, Grosvenor Road, Upper Grosvenor Road.
• Clifton Road traffic is signed via Brook Road and Oak Road; Oak Road traffic via Sandhurst Road, Clifton Road and Brook Road.

Rusthall and Boyne Park (from 24 August, up to 106 days). Still running, in phases. Grange Road from near number 58 to the Woodside Road junction, in three phases. Harmony Street from Upper Street to Rusthall Road, in two phases, with the one way order suspended. Rusthall Road from the A264 Langton Road junction to near number 7a. Bretland Road from the Rusthall Road junction to near number 6. Boyne Park from the Mount Ephraim junction to the Oakdale Road junction, in three phases. Parking is banned both sides for the full length of the works on Grange Road, Harmony Street and Boyne Park.

Badsell Road, and the gas works off Frant Road

Badsell Road, Paddock Wood, from Monday 19 October. The section between the B2160 Maidstone Road and Morgan Way was closed continuously, nights and weekends included. The surfacing booked for 24 and 25 October was postponed after BT’s utility diversion ran late and the weather turned. The contractor’s latest notice expected to reopen the road “by the end of the working day on Friday 30th October”, weather permitting (Public Information Notice 06). When we checked the project site on 2 November it had posted no later notice, so we cannot say whether the road has reopened. The details of the closure, in case it is still in place: The main job is BT diversion work near Mascalls Park that cannot be done safely with the road open. The closure also lets the team lay UKPN cabling, take down UKPN poles and overhead cables, and do drainage work, to reduce later closures. It is part of the county’s junction rebuild at Badsell Road and Maidstone Road.

• Signed diversion: the original route via the A228 Maidstone Road, the A228 Whetsted Road and the B2160 Maidstone Road. Maidstone Road near the Esso petrol station, shut for a leaking water main, has reopened.
• Homes west of Mascalls Park, including The Greenways and the new houses off Morgan Way, are reached from the A228.
• Mascalls Park: in and out via Maidstone Road in the first week, then via the A228 in the second.
• The Foal Hurst Wood bus stop on Badsell Road is suspended. Bus operators are giving their own details.
• The weight restriction on the B2017 Maidstone Road railway bridge is lifted during the closure only, so HGVs can reach Paddock Wood that way.
• Walking and cycling routes stay open.

(Breheny for Kent County Council, October 2026 project update, read 17 October 2026, and Public Information Notices 04, 05 and 06 on the project site, read 2 November 2026) The county’s order for the whole scheme, now made, also closes Mascalls Court Road and the B2160 Maidstone Road at their junctions with Badsell Road, on or after 19 October and for up to 209 days, with signed diversions. (Kent County Council notice dated 16 October 2026) We have the background in our report on the Badsell Road closure.

Gas main replacement off Frant Road, from 19 October, up to 57 days. The order is now made. Roads close near their junctions, with parking banned on long stretches:

• Clarendon Gardens, Roedean Road, Montacute Road and Rodmell Road, each near the A267 Frant Road junction
• Howard Gardens, closed at Frant Road, with no through route
• Madeira Park, near numbers 57 and 46, with parking banned from Rodmell Road to Mount Sion
• Mount Sion, near Little Mount Sion, with parking banned from Little Mount Sion to Clifton Place
• Parking bans only, with no closure, on stretches of Frant Road, Upper Cumberland Walk and Madeira Park, and in Craigside

The Sandhurst Road gas programme, from 19 October, up to 18 months. Also now made. Dates for each road will be signed on site 14 days ahead. The roads are Sandhurst Park, Brook Road, Birken Road, Sherwood Road, Ferndale, Friars Way and Sandhurst Road itself between Birken Road and the A264 Pembury Road. (Kent County Council notice dated 16 October 2026)

The rest of the next fortnight

These orders are made, in Kent County Council’s batch dated 30 October, so they are going ahead:

(Kent County Council notice dated 30 October 2026)

These the county still only intends to make, so dates can move. All but Watermans Lane were in the 23 October batch and were not made in the 30 October one:

(Kent County Council notices dated 23 October and 30 October 2026)

Three event closures in November:

• Dunorlan fireworks, Saturday 7 November. The A264 Pembury Road closes between Sandrock Road and Sandhurst Road from 7.30pm to 8pm to let the crowds out, and Halls Hole Road closes between Bayhall Road and Cornford Lane from 5pm to 9pm. No turns from the A264 into Sandrock Road, and parking is banned on parts of Sandrock Road, Sandhurst Road and Bayhall Road. A264 traffic is signed via Sandrock Road, Ferndale and Sandhurst Road. The order is now made.
• Hawkhurst remembrance parade, Sunday 8 November, 10am to 1pm. Closes the A268 High Street between Post Office Road and Highgate Hill, about 40 metres of the A268 Rye Road, the A229 Highgate Hill and Moor Hill, and The Moor between Moor Hill and Horns Road. Traffic is signed via Horns Road, Coopers Corner, the A21 and the A268 Hawkhurst Road. The order is now made.
• Kick Off to Christmas, Friday 13 and Saturday 14 November. Grosvenor Road from Goods Station Road to Calverley Road, Mount Pleasant Road from Calverley Road to the A264 Church Road, and Monson Road from Mount Pleasant Road to Newton Road close from 7pm to 10pm on both evenings, with traffic signed via the A264 Church Road, the A26 London Road and Mount Ephraim. On the Saturday the one way rule on Newton Road, Dudley Road and York Road is lifted from 7am to 8pm, and there are rolling closures from 9.15am to 11am (Camden Road, Albion Road, King George V Hill, Dorking Road, Jackwood Way, Goods Station Road, Hanover Road and Mount Ephraim Road) and from 5pm to 6.30pm (Camden Road, Victoria Road and Goods Station Road). The notice’s heading says the county intends to make the order and its body says it has made it.

(Kent County Council notices dated 23 October and 30 October 2026)

Just over the county line: Wadhurst, Frant and Groombridge

East Sussex County Council’s notice of 30 October covers the roads south of the town. All are Openreach or South East Water jobs on a day or a few days:

• B2100 Mayfield Lane, Wadhurst, from Station Road to Tidebrook Road: work expected from 30 October to today, 2 November. Order made.
• Ivy Lane, Frant, from Hawkenbury Road to the B2169 Bayham Road: work expected today, 2 November. Order made.
• B2100 Sparrows Green Road, Wadhurst, from the High Street to Cousley Wood Road: work expected from 3 to 5 November for South East Water. Order made.
• B2188 Hendal Hill, Groombridge, from Cherry Gardens Hill to the B2110 Withyham Road: work expected on 17 November. Intended order only.

(East Sussex County Council notice dated 30 October 2026)

The A21 this week: Vauxhall slip and Chipstead nights

National Highways’ report dated Friday 30 October, covering 30 October to Thursday 5 November, has no carriageway closure on the A21 between Tonbridge and Lamberhurst. What it lists on the road, all overnight:

• Monday 2 November, 8pm to 6am: the northbound Vauxhall exit slip closed, for drainage work between Pembury and Quarry Hill.
• Monday 2 to Wednesday 4 November, 10pm to 5.30am each night: the A21 northbound closed from Chipstead to M25 junction 5, for gantry sign replacement, with a signed diversion.

The Flimwell weekend closures on 30 and 31 October are over. (National Highways 7 day closure report, edition dated 30 October 2026, read 2 November) The report runs seven days ahead and lists full closures only, so lane closures and speed limits do not appear in it. Nights from Friday 6 November onwards are not in this edition yet.

The 18 month surface programme is still in force

The county’s surface preservation programme took effect on or after 7 September and runs for up to 18 months. Where the work is happening the road closes, waiting is banned and a temporary 20mph limit replaces the existing one. Dates for each road are published in advance and signed on site 14 days before the work starts, so the sign is your warning.

The Tunbridge Wells roads in the schedule are:

• B2169 Bayham Road, Forest Road to the county boundary
• Bidborough Ridge, A26 London Road to Gate Farm Road
• Cranbrook Road in Cranbrook, Babbs Lane to New Pond Road
• Iden Green Road, Standen Street to B2086 Swattenden Lane
• Rye Road, Conghurst Lane to Silverden Lane
• Waterloo Road, A229 Angley Road to the 20mph gateway
• Winchet Hill, Lower Ladysden Farm to the spa entrance
• Lamberhurst Road in Horsmonden, Spelmonden Road to the property named Whitewood
• Maidstone Road in Horsmonden, Gateway to Yew Tree Green Road

(Kent County Council notice dated 4 September 2026)

Permanent orders: the objection window has closed

Objections to three permanent changes in the borough closed at 12 noon on Monday 28 September:

• Cornford Lane, Pembury: a 6ft 6ins width restriction, except for access, for the whole length of the lane.
• Capel: horse drawn vehicles and accompanied horses banned from the A228 Maidstone Road, and from part of Whetsted Road.
• Old Whetsted Road, Capel: motor vehicles banned except for access, from Whetsted Road to the Maidstone boundary.

(Kent County Council notice dated 4 September 2026) We will say here when the council decides whether to make them.

New proposal, Fir Tree Road. The county proposes limited waiting, 8am to 6pm, four hours maximum with no return within four hours, on two stretches of Fir Tree Road north of Major Yorks Road: the west side from 32 to 99 metres north of the junction, and the east side from 135 to 167 metres. Objections close at 12 noon on Monday 9 November. Send them to TROResponses@tunbridgewells.gov.uk, saying how the change would affect traffic locally. The plans are at The Amelia Scott and at tunbridgewells.gov.uk/consultation. (Kent County Council notice published 15 October 2026)

New proposal, three car club bays. The county proposes “no waiting at any time except car club permit holder” bays in the layby outside Lizanne Court on Mount Sion, on the east side of Prospect Road near Princes Street, and on the west side of St Lukes Road near Stephens Road. Objections close at 12 noon on Monday 16 November, to the same TROResponses@tunbridgewells.gov.uk address or by post to Parking Services at the Town Hall, TN1 1RS. (Kent County Council notice published 22 October 2026)

Trains: the tunnel closure was due to end on 1 November

The Tonbridge to Wadhurst closure was scheduled from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, with buses replacing trains at High Brooms, Tunbridge Wells and Frant. Network Rail was renewing the slab track in Grove Hill Tunnel, just south of the station, and repairing track on the Hastings line damaged by this summer’s dry soil, which should let some temporary speed restrictions be lifted. Southeastern’s page still gives those dates and mentions no extension, but it does not say in terms that trains are running again, so check the journey planner before you travel.

• Station car park: Tunbridge Wells station car park closed from Friday 23 October to give engineers earlier access. Southeastern still gives no reopening date. While it is shut, permit holders for car parks A and B can use the Crescent Road car park (TN1 2LU) at no extra cost, and car park A is drop off and pick up only.
• Tonbridge to Redhill: trains on that line are affected by urgent embankment repairs. Southeastern gives no dates and refers passengers to Southern.

(Southeastern, Tonbridge to Wadhurst line closure, read 2 November 2026)

Late trains this week. From Tuesday 3 to Friday 6 November, one late train a night is replaced by an accessible bus between Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells, calling at all stations: the 00:20 from London Cannon Street on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the 00:15 from London Charing Cross on Thursday and Friday. Southeastern lists no planned engineering work for Saturday 7 November.

No London terminals on 14 and 15 November. No trains run to or from London Charing Cross, Waterloo East or Cannon Street all weekend. On Saturday 14 November, Hastings line trains run to and from London Bridge, non stop between London Bridge and Tonbridge by another route, adding about 20 minutes, and the Charing Cross to Tunbridge Wells stopping trains do not run. On Sunday 15 November, Hastings line trains run to and from London Victoria. (Southeastern engineering work, 3 November, 7 November and 14 November, read 2 November 2026) We have the detail of the tunnel work in our report on the Grove Hill Tunnel closure.

The detail of the normal service, including season ticket prices, is on our Tunbridge Wells trains to London page, and the December timetable change is here.

Check these two before you set off

• one.network is the live map of current and planned street works, including the permits water and power companies have taken out at short notice.
• National Highways’ road closure report covers the A21 only, because that is the one road here on the national strategic network. It runs seven days ahead and is republished twice daily on working days.

Statutory closure orders are published on the Public Notice Portal before the cones appear, usually a fortnight ahead. That is where everything in the tables above came from.

The two bus gates

Mount Pleasant Road (Public Realm 2). Traffic is restricted in both directions between the junction with Monson Road and the junctions with Church Road and Crescent Road, 9am to 6pm every day. Apart from public buses and hackney carriage taxis, the only exemptions are goods vehicles collecting from or delivering to premises inside the restriction, and vehicles belonging to residents inside it, along with their guests and visitors.

Grosvenor Road (Public Realm 1). Restricted in both directions between Goods Station Road and Monson Road, 9am to 6pm every day. Generally only buses are exempt.

There is no exemption for dropping off or picking up passengers, none for Blue Badge holders, and none for residents of adjacent roads including Dudley, Monson, Newton and York Roads. Vehicles leaving Dudley, Newton and York Roads have to exit via Monson Road. Any vehicle seen contravening the restriction is issued a penalty charge notice, and if you appeal you are asked to attach supporting evidence such as a delivery note for an address inside the zone. (Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, Bus Gate/Lane)

The roads that matter here, and who runs them

The split matters when you are looking for information. Anything on the A21 is National Highways, and their closure report is the definitive list. Everything else is Kent County Council as highway authority, and the permits for those works show up on one.network. Car parks, on-street bays, the bus gates and penalty charge notices are Tunbridge Wells Borough Council.

Parking in the town centre

The three multi-storey car parks nearest the middle of town are Crescent Road (TN1 2LU), Royal Victoria Place (TN1 2PW) and Meadow Road, Upper Grosvenor Road (TN1 2EN), all open 24 hours. (The Amelia Scott, visiting)

Note where they sit in relation to the bus gates. If you are coming in from the north on the A26 and heading for Crescent Road between 9am and 6pm, plan the approach: Mount Pleasant Road between Monson Road and Crescent Road is closed to you.

Station parking is a separate question with its own economics, and we have set out the season ticket and car park numbers on the trains to London page.

What it means for you

• Live off Frant Road or near Mount Sion? The closures and parking bans that began on 19 October can last up to 57 days, so to 15 December.
• In Rusthall? The gas mains phases run to 8 December at most, and The Boundary closes near number 11 for up to five days from today.
• Paddock Wood drivers: Badsell Road was due to reopen at the end of 30 October, but the contractor has not confirmed it did. If it is still shut, follow the signed A228 diversion.
• Commuting? The tunnel closure was due to end on 1 November; check the journey planner before your first train, and note the station car park has no reopening date yet.
• Heading north on the A21 late this week? The Vauxhall northbound exit slip is shut on Monday night, and the A21 northbound is shut from Chipstead to the M25 from 10pm on Monday to Wednesday nights.
• Hook Green is still the long one. Mount Pleasant, Clayhill Road and Free Heath Road are shut to 10 March 2027 at the latest.
• Going to the Dunorlan fireworks or the Kick Off to Christmas? Expect the A264 Pembury Road and Halls Hole Road to close for the evening of 7 November, and Grosvenor Road, Mount Pleasant Road and Monson Road from 7pm to 10pm on 13 and 14 November.
• Give the villages extra time in bad weather. Paddock Wood, Lamberhurst, Goudhurst, Horsmonden and the Teise valley are the borough’s flood-prone places, which is why the Local Plan makes flood works part of the Paddock Wood expansion.

Related pages: Tunbridge Wells planning news, things to do in Tunbridge Wells and house prices by parish.

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Sources: Kent County Council temporary traffic regulation notices published on the Public Notice Portal: the Tunbridge Wells batches dated 30 October 2026, read 2 November 2026, dated 23 October 2026, dated 16 October 2026 and dated 9 October 2026, and dated 2 October 2026, the notice dated 11 September 2026 for Hook Green, the Rusthall and Boyne Park order from the notice dated 21 August 2026 and the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells surface preservation programme; Kent County Council, Fir Tree Road waiting restrictions proposal, published 15 October 2026, and car club bays proposal, published 22 October 2026; Kent County Council, county-wide traffic movement orders dated 4 September 2026 for the Cornford Lane and Capel proposals; East Sussex County Council, notice dated 30 October 2026, read 2 November 2026; Breheny Civil Engineering for Kent County Council, the Badsell Road October 2026 project update, Public Information Notice 01, Public Information Notices 04, 05 and 06 on the project site, read 2 November 2026; National Highways road closure report, edition dated 30 October 2026, read 2 November; Southeastern’s Tonbridge to Wadhurst line closure page and engineering work by date, read 2 November 2026; Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, Bus Gate/Lane; The Amelia Scott, visiting; one.network.