Tunbridge Wells Roadworks: Hook Green, Half Marathon Sunday

Updated Monday 28 September 2026. The longest closure in the borough is still the one at Hook Green, near Lamberhurst. Kent County Council’s order shuts Mount Pleasant, Clayhill Road and Free Heath Road for up to 177 days from 14 September, for new water mains. At its maximum that runs to 10 March 2027. (Kent County Council notice dated 11 September 2026)

This week’s other two things are on the railway and at Bidborough:

• Tonight and Tuesday night, late trains south of here become buses. From 22:45 on Monday buses replace trains between Tonbridge and Wadhurst or Hastings. From 23:40 on Tuesday they replace trains between Tunbridge Wells and Hastings.
• Sunday 4 October, 08:30 to 12:30: rolling closures for the Tonbridge Half Marathon, including four lanes around Haysden in Bidborough parish.

Coming next is the council’s new batch of orders, published on 24 September. The biggest is five nights on the A26 Eridge Road from 16 October.

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 three 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.

The short jobs from earlier this month have run their course. That includes Frog Lane and Little Mount Sion, Water Lane at Hawkhurst, Kingswood Road, Pearsons Green Road at Brenchley and the B2162 Maidstone Road at Horsmonden.

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.

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)

This week: two short closures and a half marathon

Carriers Road, Cranbrook, from Thursday 1 October. The council has made this order. The road closes for up to one day, 09:30 to 15:30 on a weekday, for desilting and duct clearance. The closure runs from the High Street junction for about 112 metres to Jockey Lane. Traffic is signed via Oatfield Drive, the A229 Angley Road and the High Street.

Tonbridge Half Marathon, Sunday 4 October, 08:30 to 12:30. The county intends to make the order, and the closures roll around the route as the race goes through. Most of the course is in Tonbridge and Leigh. Four of the roads run wholly or partly through this borough, in Bidborough parish, about three miles north west of Royal Tunbridge Wells:

• Upper Haysden Lane, its entire length except between the two Molescroft Way junctions
• Haysden Lane, Bidborough, from Upper Haysden Lane to Ensfield Road
• Ensfield Road, its entire length
• Lower Haysden Lane, its entire length

One of the signed diversions uses the A26 London Road and the B2176 through Bidborough Ridge and Penshurst, so expect more traffic on those roads that morning. (Kent County Council notice dated 11 September 2026)

Brenchley Road, Horsmonden, from Sunday 4 October. Made. Up to one day, near the property named Shirrenden, for pole replacement.

Coming next: the 24 September batch

Kent County Council’s newest Tunbridge Wells batch was published on 24 September and is dated 25 September. These are all intended orders. An intention is not a decision and dates can move, but this is the earliest public warning you get.

(Kent County Council notice dated 25 September 2026)

The two that matter most for the town:

• A26 Eridge Road. This is the main road south towards Crowborough. Through traffic at night is signed via Bunny Lane, the A267 Frant Road and Nevill Street.
• North Farm Road. Two nights at High Brooms. The signed diversions are long: one runs via Dowding Way, Longfield Road and the A21 Pembury Bypass, then back in along the A264 Pembury Road.

The A21: nothing in this borough this week

National Highways publishes a rolling seven day list. The current one covers Friday 25 September to Thursday 1 October. It has no A21 closures between Pembury and Flimwell.

The only A21 entries are well north of here. The southbound Morleys to Vauxhall Lane closure, for barrier repairs, ran on Friday and Saturday nights. The northbound Chipstead slips near Sevenoaks close from 22:00 on Thursday 1 October. (National Highways road closure report)

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.

Trains: late buses this week, two awkward October weekends

Monday 28 and Tuesday 29 September, late evening.

• Monday: from 22:45 to the end of service, buses replace trains between Tonbridge and Wadhurst or Hastings.
• Tuesday: from 23:40, buses replace trains between Tunbridge Wells and Hastings. One runs Tunbridge Wells to Hastings calling at Wadhurst, Battle, West St Leonards and St Leonards Warrior Square. Another calls at all stations to Robertsbridge.

(Southeastern planned engineering work, checked 28 September 2026)

Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 October. No planned work on this line.

Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October. No trains to or from Charing Cross or Waterloo East all weekend. Hastings line trains run to and from London Bridge instead, non-stop to Tonbridge by another route. On the Saturday, trains between London Bridge and Tunbridge Wells will not run.

Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October. Hastings line trains are diverted between London Bridge and Orpington and run at different times for part of the journey. On the Saturday, stopping trains between Charing Cross and Tunbridge Wells will not run. (Southeastern engineering work, 21 September to 18 October)

Then half term. No trains run between Tonbridge and Wadhurst from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, nine days, while Network Rail replaces the slab track through Grove Hill Tunnel just south of the station. (Southeastern, Tonbridge to Wadhurst line closure) We have the detail 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

• Hook Green is the long one. Mount Pleasant, Clayhill Road and Free Heath Road are shut for up to 177 days from 14 September, which at maximum is 10 March 2027. If you drive between Lamberhurst and Horsmonden or Bells Yew Green, the detour is part of your routine until spring.
• Late back from London tonight or tomorrow? Monday after 22:45 and Tuesday after 23:40, the last leg south of Tonbridge or Tunbridge Wells is a bus.
• Sunday morning at Bidborough. Haysden and Ensfield Road close from 08:30 to 12:30 for the half marathon, and the B2176 through Bidborough Ridge carries diverted traffic.
• Plan around 16 October on the A26. Eridge Road between Frant Road and the county boundary shuts at night for up to five nights.
• The town’s two gas jobs still finish on the same day. Sandhurst Road and Rusthall both run to 8 December at their maximum, with parking banned for the duration on the worst affected streets.
• Two October Saturdays are bad for rail. On 10 and 17 October some or all trains to Tunbridge Wells will not run, and on 10 and 11 October there are no Charing Cross trains at all.
• Book half term around 24 October now. Nine days with no trains between Tonbridge and Wadhurst is still the biggest single piece of disruption ahead.
• 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 newest Tunbridge Wells batch dated 25 September 2026, the previous one dated 11 September 2026, the Tonbridge Half Marathon order dated 11 September 2026, the Rusthall and Boyne Park order from the notice dated 21 August 2026 and the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells surface preservation programme, all checked 28 September 2026; Kent County Council, county-wide traffic movement orders dated 4 September 2026 for the Cornford Lane and Capel proposals; National Highways road closure report, for 25 September to 1 October 2026, read 28 September; Southeastern planned engineering work, its engineering work summary for 21 September to 18 October and its Tonbridge to Wadhurst line closure page, all checked 28 September 2026; Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, Bus Gate/Lane; The Amelia Scott, visiting; one.network.