A burst water main has closed College Road and put the P4 on diversion. Live roadworks, the £1.20 tollgate, parking charges and every controlled parking hour in Dulwich.
Driving in Dulwich is governed by three things that catch people out: a toll gate that still charges money in 2026, controlled parking hours that change every few streets and are often only two hours long, and a South Circular that is dug up somewhere most weeks. This page covers what is happening now and the parts that do not change.
What is closed right now
Checked on 9 August 2026 against Transport for London’s live road and bus feeds and Southwark Council.
College Road, SE21, is closed by a burst water main. TfL’s bus feed reports the P4 on diversion in both directions, running via Dulwich Village, East Dulwich Grove and Lordship Lane and missing every stop from Dulwich Picture Gallery to Lordship Lane Estate. The Gallery says its own entrances remain open and expects the P4 to be back on 11 August.
A205 Thurlow Park Road, the South Circular at West Dulwich. Two-way temporary signals at the Elmcourt Road junction for water works, 8 to 10 August. This is the Lambeth side of the road, immediately west of West Dulwich station.
A2 Old Kent Road, southbound at Devonshire Grove. Lane restrictions for roadworks, 3 August to 4 September.
A201 New Kent Road, eastbound at Bartholomew Street. The bus lane is closed for construction work, and this one is long: 30 April 2026 to 12 June 2027.
A200 Lower Road, SE16, at Surrey Quays Road. Temporary signals for UK Power Networks, 6 to 16 August.
Rotherhithe Tunnel. TfL warns of intermittent closures at peak hours because of congestion, which is a standing condition of that tunnel rather than a one-off.
Pepys Road, SE14, is closed by another burst water main, which has curtailed route 343 at Brockill Crescent, with no service between Avignon Road and New Cross, and diverted route 484 via Drakefell Road. Both routes serve Peckham and Nunhead.
To check any of this yourself before you set off, use one.network, which carries every permitted street work in the country, or TfL’s live traffic and bus status.
The tollgate: the last one in London
The private section of College Road, SE21, running from the South Circular junction up to Fountain Drive, is owned by The Dulwich Estate and still charges a toll. It is the only surviving tollgate in London.
- £1.20 for a single journey, per motor vehicle.
- Cashless only. There is a pay machine at the gate, or you can buy a pass.
- Motorbikes, cyclists and pedestrians do not pay.
- Hours: Monday to Friday 7am to 9.30pm, Saturday 8am to 6pm, Sunday and public holidays 9am to 5pm. Outside those hours the road is free.
- No charge on Christmas Day.
The Estate is explicit about why it is there: to hold down the volume of traffic and heavy goods vehicles on that stretch. If you are driving between Dulwich Village and Sydenham Hill and want to avoid it, the alternatives are Dulwich Common and the South Circular, or Lordship Lane and Sydenham Hill Road.
Where you can and cannot park
Southwark has 31 controlled parking zones covering about 60% of the borough, and the hours are not standardised. Some Dulwich zones are controlled all day. Some are controlled for two hours, which exists to stop commuters filling residential streets and catches visitors out constantly.
The zones covering this patch, from Southwark’s own list:
| Zone | Area | Controlled hours |
|---|---|---|
| DV | Dulwich Village | Mon to Fri, 8am to 9.30am and 3pm to 5pm |
| ED | East Dulwich | Mon to Fri, 8.30am to 6.30pm |
| P | North Dulwich and Denmark Hill | Mon to Fri, noon to 2pm |
| HH | Herne Hill | Mon to Fri, noon to 2pm |
| Q | Dog Kennel Hill | Mon to Fri, 11am to 1pm |
| B | Peckham | Mon to Sat, 8.30am to 6.30pm |
| PW | Peckham West | Mon to Fri, 9am to 11am |
| QR | Queens Road | Mon to Fri, 1pm to 3pm |
| K, L, NC, EC | Camberwell, South Camberwell, North Camberwell, East Camberwell | Mon to Fri, 8.30am to 6.30pm |
| OKR | Old Kent Road | Mon to Fri, 8.30am to 6.30pm |
What on-street parking costs. In most Southwark zones, including every zone listed above, pay and display is £5.70 an hour, or £9.20 an hour with the diesel surcharge. In the six central zones (C1 Bankside, C2 Borough, D Newington, F London Bridge, G Bermondsey and GR Grange) it is £8.60 an hour, or £13.40 with the diesel surcharge. Payment is through PayByPhone, its app, a PayPoint shop or by phone.
Car parks: there are only two
Southwark runs two public car parks in the whole borough, and both are in Peckham:
- Choumert Grove car park, Choumert Grove, SE15 4RB. About 120 spaces, Monday to Saturday 8.30am to 6.30pm, £2.80 an hour (diesel surcharge £4.20). PayByPhone zone 84561.
- Peckham Town Centre car park, entrance on Cerise Road, SE15 5HQ. About 50 spaces, same hours and the same £2.80 an hour.
A season ticket for the council car parks costs £69.30 a month, £207.90 for three months, £415.80 for six or £832 a year, and does not guarantee a space.
There is no council car park in Dulwich, Herne Hill or Camberwell. The parks have their own parking: Dulwich Park at the College Road entrance, Belair Park at the Gallery Road entrance, Peckham Rye Park a small car park on Strakers Road, and Southwark Park at Hawkstone Road.
Station parking and park and ride
There is none. TfL’s station records list no car park at West Dulwich, Herne Hill, Peckham Rye, Denmark Hill or Nunhead, and Southwark has no park and ride site. If you are driving to a train, you are parking on a residential street inside one of the zones above, which in North Dulwich and Herne Hill means you have exactly the middle two hours of the day to worry about, and in East Dulwich means the whole working day.
The alternative most people here use is that the trains are close together: six stations serve the Dulwich area and none of them is more than about a mile from another.
Charges for driving
ULEZ covers the whole of Southwark, as it covers every London borough. If your vehicle does not meet the emissions standard, it is £12.50 a day, 24 hours a day, every day except Christmas Day.
The Congestion Charge is £18 a day if you pay on the day or in advance, or £21 if you pay by midnight on the third day after travel. It runs 7am to 6pm Monday to Friday and noon to 6pm at weekends and on bank holidays, with no charge between Christmas Day and the New Year bank holiday. Dulwich, Peckham and Camberwell all sit well south of the zone, so this only applies when you drive into town; if your address is at the northern end of the borough, check it on TfL’s postcode checker rather than guessing.
The roads that matter here
- A205 South Circular. Runs east to west across the bottom of Dulwich as Thurlow Park Road, Dulwich Common and then Lordship Lane. It is the road most likely to be dug up, and the one with no alternative.
- A2 Old Kent Road. The main route out to the south east, and a permanent construction corridor while the area is redeveloped.
- A215 Denmark Hill and Camberwell Road. The north to south spine through Camberwell to Elephant and Castle.
- A202 Peckham Road and Camberwell New Road. The east to west link from Peckham through Camberwell to Vauxhall.
- A200 Lower Road and Jamaica Road. The riverside route through Rotherhithe and Bermondsey to Tower Bridge.
- A101 Rotherhithe Tunnel. The only road crossing of the river in the borough, and a bottleneck at peak hours.
Frequently asked questions
Why is College Road closed?
A burst water main. TfL’s bus status feed records route P4 on diversion in both directions because of it, missing the stops from Dulwich Picture Gallery to Lordship Lane Estate. Dulwich Picture Gallery, which sits on the closed section, says it remains open and expects the P4 back on 11 August.
How much is the Dulwich toll gate?
£1.20 for a single journey through the College Road gate, card only, with no charge for motorbikes, cyclists or pedestrians. It operates Monday to Friday 7am to 9.30pm, Saturday 8am to 6pm and Sunday and public holidays 9am to 5pm. Outside those hours the road is free.
Do I need a permit to park in Dulwich Village?
Only between 8am and 9.30am and 3pm and 5pm on weekdays. Zone DV is one of the shortest controlled zones in Southwark, because it exists mainly to keep the school run under control. East Dulwich, in zone ED, is controlled from 8.30am to 6.30pm on weekdays instead.
Where can I park for the day in Peckham?
The two council car parks: Choumert Grove (SE15 4RB) and Peckham Town Centre on Cerise Road (SE15 5HQ), both £2.80 an hour, both Monday to Saturday 8.30am to 6.30pm. On-street pay and display in Peckham is £5.70 an hour, so the car parks are less than half the price.
Is there a park and ride near Dulwich?
No. There is no park and ride in Southwark, and none of the Dulwich stations has a car park.
Related
- Dulwich train times to London: six stations, four routes and what a year of them costs.
- Things to do in Dulwich: most of it is reachable without a car, which given the above is the point.
- Dulwich house prices: area by area, from Land Registry sales.
Sources
- TfL road disruptions feed and TfL bus line status for the live closures and diversions, read on 9 August 2026.
- The Dulwich Estate: tollgate and roads for the toll, the hours and the exemptions.
- Southwark Council: controlled parking zones for the zone hours, and paying for parking and car parks for the charges.
- TfL Ultra Low Emission Zone and Congestion Charge for the driving charges.
- Dulwich Picture Gallery’s visitor page for the College Road closure notice.
Roadworks change daily. The dated items above were correct on 9 August 2026; check one.network or TfL before you rely on them.
Have your say
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