Dulwich Roadworks: Melford Road Shut, 7 Buses Diverted

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 is the Dulwich roadworks and travel list: what is closed right now, what is coming in the next few weeks, and the parts that do not change.

What is closed right now

Checked on 21 September 2026 against Transport for London’s live road and bus feeds, Southwark’s statutory notices on the Public Notice Portal, and National Rail’s engineering work pages.

Seven bus routes are on diversion

This is the part of the list most people here actually feel, and it has grown since last week. Three of these diversions started in the last four days.

Routes	Where	Diverted via	Until
363, N63	Melford Road, SE22	Barry Road and Lordship Lane	7pm, 23 November
343, N343	Cheltenham Road, SE15	Peckham Rye, Forest Hill Road, Honor Oak Park, Brockley Road, Shardeloes Road, Vesta Road	no end date given
484	Cheltenham Road, SE15	Peckham Rye, Forest Hill Road and Brenchley Gardens	no end date given
P13	Ivanhoe Road, SE5	Rye Lane, Peckham Rye, East Dulwich Road, Grove Vale, Dog Kennel Hill, Edgar Kail Way	no end date given
322	Rosendale Road, SE21	Not serving Hail and Ride Rosendale Road, use the Martell Road stops	8am, 28 September

What that means stop by stop:

• 363 and N63, the Melford Road works: missing the stops from Friern Road (WP) to Underhill Road (MC) towards Crystal Palace, and from Underhill Road / Melford Road (MB) to Friern Road (WB) towards Elephant and Castle.
• 343 and N343, Thames Water works at Cheltenham Road: missing the stops from Drakefell Road or Kitto Road to Peckham Rye / Nunhead Lane (EC and EN). This one started on 18 September.
• 484, the same works: missing the stops from Inverton Road or Merttins Road to Peckham Rye / Nunhead Lane (EN) or Peckham Rye Common (ED).
• P13, at Ivanhoe Road between Peckham Rye and Denmark Hill: missing the stops from Blenheim Grove (Y) to Pytchley Road towards Streatham, and from Pytchley Road to Blenheim Grove towards New Cross. TfL logged this one on 20 September.

The 176 and the 197 are diverted again at Lawrie Park Road in Sydenham, via Westwood Hill and Crystal Palace Park Road, for SGN works. TfL has it running to 5pm on Sunday 18 October. Towards Tottenham Court Road and Peckham the stops from St Christopher’s Hospice (J) to Cricketers Walk (A) are not served. This page reported on 14 September that the diversion had finished; see the correction at the foot.

Roads closed in the borough

Melford Road, East Dulwich, moved to its second stretch today. FM Conway is working along the street in five consecutive sections rather than shutting it all at once, and the whole order runs to 4 November.

Road	What	Until	Ref
Melford Road, East Dulwich, No. 37 to No. 43	Closed, stage two of five	5 October	TTRO00300
Linden Grove, Nunhead, outside 105 to 109	Closed, drainage works	2 October	TTRO00306
Glengall Road, Peckham, outside No. 50	Closed, Thames Water	2 October	TTRO00294
Portland Street at Wooler Street, Walworth	Closed, FM Conway highway works	10 October	TTRO00376, TTRO00337
Elcot Avenue, Peckham, between Nos. 9 and 13	Closed, Thames Water	29 September	TTRO00262
Rye Hill Park, Peckham Rye, beside 243 Peckham Rye to the Peckham Rye junction	Closed, FM Conway	23 September	TTRO00309

Every one of those has a signed diversion and keeps access to premises.

Rye Hill Park does not get a break. Southwark published a fresh order on 17 September under the same reference, closing the other end of the street, from the Peckham Rye junction to No. 97, from 25 September to 8 October. The signed diversion is via the street’s other entrance.

Hawarden Grove, West Dulwich, is a play street every Friday. Lambeth made an order on 4 September closing it between Croxted Road and Rosendale Road every Friday to 31 December, 4.30pm to 7.30pm. The alternative route is Croxted Road, Guernsey Grove and Rosendale Road.

Signals and lane restrictions on the main roads

A205 South Circular: nothing is dug up on the Dulwich stretch. TfL’s feed carries no closure or signals on Thurlow Park Road, Dulwich Common or Lordship Lane. That has now been true for three weeks running.

Live on the feed this morning:

• A215 Walworth Road at Browning Street. Temporary signals for a burst water main, to 4pm on 23 September.
• A202 Peckham Road at Southampton Way. Temporary signals in both directions, to 5pm on 22 September.
• A202 Queens Road eastbound at York Grove. Lane closure for utility works, overnight to 23 September.
• A201 New Kent Road eastbound at Bartholomew Street. Bus lane closed for construction, to 12 June 2027.
• A200 St Thomas Street westbound at Joiner Street. Lane restriction, to 14 June 2027.
• A23 Streatham Hill, between Christchurch Road and Leigham Court Road. Lane restrictions for TfL works, to 19 November. This is Lambeth, about two miles west of Herne Hill.
• A101 Rotherhithe Tunnel. TfL warns of intermittent closures at the Rotherhithe Street junction through peak hours because of congestion. The tunnel was open this morning.

What has come off the list since last week. The Half Moon Lane left turn ban into Red Post Hill, which ran 15 to 17 September as its order said; the three overnight railway bridge inspections at Gambia Street, Abbey Street and Joan Street; the UKPN lane restrictions on Crystal Palace Parade at Fountain Drive, which ended on 18 September; and the Sunday Overground closure between Peckham Rye and Clapham Junction, which finished yesterday. The Windrush line was running a normal service this morning.

What is coming up

Five streets lose kerbside parking to hire bikes on Friday

Southwark first published these orders on 10 September and re-published them on 17 September. They create bays for the sole use of dockless hire bikes and e-scooters, and ban all other parking, stopping, waiting and loading at those spots. They take effect on 25 September and stay valid until 6 January 2028.

Street	Order ref
Elm Grove, SE15	TTRO00320
Champion Park, SE5	TTRO00442
Gibbon Road, SE15	re-published 17 September
St Asaph Road, SE4	re-published 17 September
Keetons Road, SE16	re-published 17 September

The exact bay locations are in a chart attached to each order rather than in the text of the notice, so the notices still do not say how many spaces go on each street.

The rest of the diary

• 26 and 27 September, Drummond Road, Bermondsey, about three miles north of Dulwich. Closed between Southwark Park Road and No. 121 for Falcon Tower Crane Services, diversion via Southwark Park Road and Clements Road. Fallback dates of 3 and 4 October or 10 and 11 October if the work does not start. Ref TTRO00319.
• Overnight on 28 September, Bellenden Road, Peckham. Network Rail’s bridge inspection closes the road between Holly Grove and Blenheim Grove from 10pm to 6am, access to premises exempted. Ref TTRO00160.
• 29 September to 28 February 2027, Macks Road, Bermondsey. Two disabled bays outside 25 to 29 Macks Road are suspended and moved to the west side between Painters Mews and Alexis Street, to free the road space for a nature project. Two permit bays go to make room. Ref TTRO00347.
• 30 September to 21 October, Studholme Street, Peckham. Closed either side of the Springall Street junction, between Nos. 17 and 25, for utility works by JBDS Ltd. Diversion via Naylor Road, Meeting House Lane and Asylum Road. Ref TTRO00277.
• 6 to 20 October, Melford Road moves to its third stretch, No. 43 to No. 49.
• 12 to 15 October, Rodney Place, Walworth. The cycle lane from Old Kent Road to Munton Road is shut for Thames Water, with a signed diversion. Cyclists only, the road stays open. Ref TTRO00265.
• 19 to 23 October, Grosvenor Terrace, Camberwell. Closed between Bethwin Road and Grosvenor Park for Thames Water. Ref TTRO00221.

Every parking and traffic order in Southwark was rewritten last week

On 17 September the council made five map-based traffic orders that revoke and replace its existing permanent orders for parking places, waiting and loading restrictions, moving traffic restrictions, speed limits, estate roads and off-street car parks. The notice is explicit that this changes nothing on the ground: “there are no changes to the type or to the existing layout in the street of the restrictions or prohibitions,” and no change to the charges. It is a tidying exercise that puts the whole borough’s restrictions on a map rather than in text schedules. Experimental orders still in trial carry on as they were.

Three rail closures to plan around

Sunday 27 September: no Thameslink at Herne Hill

Engineering work between London Blackfriars and Herne Hill closes all the lines Thameslink uses. No Thameslink trains will run between London Blackfriars and Sutton on either route, via Wimbledon or via Mitcham Junction. Kentish Town to Rainham services will run from Luton to Rainham instead, to a revised timetable.

Tickets are accepted at no extra cost on:

• London buses between Blackfriars and Tulse Hill, and between Tulse Hill and Sutton
• the Underground between Kentish Town and Morden, and between Blackfriars and Wimbledon
• South Western Railway between Waterloo and Wimbledon
• London Trams between Wimbledon and East Croydon

Southern is hit the same day. Buses replace trains between Tulse Hill and Sutton via Mitcham Junction, calling at Streatham Hill, Streatham, Streatham Common, Mitcham Junction, Hackbridge and Carshalton. Trains that normally call at all stations between London Bridge and East Croydon via Peckham Rye are diverted after Tulse Hill to run via Crystal Palace and Norwood Junction.

Sunday 4 October: no trains through Denmark Hill

This is the bigger one for anyone here without a car. Engineering work in the Denmark Hill area closes several lines at once.

• London Overground: no service between Clapham Junction and Canada Water, so nothing at Denmark Hill, Peckham Rye or Queens Road Peckham. Replacement buses run Clapham Junction to Canada Water.
• Southeastern: Victoria to Dartford and Gravesend via Bexleyheath will not run, with extra trains from Charing Cross instead. Victoria to Dover Priory trains run non-stop between Victoria and Bromley South, calling at no station in between.
• Thameslink: Blackfriars and Victoria to Sevenoaks trains divert via Beckenham Junction, calling additionally at Herne Hill and Beckenham Junction. Replacement buses run Herne Hill to Beckenham Junction, calling everywhere except Nunhead and Ravensbourne.

If you are travelling to or from Nunhead, you are on a bus that day and the rail replacement is not it: paper tickets are accepted on London buses. Ticket acceptance also covers the P12, 225, 381, 177 and 436 between Queens Road Peckham and Surrey Quays, the P12 between Peckham Rye and Surrey Quays, and the 343 and 484 between Peckham Rye and Denmark Hill. Note that both of those routes are themselves on diversion at Cheltenham Road.

This week, Monday 21 to Thursday 24 September: late-night Thameslink cut back

From about 11.50pm each night, Thameslink trains to and from Sutton will not run between London St Pancras International or Herne Hill and Sutton. Paper rail tickets are accepted on London buses.

Southwark does not publish a live roadworks list of its own. Its roadworks page explains who digs the streets up and says the council inspects 10% of utility works, but it lists none of them, and the traffic orders page directs you to email traffic.orders@southwark.gov.uk rather than publishing the documents. 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:

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

Which buses are diverted in Dulwich right now?

Seven routes. The 363 and N63 at Melford Road in East Dulwich, booked until 7pm on 23 November. The 343, N343 and 484 at Cheltenham Road, SE15, for Thames Water, from 18 September with no end date given. The P13 at Ivanhoe Road, SE5, from 20 September, also open ended. And the 322 is skipping the Hail and Ride section of Rosendale Road in West Dulwich until 8am on 28 September, so use the Martell Road stops. Just outside the patch, the 176 and 197 are diverted at Lawrie Park Road in Sydenham to 18 October.

Is Rye Lane open?

Yes. Southwark reopened it at 10.45am on Saturday 12 September 2026 to pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles, after completing the emergency stabilisation work on the former cinema at 114-116, and the eleven bus diversions came off with it. All shops and businesses on the street are trading. The Rye Lane vehicle restriction still applies outside the 7am to 10am servicing window, and it is still camera enforced. Our report from the closure is here: Rye Lane shut 7 to 10 days, 11 bus routes diverted.

When does Melford Road reopen in East Dulwich?

Not in one go. Southwark has closed it in five consecutive sections for FM Conway’s highway works, and the order runs to 4 November. The second section, between Nos. 37 and 43, closed on 21 September and is due to reopen on 5 October, when the third section between Nos. 43 and 49 shuts. A signed diversion is in place throughout and access to premises is exempted. The 363 and N63 stay off route until 23 November regardless.

Are there any trains from Herne Hill on Sunday 27 September?

Not Thameslink ones. Engineering work between London Blackfriars and Herne Hill closes every line Thameslink uses, so no Thameslink trains run between Blackfriars and Sutton on either route that day. Paper tickets are accepted on London buses between Blackfriars and Tulse Hill and between Tulse Hill and Sutton, on the Underground between Blackfriars and Wimbledon, and on South Western Railway between Waterloo and Wimbledon.

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.
• Parking in Dulwich: permits, visitor sessions and what each zone costs.

Sources

• TfL road disruptions feed and TfL bus line status for the live closures and diversions, read on 21 September 2026.
• Southwark Council’s Rye Lane updates and statement, last updated 10.45am on Saturday 12 September 2026, for the reopening, the business support and the leader’s statement.
• Southwark Council’s temporary traffic orders on the Public Notice Portal: Melford Road and Wood Vale (TTRO00300 and TTRO00301), Linden Grove (TTRO00306), Glengall Road (TTRO00294), Portland Street and Wooler Street (TTRO00376 and TTRO00337) and Elcot Avenue (TTRO00262).
• The orders published on 17 September 2026: Rye Hill Park (TTRO00309, the 25 September to 8 October closure), Studholme Street (TTRO00277), Grosvenor Terrace (TTRO00221), Macks Road (TTRO00347) and Rodney Place (TTRO00265).
• Southwark’s digitisation of traffic management orders, the notice of the five map-based orders made on 17 September 2026.
• Bellenden Road bridge inspection (TTRO00160) and Drummond Road (TTRO00319), both made by Southwark Council on 10 September 2026.
• The hire cycle bay orders, published 10 September and re-published 17 September 2026: Elm Grove (TTRO00320), Champion Park (TTRO00442), Gibbon Road, St Asaph Road and Keetons Road.
• Lambeth’s Hawarden Grove play street order, made 4 September 2026, for the Friday closures to 31 December.
• National Rail Enquiries for the rail work: Thameslink to and from Sutton, 21 to 24 September, no Thameslink to or from Sutton on 27 September, Tulse Hill and Sutton via Mitcham Junction, 27 September and no trains via Denmark Hill on 4 October.
• 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.

Correction, 21 September 2026. The 14 September version of this page listed the SGN diversion at Lawrie Park Road in Sydenham, which takes the 176 and the 197 via Westwood Hill, among the diversions that had finished. TfL’s bus status feed has that diversion running until 5pm on Sunday 18 October, and it is back in the list above.

Roadworks change daily. The dated items above were correct on 21 September 2026; check one.network or TfL before you rely on them.