Southwark is aiming to reopen Rye Lane on Saturday 12 September, nine days after the old cinema shut it. TfL has the 11 bus diversions booked to the 18th.

Southwark Council is aiming to reopen Rye Lane on Saturday morning, 12 September. It is the first target date the council has published since it shut the street on 3 September.

The date comes with the council’s own caveat attached. Reopening “depends on the emergency stabilisation work going on without any unexpected problems or delays”, says the update on the council’s website, timed at 11am on Wednesday 9 September.

Until then nothing changes. Rye Lane stays closed to vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists near 114-116 Rye Lane, and the exclusion zone around the former cinema site stays up. TfL’s road feed still had the closure logged as active at 2.50am this morning, between Highshore Road and Choumert Road.

The buses are booked for six days longer

Here is the thing to plan around if you catch a bus through Peckham. The council is aiming for Saturday. TfL has the diversions on all eleven routes booked until 7pm on Friday 18 September.

Those are two different things being measured. The council’s date is a target for reopening the carriageway. TfL’s is how long the diversion is booked to run. Neither organisation has published a date for putting the buses back on Rye Lane.

Every affected route is missing the Peckham Rye Station and Aylesham Centre stops. The rest depends on which way you are going:

Routes Stops not served
12 Heaton Road (X), Peckham Rye Station (U) towards Oxford Circus; Aylesham Centre (N), Peckham Rye Station (V) towards Dulwich
37, 63, 197, 363, N63 Heaton Road (X), Peckham Rye Station (U), Aylesham Centre (M) northbound; Aylesham Centre (N), Peckham Rye Station (V) southbound
78, P12 Heaton Road (X), Peckham Rye Station (U), Aylesham Centre (M) towards Shoreditch and Surrey Quays; Aylesham Centre (P), Peckham Rye Station (V) towards Nunhead and Brockley
343, N343 Heaton Road (X), Peckham Rye Station (U) towards Tower Hill and Whitehall; Aylesham Centre (P), Peckham Rye Station (V) towards New Cross
P13 Blenheim Grove, Peckham Rye Station (U), Aylesham Centre (M) towards New Cross; Clayton Road (K), Aylesham Centre (P), Blenheim Grove (Y), Chadwick Road towards Streatham

On foot, the council’s signed route round the closure is via Blenheim Grove and Choumert Grove walking south, and Choumert Grove and Blenheim Grove walking north. The usual Rye Lane vehicle restriction still applies on top of all this, camera enforced outside the 7am to 10am servicing window.

A different stretch of Rye Lane shuts the day after

The reopening does not give Rye Lane a clear run. A separate Southwark order closes the southern end of the street on Sunday 13 September, the day after the target reopening.

That closure runs from the Sternhall Lane and Copeland Road junction to Bournemouth Road, with a signed diversion, for Thames Water works. It is about half a mile south of the cinema site. The council’s reference is TTRO00127/1, and the order was published on 3 September.

Residents are still in hotels

The council says it has arranged temporary hotel accommodation and welfare support for residents who cannot get back into the exclusion zone. It is also helping people collect essential belongings when it is safe for contractors to pause work.

On landlords, the council’s position is that where landlords or insurers have not arranged suitable alternative accommodation, it “will work to make sure residents are not left without somewhere to stay while the situation continues”. Affected residents can speak to officers on site or call 020 7525 5000.

For businesses, the council says officers are speaking to those affected about managing deliveries and servicing, signage and diversion routes.

Councillor James McAsh, the leader of the council, said crews had been “working around the clock to put up scaffolding around the building”, and repeated the Saturday target.

What it means for you

  • If you are travelling through Peckham this weekend. Do not assume the buses return when the road does. TfL’s booking runs to Friday 18 September, so check TfL’s bus status on the day.
  • If you drive down Rye Lane. Expect the northern stretch to reopen on Saturday at the earliest, then the southern stretch between Sternhall Lane and Bournemouth Road to close on Sunday.
  • If you are shopping or delivering. The Aylesham Centre and Peckham Rye Station stops are out on every route, in both directions, until TfL lifts the diversion.
  • If you live in the exclusion zone. The council’s number for accommodation and welfare support is 020 7525 5000, and it asks people not to move barriers or fencing.

Nothing here is fixed. Both dates depend on the stabilisation work, and the council has already moved once from “around seven to ten days” to a named Saturday. We will update this page when the road or the buses actually move.

Sources

  • Rye Lane closure, updates and statement, Southwark Council, latest update timed 11am on 9 September 2026, for the Saturday 12 September target, the caveat, the pedestrian route, the resident and business support and the leader’s statement.
  • TfL road disruption feed, record TIMS-234290, read on 10 September 2026, for the closure still being active and its extent between Highshore Road and Choumert Road.
  • TfL bus line status for routes 12, 37, 63, 78, 197, 343, 363, N63, N343, P12 and P13, read on 10 September 2026, for the 7pm 18 September booking and the stops not served.
  • Southwark Council temporary traffic order, Rye Lane, ref TTRO00127/1, dated 3 September 2026, for the 13 September closure between Sternhall Lane, Copeland Road and Bournemouth Road.