Motorists in Sutton are facing a week of disruption as the latest Sutton road closures take effect, with temporary traffic lights on one street and emergency gas repairs under way on another.
The first of the two schemes is on Bushey Road in Sutton, where multi-way traffic lights are now in place while the London Borough of Sutton carries out highway repair and maintenance works. The project is officially listed as “standard” – the routine category for planned council roadworks – and got under way at 12.30pm on Monday, October 5.
Council records show plans for the Bushey Road works were first submitted on September 15, with the permit to dig up the road granted the following morning. Under the current schedule, the works are due to finish at midnight on Thursday, October 8 – although anyone who has lived through roadworks season in London will know those dates can slip.
Meanwhile, over in Wallington, emergency gas works have started on Bute Road. Southern Gas Networks (SGN) is carrying out utility repair and maintenance work that has been categorised as “immediate – emergency”, the classification reserved for urgent jobs where there is no time to lose.
The Bute Road works began at 11.30am on Monday, October 5 – at exactly the same moment the permit application was submitted – with permission granted just 16 minutes later at 11.46am. Unlike the Bushey Road scheme, the gas works are listed as taking place off-road, which should spare passing drivers the worst of the disruption. They are expected to run for a full week, coming to an end at 1am on Monday, October 12.
What it means for your journey
With two separate sets of works running at the same time, anyone travelling through Sutton and Wallington this week would be wise to allow extra time. Bushey Road is the one to watch: multi-way lights on a busy route can quickly send queues back through the surrounding streets at peak times, so consider giving it a wide berth during the morning and evening rush if you can.
Public transport is worth considering as an alternative. Both Sutton and Wallington are served by rail stations with regular Southern and Thameslink services towards central London, which may prove quicker than sitting in temporary lights. Bus passengers should also expect possible delays on routes passing near the works and check live departures before setting off.
It is also worth remembering that roadworks dates are never set in stone. Both schemes are currently scheduled to finish this month, but bad weather, engineering complications or the discovery of further problems underground can all push completion dates back. Checking the council’s roadworks map or live traffic updates before you travel is a sensible habit this week – as it is whenever a major route into the capital is disrupted or the M25 grinds to a halt.
Why the borough is being dug up twice at once
To the frustrated driver, it can look as though the borough’s streets are being dug up at random – but both schemes sit inside tightly regulated systems. Under London’s roadworks permit scheme, any organisation that wants to dig up the highway must apply for a permit, and each job is categorised according to its urgency.
“Standard” works, like those on Bushey Road, are planned in advance: the council submits its proposals, a permit is granted, and the work goes ahead on an agreed timetable. “Immediate – emergency” works are a different beast entirely. They cover urgent safety-critical jobs – a suspected gas leak or a damaged main, for example – where engineers are allowed to start work the moment the problem is identified. That is why the Bute Road permit was submitted and granted within minutes of the work beginning.
Gas network operators, meanwhile, are in the middle of a long-term programme to replace ageing metal gas mains across London and the South East with tough new plastic piping – work that regularly throws up short-notice emergency repairs like the one in Wallington. Add in the annual autumn push by councils to get highway maintenance done before winter sets in, and weeks like this one are almost inevitable.
There is at least some comfort for bill-payers in the system: councils have been tightening the screws on badly managed roadworks, with Hammersmith and Fulham moving to fine utility firms that dig up roads at rush hour. Whether other boroughs follow suit remains to be seen – but for Sutton drivers this week, the advice is simple: plan ahead, leave early, and don’t rely on the works finishing exactly on schedule.
