Sevenoaks Roadworks: Twelve New Kent Closures and Four M20 Nights

Kent County Council has published its first Sevenoaks traffic order batch since 25 September, and it is a big one. The notice dated 2 October carries twelve new road closures across the district, from Lime Tree Walk in Sevenoaks on Monday 5 October to two nights on the A25 at Sundridge from 22 October, plus a temporary 30mph limit on the A225 at Eynsford for a month. On the trunk roads, National Highways’ latest closure report, covering Friday 2 to Thursday 8 October, has the M20 westbound shut from junction 3 to junction 1 for four nights, where last week’s edition had one, and the Dartford Crossing order for seven months of night closures is now made.

Below are the Sevenoaks roadworks and closures that apply between Sunday 4 and Thursday 8 October, what is booked beyond that, and every notice linked so you can check it yourself.

The quick answer

The M20 westbound closes from junction 3 to junction 1 every night from Monday 5 to Thursday 8 October, 22:00 to 05:30. In town, Lime Tree Walk closes outside number 15 for up to three days from 5 October, Rye Lane at Otford for two days from 6 October, Crowhurst Lane at West Kingsdown for up to 13 days from 7 October and Cackets Lane at Knockholt on 8 October. The M25 anti-clockwise junction 5 link road shuts on the night of Tuesday 6 October, and the A20 eastbound from Crittalls Corner to Swanley Interchange on Thursday 8 October. Coming up: Greenwood Way in Sevenoaks for up to 50 days and an 18-month gas main order on four Riverhead roads from 12 October, a cluster of closures from 19 October at Bough Beech, Edenbridge, Seal and Westerham, and the A25 at Sundridge from 22 October. Station Road in Edenbridge stays closed southbound to early November and Cotmans Ash Lane at Kemsing to 18 October. At Dartford, seven months of night closures can start from Wednesday 7 October. On the railway, Charing Cross and Waterloo East close on 10 and 11 October and Sevenoaks trains run to Victoria instead.

Checked on 4 October 2026 against the National Highways closure report covering 2 to 8 October, the Kent County Council Sevenoaks notice dated 2 October and the earlier Sevenoaks notices dated 4, 11 and 25 September, the Kent rights of way notices published on 21 September and 1 October, the National Highways A282 order published on 1 October and its Swanley Interchange notice of 23 September, Southeastern’s per-date engineering notices as read for our trains page on 3 October, and Southeastern’s disruption page today.

Kent’s new Sevenoaks orders: twelve closures and a speed limit

The 2 October batch is the first new one for the district in a week, and it splits into five orders that are already made, with dates this week and next, and eight that are intended, nearly all starting from 19 October.

The five that are made start almost at once:

• Lime Tree Walk, Sevenoaks, closed outside number 15 for up to three days from Monday 5 October for South East Water. The signed route is Victoria Road, Argyle Road, Granville Road and South Park.
• Rye Lane, Otford, closed outside numbers 1 and 14 for up to two days from 6 October, 09:30 to 15:00, to replace a telegraph pole. Traffic goes round via Station Road, the A224 London Road and Pilgrims Way West.
• Crowhurst Lane, West Kingsdown, closed between Forge Lane and Billet Hill for up to 13 days from 7 October for UK Power Networks, the longest of the new jobs. The diversion runs via Fawkham Green Road, Brands Hatch Road, Fawkham Road and the A20.
• Cackets Lane, Knockholt, closed for about 1,155 metres west of New Years Lane on 8 October, 09:30 to 15:30, for Openreach, diverted via Burlings Lane, Main Road and Cudham Lane South.
• Yorks Hill, Ide Hill, closed from Gracious Lane to Yorks Hill Farm on Monday 12 October, 08:00 to 13:00, for an event on the road. The way round is Gracious Lane, the B2042 and Scallops.

The intended orders are where the long diversions are. The one most drivers will notice is the A25 Main Road at Sundridge, closed between Church Road and New Road for up to two nights from 22 October, 20:00 to 05:00, for full width resurfacing. The signed diversion does not stay in the district: it goes back through Brasted and Westerham, up the A233 over Westerham Hill and Leaves Green, along the A21 at Farnborough and down the A224 over Polhill to rejoin the A25 at Riverhead. For anyone just crossing from Brasted to Sevenoaks late at night, that is a long loop for a short gap.

The B2027 at Bough Beech, Chequers Hill, closes for 20 metres either side of the railway bridge for up to three nights from 19 October, 22:00 to 05:00, for brickwork repairs. Its published diversion is longer still, running via Cowden, the A264 near Ashurst, Penshurst, Weald, Sevenoaks and Westerham before coming back down Kent Hatch Road.

The other intended orders are short. Hever Road at Edenbridge shuts for up to four days from 19 October for SGN, diverted via Uckfield Lane, Cowden Pound Road and the B2026. School Lane at Seal closes overnight for two nights from 19 October, with its one-way rule suspended so residents can get in, and The Green at Westerham for up to five days from the same date, with traffic sent round by the A25 Vicarage Hill. Highlands Hill at Swanley goes for a day on 21 October, and the B2188 at Penshurst on 23 October, with a diversion that runs through Tunbridge Wells.

The 25 September orders: Greenwood Way and Riverhead from 12 October

None of the closures advertised as intentions on 25 September has yet been confirmed as made: the 2 October notice does not mention them. The 11 September intentions were confirmed two weeks later, so expect these in the next batch or the one after. They are:

Greenwood Way, Sevenoaks, closed from number 3 to the end of the cul-de-sac for up to 50 days from 12 October while the road is rebuilt to full depth. There is no alternative route, because there is nowhere else to go; the notice says access will be given when it is safe.

Four roads off the A224 at Riverhead under a gas main replacement order from 12 October for up to 18 months: Shoreham Lane closed at its junction with Amherst Hill, Brittains Lane from Amherst Hill to Lyndhurst Drive, Lyndhurst Drive from the junction to outside 2 Brittains Lane, and Braeside Avenue at its junction with London Road. Eighteen months is the legal ceiling for the whole programme, not the length of each closure; gas main work of this kind moves along a street in sections, with the dates on signs on site. Shoreham Lane traffic goes round via the A25 and Amherst Hill, Brittains Lane via Oak Lane and the A225 High Street.

The rest are short: How Green Lane at Hever, up to five days from 12 October outside The Cottage, for UK Power Networks; Bitchet Green Road at Seal, one day from 13 October near Rooks Hill; B2173 London Road at Swanley, up to three nights from 13 October, 20:00 to 05:00, between Salisbury Avenue and number 42 for resurfacing, with residents let in through Manse Parade; Knockholt Road at Halstead, up to 16 days from 17 October outside Jasmine Cottages, for Thames Water, diverted via Halstead Lane, Star Hill Road and Polhill; and Pilgrims Way West at Dunton Green, one day from 18 October between Ivy House Lane and Twitton Lane, 09:30 to 15:30.

The September orders that were made have run their course, from Station Hill at Chiddingstone Causeway to the four nights on the B2173 at Swanley from 30 September; Main Road at Knockholt, closed outside Crittleshaw for a new electricity connection, is the last of them, booked for one day from today, 4 October. Two Openreach jobs advertised as intentions on 20 August, Stones Cross Road at Crockenhill and Washneys Road at Orpington, are still missing from the made record, so treat them as unscheduled rather than cancelled.

The motorways: the M20 shut four nights, and two emergency repairs

The A21 has a quiet week at the Sevenoaks end: the Chipstead slips reopened after Friday night and the new report books nothing else there. The work has moved to the motorways either side of the district.

• Monday 5 to Thursday 8 October: the M20 westbound closes from junction 3 to junction 1, 22:00 to 05:30, for hazardous tree removal. Last week’s report had Monday only; the new one has all four nights. That is the whole run from the M26 junction to Swanley, so anyone coming home from Maidstone on the M20 late on those nights follows a diversion via the local authority and National Highways network.
• Monday 5 October: the A2 westbound link road from the Darenth interchange to the M25 clockwise at junction 2 closes 22:00 to 05:30 for emergency carriageway repairs, diverted via the National Highways network.
• Tuesday 6 October: the M25 anti-clockwise junction 5 link road closes 22:00 to 05:30 for emergency safety fence repairs, part of a job between junctions 6 and 5. Junction 5 is the Chevening interchange, where the A21 meets the M25, and the anti-clockwise run is the one from Godstone towards Sevenoaks.
• Thursday 8 October: the A20 eastbound from Crittalls Corner to Swanley Interchange closes 22:00 to 05:30 for vegetation clearance, diverted via local roads.
• Thursday 8 October: further south, the A21 between Kippings Cross and Lamberhurst closes in both directions, 20:00 to 06:00, for what the report calls horticulture work. It names no diversion.

The longer change at Swanley is still to come. On 23 September National Highways advertised its intention to put a 24-hour 40mph limit on every approach to the Swanley Interchange roundabout, where the M25 meets the M20 at junction 3 and the A20: the approaches from all three roads, the link roads between them, the whole circulating carriageway, and the B2173 from where its 30mph ends. It is for signalling work and would start no earlier than 00:01 on 19 October, under an order that comes into force on 17 October with a maximum of 18 months (reference NH/SE/2026/A20/80). No made order had been published when we checked on 4 October.

Dartford: the seven-month order is now made

National Highways has made the order it advertised on 17 September for the A282 between junction 2 and junction 30, the stretch that carries the Dartford Crossing. The notice of the made order, published on 1 October, keeps every term of the intended one.

It authorises closing both carriageways of the A282 and all the slip and link roads off them, running contraflows either side of the crossing, a 4.8 metre height restriction whenever the west tunnel bore is shut and a 50mph limit over the whole length. The work is bridge and tunnel works, electrical works, surveys and inspections, expected to last about seven months from on or after Wednesday 7 October, with closures of up to 20:30 to 06:00 from Sunday to Thursday and 20:00 to 10:00 on Friday and Saturday nights, and possibly “for an extended period over the weekend”. The order came into force on 5 October and runs for up to 18 months (reference NH/SE/2026/A282/70).

The first week of the closure report already shows the pattern. The East Tunnel closes northbound tonight, Sunday 4 October, 22:30 to 05:30, with nothing over 4.8 metres able to cross while it is shut. The northbound West Tunnel and the junction 1A northbound entry slip close from 21:00 every night from Monday 5 to Thursday 8 October, reopening at 05:30. And on Wednesday 7 October the A282 southbound from junction 1A to junction 2 closes 22:00 to 05:30 for emergency safety fence repairs, which takes out the southbound run from the crossing towards the A2 and the M25 for Swanley.

Edenbridge: the 54 day closure has a month to run

The order to plan around is still in force. Because of a storm water connection, Kent County Council made an order closing Station Road southbound between the B2026 Station Road and Station Approach, and closing Station Road outright between Minstrels Close and the WI Hall, from 12 September 2026 for up to 54 days. The right and left turn from the B2026 into Station Road is banned for the same period, and the cycle lane between the B2026 and Minstrels Close is suspended.

Fifty-four days from 12 September runs to 5 November, so a month of it is still ahead and it covers the whole of the autumn half term. The made notice is still where it falls down: the paragraph headed “The alternative routes are via:” is empty. A statutory order that bans a turn, suspends a cycle lane and closes a street for eight weeks has been advertised without naming a single diversion road.

The diversion does exist, though, and it is worth having. The earlier notice of intention for the same closure, published on 20 August, carries the line the made order dropped: the alternative routes are via B2026 Mont St Aignan Way and High Street. That is the route the signs on site should be following. Orders of this kind also allow the work to finish early, so 54 days is the outside limit rather than a fixed end date.

Ten Sevenoaks lanes are now inside the surface dressing orders

The resurfacing programme reached its start date on Monday 21 September. Kent County Council intended to make two orders covering ten roads in the Sevenoaks district: one dropping traffic to 40mph on the approach and 20mph through each working site, the other allowing each road to be closed outright while the work is done. Both take effect on or after 21 September 2026 and run for up to 18 months, with the actual dates published in advance and signs on site 14 days before each site starts. That was the date the orders could begin, not the date the cones arrive, and neither the 25 September nor the 2 October notice programmes any of the ten.

The Sevenoaks roads on the schedule are Redhill Road at New Ash Green, Ash Road at Ash, Bore Place Road at Chiddingstone, Franks Lane at Horton Kirby, Butterwell Hill at Cowden, Pilgrims Way at Westerham and Brasted, Penshurst Road at Leigh, Mill Lane at Chiddingstone, Heaverham Road at Kemsing, and Pilgrims Way at Kemsing. Four of them, Ash Road, Penshurst Road, Mill Lane and Heaverham Road, are limited to 09:30 to 15:00, so they should be clear either side of the school run.

There is a problem buried in the schedule, and it is at Kemsing. The published diversion for the Pilgrims Way closure runs via Cotmans Ash Lane, which is itself closed until 18 October. Cotmans Ash Lane’s own diversion, in turn, runs via Pilgrims Way and Heaverham Road, and both of those are on this surface dressing list. If the council programmes any of the three before 18 October, the signed routes point at each other. The 18-month window means it does not have to, but it is worth watching if you live off the lanes above Kemsing.

On foot: the Chiddingstone bridleway order is now made, with six months on it

Kent County Council has made the order closing Public Bridleway SR440 at Chiddingstone, between Wellers Town Road and Watstock Farm. The notice, dated 18 September and published on 21 September, confirms the closure from 19 September and gives the figure the earlier notice of intention did not: the path may stay shut for a maximum of six months, even though the council expects it to reopen on 26 October.

That gap matters if you plan walks ahead. The road works it belongs to, the SES Water job that closed Wellers Town Road for five days from 14 September, are already over. The bridleway is the part that runs on, and the legal backstop is 19 March 2027 rather than late October. Riders and walkers heading for Chiddingstone Hoath should treat 26 October as the council’s hope, not a commitment.

In town, Kent has now made the order for Public Footpath SU11, the link between Bradbourne Vale Road and Lambarde Road: it closes from 5 October for up to six months, according to the rights of way notice published on 1 October. The signed alternative is the long way round on the roads themselves, Bradbourne Vale Road and Lambarde Road, which means a walk on the A25 rather than off it.

Cotmans Ash Lane, Kemsing: two weeks still to go

The closure to build into a routine rather than a journey is still at Kemsing. Cotmans Ash Lane closed on Monday 24 August and does not reopen until 18 October, while around 680 metres of new water main goes in, along with the connections and service transfers. The order runs from Clarkes Green Road to Ashdown Bungalow.

The signed route is a long way round the lanes: Clarkes Green Lane, Birchin Cross Road, Row Dow, Pilgrims Way, Childsbridge Lane, West End, High Street and Heaverham Road. Kemsing drivers who use the lane to reach the A20 or the M26 should plan on it for another two weeks.

A25 Bessels Green: still clear

The A25 Westerham Road closure at Bessels Green, which took out westbound traffic over the A21 on weekends through May, June and August, remains finished. The order Kent County Council made ran until 31 August 2026 or until the work was complete, according to the statutory notice for the closures, and nothing published since has extended it, up to and including the notice dated 2 October. The A25 over the A21 is normal in both directions, and a return would need a fresh order and a fresh notice.

Trains: Charing Cross shuts on 10 and 11 October, then Lewisham to Orpington

Southeastern’s per-date notices, read for our trains page on 3 October, give Sevenoaks three weekends in a row with work on its London line.

Today, Sunday 4 October, work between Lewisham and Hither Green means the Sevenoaks stopping trains to Charing Cross do not call at Lewisham, and the Thameslink from Sevenoaks to Blackfriars diverts via Beckenham Junction, calling additionally there and at Herne Hill.

From Monday 5 to Thursday 8 October, after 23:05, trains via Maidstone East are diverted after Otford via Sevenoaks, and Kemsing is served by a replacement bus from Sevenoaks to Maidstone East.

Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October is the weekend to plan for: Charing Cross and Waterloo East are shut on both days. Sevenoaks is not cut off. The stopping trains run to and from London Victoria instead, and the Hastings line fasts run to London Bridge, non-stop from Tonbridge by an alternative route.

On Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October the line is shut between Lewisham and Orpington, so Sevenoaks trains run non-stop from Lewisham to Petts Wood and nine stations, among them Grove Park and Chislehurst, are closed. On the nights of Friday 16 and Saturday 17 October, buses replace the last trains between Tonbridge and Redhill through Leigh, Penshurst and Edenbridge.

Further out, the Hastings line closes between Tonbridge and Wadhurst for nine days over October half term, Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, while the slab track in Grove Hill Tunnel is renewed. Sevenoaks keeps its London trains; Tunbridge Wells and the rest of the line are on buses from Tonbridge. Our report on the nine-day closure has the detail, and Sevenoaks trains to London has every affected date to 20 December, the times, fastest routes and the last train home.

Sevenoaks station: no step-free access to London until 1 December

The lift replacement at Sevenoaks still has 1 December on it. Southeastern’s service disruption page lists the lifts between the footbridge and platforms 1 and 2 as out of order from 09:59 on 1 July 2026 until 23:59 on 1 December 2026, and that entry was unchanged when we checked it again on 4 October.

The advice attached to it matters if you cannot use stairs. Southeastern states plainly that there is no step-free access at Sevenoaks for any service heading towards London, and that the nearest step-free alternative for London-bound services is Hildenborough, one stop south towards Tonbridge. Thameslink services to central London are still step-free from Sevenoaks, so the slower route up through Otford and Catford remains open to wheelchair users, buggies and anyone who cannot manage the footbridge stairs. If you need assistance, book it with Southeastern in advance rather than turning up. We cover the wider programme in Sevenoaks station’s lift replacement.

What it means for you

The practical takeaways for 4 to 8 October and beyond:

• Lime Tree Walk in Sevenoaks closes for up to three days from 5 October, Rye Lane at Otford for two days from 6 October, Crowhurst Lane at West Kingsdown for up to 13 days from 7 October, and Cackets Lane at Knockholt on 8 October.
• The M20 westbound is shut from junction 3 to junction 1 every night from Monday 5 to Thursday 8 October, 22:00 to 05:30.
• The M25 anti-clockwise junction 5 link road closes on Tuesday 6 October, the A2 westbound link to the M25 at Darenth on Monday, and the A20 eastbound into Swanley Interchange on Thursday.
• The Dartford Crossing order is made: seven months of night closures from 7 October, 50mph, and no crossing for anything over 4.8 metres whenever the west tunnel is shut. The northbound West Tunnel closes from 21:00 Monday to Thursday this week.
• Greenwood Way in Sevenoaks (up to 50 days) and four Riverhead roads (an 18-month gas main order) are due from 12 October, though Kent has not yet confirmed them as made.
• From 19 October: the B2027 at Bough Beech for up to three nights, Hever Road at Edenbridge, School Lane at Seal, The Green at Westerham, and 30mph on the A225 at Eynsford to about 20 November. The A25 at Sundridge shuts for up to two nights from 22 October, with a diversion over Westerham Hill and Polhill.
• Station Road in Edenbridge is shut southbound to 5 November at the latest, and Cotmans Ash Lane at Kemsing until 18 October.
• National Highways intends a 24-hour 40mph limit at Swanley Interchange from 19 October.
• Charing Cross and Waterloo East are closed on 10 and 11 October, and Sevenoaks trains run to Victoria; Lewisham to Orpington shuts on 17 and 18 October. There is no step-free access at Sevenoaks for London-bound Southeastern trains until 1 December; Hildenborough is the nearest alternative, and Thameslink from Sevenoaks is still step-free.

Sources

• National Highways seven day road closure report, covering 2 to 8 October 2026 (the four M20 nights, the M25 junction 5 and A2 Darenth link roads, the A20 at Crittalls Corner, the A21 at Kippings Cross, the A282 southbound on 7 October and the Dartford tunnel closures)
• Sevenoaks multiple Temporary Traffic Regulation Notices, dated 2 October 2026 (the twelve new closures from Lime Tree Walk to the A25 at Sundridge, and the A225 Eynsford 30mph limit)
• National Highways notice: A282 Trunk Road (M25 junctions 30 to 2) order made, published 1 October 2026 (the made order, in force 5 October, the hours, the 50mph limit and the 4.8 metre height restriction; reference NH/SE/2026/A282/70)
• Kent multiple Public Rights of Way Notices, published 1 October 2026 (the made order closing Footpath SU11 from 5 October)
• Southeastern: engineering work by date (every weekend from 4 October to 20 December, read for our trains page on 3 October 2026)
• Sevenoaks multiple Temporary Traffic Regulation Notices, dated 25 September 2026 (Greenwood Way, the Riverhead gas main order, Knockholt Road, How Green Lane, Bitchet Green Road, Pilgrims Way West and both B2173 London Road closures)
• National Highways notice: M20, M25 and A20 Swanley Interchange temporary traffic restrictions, published 23 September 2026 (the 24-hour 40mph limit from 19 October; reference NH/SE/2026/A20/80)
• Kent multiple Public Rights of Way Notices, published 21 September 2026 (the made order for Bridleway SR440 at Chiddingstone, the six-month maximum and the 26 October expectation)
• Sevenoaks multiple Temporary Traffic Regulation Notices, dated 11 September 2026 (the district orders, from Pease Hill to the B2173 London Road, Swanley, all now run)
• Sevenoaks multiple Temporary Traffic Regulation Notices, dated 4 September 2026 (Station Road, Edenbridge and the empty alternative routes paragraph)
• Kent multiple Public Rights of Way Notices, published 10 September 2026 (Footpath SU11 at Bradbourne Vale Road)
• Dartford, Gravesham and Sevenoaks multiple Temporary Traffic Regulation Notices, published 3 September 2026 (the surface dressing programme and its ten Sevenoaks roads)
• Sevenoaks multiple Temporary Traffic Regulation Notices, published 20 August 2026 (Cotmans Ash Lane at Kemsing)
• Sevenoaks multiple Temporary Traffic Regulation Notices, published 1 May 2026 (the A25 Bessels Green order and the 31 August 2026 expiry)
• Network Rail media centre, Hastings line buses replace trains for nine days, 8 September 2026 (the 24 October to 1 November closure)
• Southeastern service disruption page (Sevenoaks station lifts, the 1 December 2026 end date and the Hildenborough advice)