Upper Borough Walls and Parsonage Lane close in spells for 18 months from 29 September. Manvers Street stays shut to 20 November and Lansdown gas works run on.
Bath roadworks cluster on a short list of pinch points: the A36 threading past the city, Cleveland Bridge, the London Road, and a city centre that is deliberately hard to drive through. This page covers what is actually closed in mid September 2026 and the schemes running into the autumn. It also has the evergreen answers, on the Clean Air Zone, park and ride and parking, that decide how you should come into the city at all. For live works street by street, the council points drivers to its one.network map.
Closed now: Manvers Street, until 20 November
The biggest disruption in the city is right outside the station. Manvers Street is closed to all motor vehicles, 24 hours a day, between the Dorchester Street and Henry Street junctions while the council rebuilds the road from the foundations up; the concrete slabs beneath it, laid over wartime-era vaults and cellars, have worn out. Work started on 26 May 2026 and the council expects to finish by 20 November 2026, in time for the Christmas Market. It is a £5 million job, paid for from the West of England Combined Authority’s Maintenance Challenge Fund and carried out by contractor M Group. Crews work Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm, with some nights and weekends (B&NES Council).
The council will not guarantee the completion date. Its own page says the timeline is an estimate, and that working in phases is what lets it promise the road will be open for the Christmas Market.
While it lasts: pedestrians get through, cyclists are asked to dismount, every bus stop on Manvers Street is closed with routes diverted, and the Manvers Street car park stays open, reached via Pierrepont Street. If you are catching a train from Bath Spa, allow a few extra minutes and approach from Dorchester Street.
From 29 September: Upper Borough Walls and Parsonage Lane, for 18 months
The biggest change coming to the middle of Bath is not a resurfacing job. The council has given notice that it intends to make an order closing Upper Borough Walls for its entire length, and Parsonage Lane for its entire length, to vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians, from 29 September 2026 for a maximum period of 18 months. The reason given is contractors working on the old Bath Mineral Hospital (B&NES notice THTTC4296, dated 10 September 2026).
Read the notice carefully, because the headline overstates it. The council says the streets will not be closed continually: the closures apply between 10am and 6pm, and only for short periods when construction loading or unloading is going on. Those times can be adjusted.
Two other things in the same order change how the streets around Saw Close work:
- The loading bay on Avon Street, near the junction with Corn Street and the Riverside coach park, is suspended. In its place, for as long as the order lasts, there is a temporary 30-minute waiting bay, at all times, for goods and construction vehicles only.
- The bollards at the junction of Westgate Buildings and Saw Close are to be removed, so that construction lorries can get into Saw Close from Westgate Buildings. Police, fire and ambulance vehicles may use it too. Emergency access at Cheap Street stays as it is.
Eighteen months is the maximum the order allows, and the notice says the works themselves are anticipated to take eighteen months. The contact given is the on-call manager at contractor BUKO. We have set out the whole order, including the Avon Street and Saw Close changes, in our report on the Upper Borough Walls closures.
From 28 September: the drive through Royal Victoria Park
The road that runs through Royal Victoria Park, from the Park Lane and Weston Road junction round to a point opposite the Victoria Obelisk, is to close from 28 September 2026. This one is the council’s own scheme, not a utility’s. The work is footway and carriageway resurfacing, a new zebra crossing and new raised crossing points.
The order allows a maximum of 18 months, but the notice is more specific about the plan: works are anticipated to take place between September 2026 and January 2027, and the council says they will not disrupt any events due to take place in that period (B&NES notice THTTC4355).
It lands in the same corner of the city as a parking change that has already happened. Charges have applied on Weston Road, between Park Lane and the north east entrance to the park, since 25 August.
Lansdown: a gas main upgrade moving street by street
Wales & West Utilities is upgrading gas mains in Lansdown, and it is working through the streets one at a time rather than all at once.
Live now: St Stephen’s Road. The council has made an order closing St Stephen’s Road, from just north of its junction with Lansdown Grove and extending about 75 metres south, from 7 September for an anticipated four weeks. The signed route is St Stephen’s Road (remainder), Camden Crescent, Lansdown Road and back. The footpath between Camden Row and St Stephen’s Road is closed under the same works and for the same period (B&NES notice THTTC4287 and THTTC4307).
Next, from 28 September. The council intends to make a further order for the same gas upgrade, covering two blocks of streets on separate dates:
| Streets | Dates |
|---|---|
| St James’s Park (from outside no. 42 to Park Street Mews), Great Bedford Street at Park Street Mews, and Park Street Mews at that junction | 28 September to 9 October |
| Park Place (20m west of Park Street), Park Street (outside nos. 35 to 38), and Park Street Mews at Park Street | 5 October to 16 October |
The notice says diversions will be signed for each closure, that access will be kept for residents, and that the roads will not all be closed at the same time (B&NES notice THTTC4291, dated 10 September 2026). Separately, Upper Lansdown Mews is closed for five days from 14 September while the same company lays a new gas service.
Every other closure ordered around Bath this month
These come from the council’s own statutory notices under section 14 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. The distinction in the last column matters: where the council has made an order, it is a decision; where it intends to make one, it is a proposal and can change. Dates are the start date the notice gives, and the duration is what the applicant anticipates, not a guarantee.
| Road | From | Anticipated | Works | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chew Hill, Chew Magna | 14 Sept | 1 day, 8am to 6pm | Openreach, two poles | Made |
| Winifred’s Lane and Somerset Lane, Lansdown | 14 Sept | 1 day, 9.30am to 3pm | Virgin Media, desilting | Made |
| Upper Lansdown Mews, Lansdown | 14 Sept | 5 days | Wales & West, new gas service | Made |
| Charlie Horse Lane, West Harptree | 16 Sept | 1 day, 8am to 6pm | Openreach, one pole | Made |
| Colliery Lane, Peasedown St John | 18 Sept | 1 day | Openreach, joint box and duct | Made |
| Kilkenny Lane, Englishcombe | 21 Sept | 4 days | National Grid, road crossing | Intends |
| Lyncombe Hill cul-de-sac | 21 Sept | 3 days | Wessex Water, stop tap | Intends |
| Moorledge Lane, Chew Magna | 21 Sept | 3 days | Openreach, new duct | Intends |
| Stockwood Vale, Keynsham | 22 Sept | 3 days | Openreach, duct and blockages | Intends |
| Hatfield Road, Bloomfield | 23 Sept | 3 days | Openreach, new ducting | Intends |
| Langridge Lane, Langridge | 25 Sept | 5 days | Openreach, joint box and duct | Intends |
| B3355 Winterfield Road, Paulton | 26 Sept | 1 day | Openreach, fibre cabling | Intends |
| Locksbrook Road, Newbridge | 29 Sept | 2 days | Wessex Water, cover repairs | Intends |
| Palmers Lane, Tunley | 29 Sept | 3 days | Bristol Water, new supply | Intends |
| West View Road, Keynsham | 29 Sept | 3 days | Bristol Water, old lead pipe | Intends |
| Denny Lane, Chew Magna | 30 Sept | 1 day | Openreach, pole replacement | Intends |
| Ramscombe Lane, Hollies Lane and Northend, Batheaston | 1 Oct | 1 to 7 Oct, then 9 to 15 Oct | Openreach, spine cabling | Intends |
| Green Lane, Hinton Charterhouse | 2 Oct | 8 days | Openreach, 223m of duct | Intends |
Sources: the council’s bundled traffic notices published on 3 September and 10 September (one, two).
One longer job is already booked for the far south of the district. Bristol Water is replacing a water main at Tunley, about seven miles south west of Bath, and the council intends to close six public footpaths and bridleways off Bath Road and Prison Lane from 2 November 2026 until 22 February 2027 (B&NES notice, 9 September 2026).
Cameras have enforced six restrictions since 24 August
Six moving traffic restrictions that were already on the signs are now enforced by camera. Automatic number plate recognition went live at five junctions on Monday 24 August 2026 (B&NES Council). Nothing about the restrictions themselves has changed. What has changed is that a camera, rather than chance, decides whether you are caught.
The council’s enforcement locations page lists all six, each in force 24 hours a day:
- Brook Road, Bath: 7.5 tonne commercial vehicle weight restriction.
- Cavendish Road and Sion Hill junction, Bath: no right turn.
- George Street and Gay Street junction, Bath: turn left ahead.
- George Street and Gay Street junction, Bath: no entry.
- High Street, Bath Hill and Temple Street, Keynsham: no right turn.
- Newbridge Road and Newbridge Hill, Bath: no left turn.
There is a six-month warning period at each site. A first contravention at a location normally brings a warning notice rather than a Penalty Charge Notice, so the first real penalties fall due around late February 2027 (B&NES Council). Speeding is not covered; that stays with the police. We have set out the detail, including the council’s own contravention surveys, in our report on the new cameras.
The A36, the M4 and the Cleveland Bridge limit
National Highways is repairing limestone walls on the A36, and has been since 16 February. The repair phase began on 7 April and runs to November 2026. Sections of the northbound lane are closed under temporary traffic lights 24 hours a day. Each closure is kept under 200 metres. At some points two sections are worked on at once, and queues build at peak times (National Highways).
The M4 is down to 50mph east of junction 18
If you join the M4 at junction 18, the Bath and Tormarton junction, the motorway east of there is not running normally. National Highways is rebuilding drainage on the eastbound carriageway between junctions 18 and 17. The job started in February 2026 and runs to March 2027.
From August 2026 until March 2027 the motorway has three narrow lanes in each direction, 24 hours a day, with a 50mph speed limit. Full overnight closures are needed to install the narrow lanes and take them out again, and the signed diversion for those is via Chippenham. National Highways says the dates for those closures will be published nearer the time (National Highways).
At the other end of the same trunk road, Cleveland Bridge still carries its temporary 18-tonne weight limit, in place on the Grade II listed structure since 2022. The council extended it again on 30 October 2025. The old order expired on 15 November, and the replacement Temporary Traffic Regulation Order runs for up to twelve months, so it holds until around 15 November 2026 while monitoring of the hanger bars continues (B&NES Council).
Two things drivers get wrong about it. The limit applies to all vehicles, coaches included, and it is enforced by ANPR camera: one driver was convicted on 22 October 2025 and ordered to pay £680. The council also extended a temporary 7.5-tonne HGV restriction on a number of city centre roads, to stop lorries turned back from the bridge cutting through the middle of Bath, with loading still allowed. Around 16,000 vehicles a day cross the bridge and the council puts this year’s breach rate at 0.06 per cent of them.
Trains: nothing booked at Bath Spa until 26 October
The track renewal at Chippenham that closed the line on 12 and 13 September has been and gone. Great Western Railway’s planned engineering page for the Bristol area now lists no work affecting Bath Spa until the last week of October, and National Rail’s engineering listings show none either (GWR planned engineering, National Rail).
The one date to put in the diary is a weekday closure, which is unusual and easy to miss. Track renewals shut the line between Bath Spa and Bristol Temple Meads from Monday 26 to Wednesday 28 October. GWR plans replacement road transport in two forms:
- Bath bus station to Bristol Temple Meads, non-stop
- Bath bus station to Bristol Temple Meads, stopping
On those three days, London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads trains will use an alternative route and call at neither Chippenham nor Bath Spa. Separate services will run between London Paddington and Bath Spa via Chippenham, and there will be no direct train between Oxford and Bristol Temple Meads.
Note that the replacement buses leave from the bus station, not from outside Bath Spa, and that Manvers Street next to it is still shut to traffic. Allow longer than the walk looks.
Nothing shut on the trunk roads near Bath this week either
National Highways republishes a seven-day closure report every day. The edition covering Friday 11 September to Thursday 17 September carries no closure on the A36, A46 or M4 anywhere near Bath. That is now two weeks running.
The entries that do name those roads are a long way off, and it is worth saying where, because the road numbers look alarming on a list:
- the A36 overnight closures are at Salisbury, about 40 miles south east, between Wilton roundabout and St Paul’s roundabout
- the A46 entries are in Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire, not the Bath to Stroud stretch
- the M4 closures are at junctions 4B, 7, 10 and 22, none of them nearer than the Severn crossing
The one that is worth knowing about if you are driving to Bristol: the M4 westbound at junction 19, the M32 junction, was closed between its slip roads overnight on Monday 14 September for electrical works, with the signed diversion via the M32 (National Highways road closure report). That report changes daily, so it is worth a look the night before a long drive.
The city centre is designed to keep you out
Two standing restrictions catch visiting drivers more than any roadworks. Milsom Street is closed to general traffic between 10am and 6pm. The council made that restriction permanent after the 2021 trial (B&NES Council).
Separately, under the city centre security scheme, the core streets around the Abbey are closed to vehicles between 10am and 6pm. Blue Badge holders and taxis carrying them are the exception (B&NES Council).
The Clean Air Zone: cars are not charged
Bath’s Clean Air Zone covers the city centre and operates 24 hours a day, every day. The key fact most visitors have wrong: private cars and motorbikes are never charged, whatever their age. The daily charges, from the council’s own table, apply only to older, non-compliant vehicles in these categories:
- £9 a day: taxis and private hire vehicles, minibuses, vans and pick-ups under 3.5 tonnes.
- £100 a day: buses, coaches and HGVs; private horse transporters and motorhomes over 3.5 tonnes pay £100 unless registered with the council for the £9 rate.
Compliant vehicles (broadly, Euro 6 diesel or Euro 4 petrol and newer) pay nothing. Check any vehicle on the GOV.UK checker before a trip.
Park and ride: usually the right answer
Bath has three park and ride sites, all run by First Bus, with buses up to every 15 minutes taking about 10 minutes into the centre, seven days a week. Parking is free if you travel on the bus the same day. If you park at a park and ride site and do not take the bus, the 24-hour charge rises from £3 to £4 on 1 October 2026; the up-to-three-hours charge stays at £2 (B&NES Council).
The council is asking what Park and Ride should become
B&NES opened a survey on 1 September asking who uses Park & Ride, how often, what works and what should change. It runs until later this year at haveyoursay.bathnes.gov.uk/parkandride, with paper copies in libraries. The council says the three sites carried more than 2.5 million passenger journeys over the past 12 months, and that Bath’s Park & Ride took the second-highest satisfaction score in the country for the third year running in the National Highways and Transport Public Satisfaction Survey. It is testing whether the sites should grow into wider transport hubs, adding cycling, e-bikes and e-scooters alongside the buses (B&NES Council).
One detail worth knowing before you fill it in: the 24-hour charge for parking at a park and ride without taking the bus rises from £3 to £4 on 1 October. Odd Down is also served by the Number 4 bus, which runs direct to the Royal United Hospital.
First Bus’s published fares are:
- Adult return: £3.70.
- Group Return, two adults travelling together after 9:30am on weekdays: £5.50.
- Under-16s: free with a fare-paying adult.
Parking if you must drive in
- Bath Spa station car park has just 78 spaces (GWR), so do not build a journey around finding one.
- Charlotte Street is the main long-stay council car park, open 24 hours with no maximum stay, a short walk west of Queen Square; pay by MiPermit, or cash and card at some machines (B&NES Council).
- Council car parks charge by emissions band: the older and more polluting the vehicle, the more each hour costs, and diesels pay a surcharge (B&NES Council).
What changed on 25 August
The council’s 2026-27 parking changes took effect on Monday 25 August, after two rounds of consultation (B&NES Council). The changes are:
- Residents’ permits are priced by vehicle size as well as emissions. Charges run in eleven bands based on a vehicle’s length multiplied by its width, with mirrors extended. The smallest cars get £20 off a first permit; the largest pay a capped £112.08 supplement, and £308.22 on a second permit.
- A valid MOT is required for a residents’ permit.
- Visitor permits went from £1 to £1.50 a day, the first of three annual steps to £2.50 by 2028.
- Parking charges now apply on Weston Road, between Park Lane and the north east entrance to Royal Victoria Park, matching Royal Victoria Park’s emissions-based tariff with the first hour free.
- Park and ride 24-hour parking goes from £3 to £4 for drivers who do not use the bus, but not until 1 October.
- Charged hours at the Bath Sports and Leisure Centre car park now start at 6am rather than 8am, and the four-hour overnight cap on electric vehicle charging bays at Larkhall Square is removed.
Saturday charges at Bath Hill East car park in Keynsham were dropped after residents and businesses objected. We have written up the size-based bands, with worked examples, in our report on the new charges.
Frequently asked questions
Is engineering work affecting trains from Bath Spa?
Not until the end of October. GWR’s planned engineering page lists nothing affecting Bath Spa before Monday 26 to Wednesday 28 October, when track renewals shut the line to Bristol Temple Meads and replacement buses run from Bath bus station. London to Bristol trains will not call at Bath Spa on those three days.
Why are Upper Borough Walls and Parsonage Lane closing?
Contractors are working on the old Bath Mineral Hospital. The council has given notice of an order, starting 29 September 2026 and lasting up to 18 months, closing both streets for their entire length. They will not be shut continuously: the closures apply between 10am and 6pm, and only for short spells when construction vehicles are loading or unloading.
What is happening in Royal Victoria Park?
The drive through the park, from the Park Lane and Weston Road junction to opposite the Victoria Obelisk, closes from 28 September. The council is resurfacing the footway and carriageway and putting in a new zebra crossing and new raised crossing points. Its notice says the work is expected to run from September 2026 to January 2027 and will not disrupt events.
Why is the M4 50mph near junction 18?
National Highways is rebuilding drainage on the eastbound carriageway between junctions 18 and 17. Three narrow lanes run in each direction 24 hours a day with a 50mph limit, from August 2026 until the work finishes in March 2027.
Why is Manvers Street in Bath closed?
The road is being rebuilt from its foundations: the concrete slabs under the surface, laid over old vaults and cellars, have deteriorated. It is closed to motor vehicles between the Dorchester Street and Henry Street junctions until around 20 November 2026. Pedestrians can still get through and the Manvers Street car park stays open via Pierrepont Street.
Do I have to pay Bath’s Clean Air Zone charge in my car?
No. Private cars and motorbikes are not charged in Bath’s zone, regardless of age; it is a Class C zone. Non-compliant taxis, vans and minibuses pay £9 a day, and non-compliant buses, coaches and HGVs pay £100.
Is there still a weight limit on Cleveland Bridge?
Yes. The temporary 18-tonne limit was extended on 30 October 2025 by a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order lasting up to twelve months, so it runs to around 15 November 2026. It applies to every vehicle, coaches included, and is enforced by ANPR camera.
How much is Bath park and ride?
Parking is free when you travel on the bus. On First Bus’s published fares an adult return is £3.70, a weekday Group Return for two adults after 9:30am is £5.50, and under-16s travel free with a paying adult. Buses run up to every 15 minutes, seven days a week.
Which Bath junctions have new traffic cameras?
Camera enforcement went live on Monday 24 August 2026 at Brook Road (7.5 tonne weight limit), Cavendish Road and Sion Hill (no right turn), George Street and Gay Street (turn left ahead, and a no entry), Newbridge Road and Newbridge Hill (no left turn), and High Street, Bath Hill and Temple Street in Keynsham (no right turn). All six run 24 hours a day. For the first six months a first offence at a location normally brings a warning notice rather than a fine.
What changed about Bath parking charges?
Since 25 August 2026 residents’ parking permits have been priced by vehicle size as well as emissions, and a valid MOT is required. Visitor permits went from £1 to £1.50 a day, and charges now apply on part of Weston Road. Park and ride parking for drivers who do not use the bus rises from £3 to £4 on 1 October.
Where should I park for Bath Spa station?
The station car park has only 78 spaces. For a day trip, Odd Down park and ride serves the south side, or use Charlotte Street and walk; Manvers Street car park remains open during the roadworks, via Pierrepont Street.
Where can I check current roadworks in Bath?
The council publishes live works on its one.network map, and National Highways lists A36 scheme updates on its South West maintenance page.
Sources
- Manvers Street works (B&NES Council) for the closure extent, start date and 20 November 2026 finish.
- National Highways South West maintenance schemes for the A36 limestone wall repairs and the M4 junctions 18 to 17 drainage scheme, its 50mph limit and its March 2027 end date.
- Bath Clean Air Zone charges (B&NES Council) for the full charge table.
- First Bus Bath park and ride for sites, services and fares.
- New parking charges and size-based permits set to start (B&NES Council, 20 August 2026) for the 25 August start date and the list of changes.
- Parking charges 2026-27 (B&NES Council) for the size bands, visitor permit steps, Weston Road tariff and park and ride charges.
- Council extends temporary weight limit at Cleveland Bridge (B&NES Council, 30 October 2025) for the TTRO, the coach and HGV restrictions and the enforcement figures.
- Camera enforcement for existing traffic restrictions (B&NES Council, 21 August 2026) and How we enforce moving traffic regulations (B&NES Council) for the 24 August live date, the six restrictions and the six-month warning period.
- National Highways road closure report, the seven-day spreadsheet covering 11 to 17 September 2026, for the absence of closures near Bath, the M4 junction 19 overnight closure and the locations of the A36, A46 and M4 entries that are in it.
- GWR planned engineering, Bristol area and National Rail engineering works for the absence of work at Bath Spa until the Bath Spa to Bristol Temple Meads closure from 26 to 28 October.
- The council’s own section 14 traffic notices, published on the Public Notice Portal on 3 September and 10 September (one, two), for Upper Borough Walls and Parsonage Lane (THTTC4296), the Royal Victoria Park drive (THTTC4355), the Lansdown gas works (THTTC4287, 4291, 4307, 4351) and every road in the table.
- Help shape the future of Bath’s Park & Ride (B&NES Council, 1 September 2026) for the survey, the 2.5 million passenger journeys and the national satisfaction ranking.
Roadworks change week to week; treat the dated closures above as correct at publication and check the live map before you travel. Last updated 14 September 2026.
Have your say