804 people signed the petition to end Barnet's peak-hour no right turn into Exeter Road, N14, which closes today. That is enough to go to a council committee. How to object by January.

A petition against Barnet Council’s experimental ban on right turns into Exeter Road, N14, closes today with 804 signatures. That puts it in the band the council’s rules send to a committee or Cabinet, where the lead petitioner gets three minutes to make the case.

The trial bans peak-hour right turns into Exeter Road from Chase Side and from Brookside South. It has run since 6 July. Anyone who wants it scrapped, or kept, can still send a formal objection until early January.

What the trial bans

The council made the Barnet (Prescribed Route) (Experimental) (No.2) Traffic Order 2026 on 25 June. It came into operation on Monday 6 July. Under it:

  • drivers on Chase Side, N14 cannot turn right into Exeter Road
  • drivers on Brookside South, EN4 cannot turn right into Exeter Road
  • both bans apply from 7am to 10am and 3pm to 6pm, every day of the week

The bans do not apply to cyclists or to emergency vehicles. Residents of Exeter Road, of 197 and 199 Chase Side and of 14 Brookside South are exempt if they have applied for, and been given, a dispensation permit.

The council’s notice gives its reason as “vehicular conflicts concerns regarding the level of traffic turning into Exeter Road N14 and about speeding and obstruction”. It says the aim is to improve road safety.

What the petition asks

The ePetition, titled “Brunswick Park ETRO”, opened on 3 July and closes today, 1 November. It says the scheme was drawn up “without meaningful prior consultation” with the residents most affected. It argues that it pushes traffic onto neighbouring residential roads.

It asks the council to end the trial early and permanently withdraw the no right turn from both roads. The petition notes the council has promised a formal consultation with affected residents at the end of the six-month trial, but says residents should not have to wait.

The council’s petitions page listed 804 signatures this morning. It is the most signed petition open on the site by a wide margin; the next highest had 48.

What happens to a petition with 804 names

Barnet’s petition scheme, part of its constitution, sets out what each size of petition gets:

Signatures What the council does
25 to 500 Written reply from the Cabinet member or an officer within 20 working days
501 to 3,000 Reported to Cabinet or the relevant committee
3,001 or more Debated at Full Council

At the committee stage the lead petitioner has three minutes to present the petition and then takes questions. The committee can then take no action, ask for a written reply within 20 working days, or order an officer’s report with a recommendation for a later meeting.

There is a catch on the count. The scheme says only signatures from Barnet residents count, and signatories must give a road and postcode so they can be checked. The petition needs at least 501 verified Barnet signatures to stay in the committee band. A petition also has to reach the council seven working days before the meeting that hears it, so it cannot go to any meeting before mid-November.

What it means for you

The petition is not the formal route for objecting to the order itself. That runs separately and is still open.

  • The deadline: the council’s notice says objections can be sent within six months of the order coming into operation on 6 July. That runs to early January 2027.
  • How: in writing, with your grounds, to HighwaysCorrespondence@Barnet.gov.uk, or by post to The Design Team, Highways Section, 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, London NW9 4EW.
  • Support counts too. The objection period exists so the council can decide whether to make the ban permanent. If you live nearby and think it has worked, say so in the same way.
  • The paperwork: the same email address will send you a copy of the order, a plan and the council’s statement of reasons.

If you live on Exeter Road or at the exempt Chase Side and Brookside South addresses and do not yet have a dispensation permit, the same highways team issues them.

Exeter Road, Friars Walk and the junctions around them were also in a separate parking order this summer. It proposed new “at any time” yellow lines at several of those corners, including where Exeter Road meets Chase Side and Brookside South.

For anything else on the borough’s roads this week, see Barnet roadworks and closures.