Burnt Oak station works start Monday and run 474 days

Barnet Council has made an order suspending the one-way system on Barnfield Road in Burnt Oak from 8am on Monday 31 August. The council’s own notice says the works are “expected to last for 474 Days”.

The reason given is the step-free access upgrade at Burnt Oak station. This is the construction traffic route into the site, and it is the first dated, first-party measure of how long the streets around the station will be disturbed.

What the order changes

The made order, published on 27 August, sets out the following:

• the one-way system on Barnfield Road, HA8, is suspended between the junction of Watling Avenue and the junction of River Approach
• construction vehicles only will be able to turn left from River Approach and exit via Watling Avenue
• access will be “always maintained for residents”
• the works commence on Monday 31 August at 8am and are expected to last 474 days

The order was made under section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. It is signed by Ian Edser, Barnet’s Director of Highways and Transportation. The council gives 020 8359 3555 for its NRSWA team as the number for further information.

The council has published two different end dates

Barnet advertised this twice. A notice on 20 August said the council “intend to make an order”. The 27 August notice says it “have made an order”. The wording of the restriction is otherwise identical.

The end dates are not identical. The summary panel on the 20 August notice gives an estimated end of 18 December 2027. The panel on the made order gives 18 December 2026.

Only one of those can follow from the notice’s own text. Counting 474 days from Monday 31 August 2026 reaches 18 December 2027, the date on the earlier notice. The made order’s own summary is a year short of what its body text says. Residents planning around this should work to the 474 days in the text, not the panel.

What is being built

Transport for London’s step-free access page says: “Later this year we will be starting work on site to deliver step-free access at Burnt Oak Underground station. We are aiming to start on site by the end of August 2026.”

That matches the traffic order to within a day. Burnt Oak is the only London Underground station TfL’s page names as about to start on site. Twenty other stations are listed as still in feasibility, and six more at completed feasibility or concept design.

Burnt Oak sits one stop north of Colindale on the Northern line, which TfL made step-free in a separate scheme.

The car park question we could not settle

The traffic order routes construction lorries through River Approach and Watling Avenue. Barnet Council’s Watling Avenue car park is at River Approach, HA8 0AZ, on the same ground.

On Saturday 30 August the council’s car parks page still listed Watling Avenue as open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm. It still carried the tariff, up to two hours £1.69, up to four hours £2.52, over four hours £3.38, and the PayByPhone location code 7524.

Barnet Live could not find any notice from the council or from TfL confirming a change to that car park’s status. We are not able to tell you today whether it is open, and we will not repeat a claim we cannot source. If you rely on it, check before you drive there.

Parking pressure around the station is already being looked at

Barnet has been consulting separately on parking in the same few streets. A notice dated 6 August proposed extending the Burnt Oak North (BON) controlled parking zone into Newton Walk, HA8, between Lutra House and Roscoff Close.

The council’s stated reason was “to deter all-day commuter-type parking from taking place in Newton Walk HA8, thus improving resident parking opportunity and reducing traffic congestion”. The proposed hours are 8am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, with a BON and BOA permit or visitor voucher required. Loading would be allowed for up to 40 minutes.

That consultation, reference SCR733, closed on 27 August, four days before the works start. One detail is worth noting: the notice describes the stretch as running to “Roscoff Road” in one sentence and “Roscoff Close” in the next.

What it means for you

• If you drive through Barnfield Road, the one-way system stops applying from 8am on Monday. Expect construction vehicles turning left out of River Approach and leaving via Watling Avenue.
• If you live on the affected stretch, the order states access is maintained at all times.
• If you park at Watling Avenue car park, check before travelling. Barnet’s own page has not been updated to reflect any change.
• If you use Burnt Oak station, trains are not affected by this order. It covers the road outside.
• Plan for the long haul. 474 days from Monday is 18 December 2027. Temporary orders can be shortened, but this one is written for more than a year.

For the wider picture on parking charges and permits across the borough, see our guide to parking in Barnet. Applications affecting your street appear on our Barnet planning applications page.