Newbury Roadworks This Week: A34 Chieveley and Henwick Lane

The A34 northbound slip roads at Chieveley close overnight on Wednesday 7 October. National Highways has booked both the exit slip road and the Chieveley Services entry slip road shut from 9pm to 6am, for maintenance. The next night, Thursday 8 October, the northbound Graces Lane entry slip road closes over the same hours.

Henwick Lane in Thatcham closes from Monday 12 to Friday 16 October, and bus routes 1A and 1C divert round it. Aldworth Road in Compton closes in the daytime from 12 October to 6 November.

The road between Lambourn and Great Shefford is closed, according to Newbury & District, which has retimed school-day buses on routes 4A, 4C and 4X from Monday 5 October because of it. We could not find the closure itself on any first-party page today.

The street works register and the council’s website both refused our requests today, so the Newbury and Thatcham utility works and Streatley Hill, below, are as we last read them on 1 October. We say so against each one.

This is our check of Newbury roadworks, the trains and the buses, taken from first-party sources on Tuesday 6 October 2026.

The A34: Chieveley on Wednesday, Graces Lane on Thursday

National Highways’ closure report, uploaded on 5 October and covering Monday 5 to Sunday 11 October, lists three closures on the A34 near Newbury from today:

(National Highways closure report)

Chieveley is where the A34 meets the M4 at junction 13, north of Newbury. If you are heading north late on Wednesday, towards the services or the M4, expect to be sent round. The report does not list a diversion for any of the three.

The Speen to Donnington and Litchfield night closures we listed last week have both passed, and so has Monday night’s Whitchurch exit slip closure.

The M4 has no closures between junction 12 at Theale and junction 15 at Swindon in this report. The nearest is a westbound slip road and lane closure at Reading Services, between junctions 11 and 12, overnight on Thursday 8 October, for drainage works.

South towards Winchester, the M3 junction 9 works close more of the junction this weekend:

• the M3 northbound junction 9 exit slip road is shut from 9pm on Friday 9 October to 6am on Monday 12 October
• the M3 northbound carriageway between junctions 10 and 8 is shut from 9pm to 6am on Friday 9 and Sunday 11 October
• the M3 northbound junction 9 entry slip road, where the A34 meets the M3, stays closed until 6am on 1 November 2027

(National Highways, M3 junction 9 improvements)

The report runs to Sunday 11 October, so nights from Monday 12 October are not in it yet.

Streatley Hill: we could not re-check it today

Streatley Hill in Streatley, about 11 miles north-east of Newbury, was closed at 9:30am on Tuesday 15 September. It is the B4009 climbing away from the A329 by the Thames, opposite Goring.

When we last read the council’s record, on 1 October:

• the promoter was West Berkshire Council itself, not a utility
• the works were emergency works for highway repair and maintenance, with a road closure
• the works reference was JV0058853, permit 01, with no permit 02
• the planned end was 16:30 on Wednesday 23 September
• no actual end had been recorded, and it still read “works in progress”
• the council had last updated it at 13:16 on 15 September

(Department for Transport street works record JV0058853-01, via StreetGuide)

Today that record refused our request, and so did the council’s own website. We cannot tell you whether the hill is open. The council’s roadworks page explains why emergency closures are hard to follow:

“In these circumstances, it usually isn’t possible to put up diversion signs, and it can take time for us to update the roadworks map. We do try to put out as much information as we can on the council’s social media channels.”

(West Berkshire Council, View roadworks and road closures)

Newbury and Thatcham: what was booked on the local roads

West Berkshire Council publishes no forward list of its own local closures. The street works register does, because every council and utility job has to be logged on it. The register refused our request today, so this is what it showed when we last read it on 1 October, with the jobs whose windows have since ended taken off:

(Department for Transport street works register, via StreetGuide, 5 miles around Market Street, Newbury)

A few things about that list:

• Henwick Lane is the only one we could confirm today, because the bus operator has published its diversion for those dates, below.
• “Could run until” is the permit window, not the closure. Utilities book a generous window and often close a road for only part of it.
• Newtown Road and Old Newtown Road are different roads. Newtown Road has had gas works under lights since 13 September, and a second, bigger job was booked from 5 October. We could not confirm today whether the multi-way lights have gone in. Old Newtown Road is booked to close from 19 October.
• Old Newtown Road is the long one. The record says the road will be closed “for some or all of the period”. We do not yet know how much of it.
• Cold Ash is about four miles north-east of Newbury. Marsh Benham is about three miles west.

The Enborne Road gas works and Hampshire’s Burghclere Road closure at Adbury, both on last week’s list, had windows that have now ended, so we have taken them off.

Buses: Henwick Lane, Compton and the Lambourn road

Henwick Lane, Thatcham, Monday 12 to Friday 16 October. The register showed this as a new electricity connection by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks. Routes 1A and 1C divert via the A4 and Northfield Road. These stops are not served, in either direction:

• Westfield Crescent
• Baily Avenue
• Westfield Road
• Barfield Road

The nearest alternatives are the Garden Centre on Pound Lane and Northway. (Newbury & District service updates)

That is the same week the railway between Newbury and Bedwyn closes overnight, below.

Route 6 diverts in Compton from 12 October to 6 November, because Aldworth Road is being shut for roadworks. Compton is about ten miles north of Newbury. The operator gives the closure times as:

• school days, 09:30 to 14:30
• half-term weekdays, 08:00 to 18:00
• weekends, 09:00 to 16:00

Stops at The Swan, Oakwood House, School Cottage and St Mary and St Nicholas Church are not served while it is shut. The alternative is the stop at Newbury Lane. (Newbury & District service updates)

Routes 4A, 4C and 4X run to a revised timetable on school days from Monday 5 October, which the operator puts down to “ongoing delays affecting school day journeys, caused by the road closure between Lambourn and Great Shefford”. The 06:35 route 4A from Newbury Wharf to Lambourn now leaves at 06:25, and the 07:15 route 4C from Lambourn to Park House School now leaves Lambourn Market Square at 07:00. (Newbury & District service updates)

The operator does not name the road, the reason or an end date, and we found no notice for it from the council or Lambourn Parish Council today.

Ask councillors about the roads: first meeting tonight

West Berkshire Council’s new Highways Improvements Group meets for the first time tonight, Tuesday 6 October, at 6.30pm in the Council Chamber, Market Street, Newbury. Five councillors, one from each political group, will look at petitions, the annual Highways Improvement Programme, the Winter Service Plan and how the highways contractor is performing.

Members of the public can attend. Questions have to arrive at least 10 days before a meeting, so the deadline for this first one has passed. The group meets every two months, so each meeting has its own deadline. (West Berkshire Council, 21 September 2026)

Our full report on the group is here.

The Robin Hood roundabout works finished on Friday 28 August and nothing further has been announced there. (West Berkshire Council, Robin Hood Junction Improvement Scheme)

Which roads near you are being resurfaced this year

The council’s Highway Improvement Programme page was returning 404 in early September. It works again, and it carries the full 2026/27 programme as a spreadsheet: 41 schemes, 45.6km of carriageway, 256,268 square metres.

Newbury itself gets one of the 41. It is 150 metres of retexturing on Monks Lane, between number 36 and number 27. We have written that up separately: Newbury gets 150 metres of a 45.6km resurfacing programme.

The schemes nearest the town, with the treatment the council has specified:

The Moors in Thatcham and the B4009 in Hermitage, both closed for a night or a day in mid-September, are on the programme. Nothing on the programme is dated on the spreadsheet, so the closure notices remain the only way to know when a scheme starts.

Town centre: the pedestrian zone is back to 10am to 5pm

The pedestrian and cycle zone through Bartholomew Street, Bridge Street, Mansion House Street, Market Place, Northbrook Street and Wharf Street is going back to 10am to 5pm. The 10am to 11pm hours have been trialled since 19 May 2025.

Councillor Stuart Gourley, the executive member for environment and highways, approved the revocation on 14 August 2026. It was not called in, so it took effect on 22 August. (West Berkshire Council, decision ID4823)

The council’s consultation page says the trial concludes in September 2026. It received 3,120 responses, and 76.8% objected to the longer hours. (West Berkshire Council, pedestrianisation consultation)

The council’s website still does not give the day the signs changed. Whatever the date, the times on the signs are the ones drivers must follow.

Our full report on the decision is here.

Trains: late Bedwyn changes this week, then a hard October

This week, the Bedwyn trains either end of the day. Work between Bristol and Freshford changes two trains that serve Newbury:

• the 22:30 Paddington to Bedwyn starts from Reading up to and including Thursday 8 October. Take the 22:28 Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads as far as Reading to connect
• the 05:31 Bedwyn to Paddington terminates at Reading up to and including Friday 9 October, with connections on to Paddington

(National Rail, 22:30 Paddington to Bedwyn, 5 to 8 October and 05:31 Bedwyn to Paddington, 6 to 9 October)

Saturday 10 to Friday 16 October: no trains between Bedwyn and Pewsey or Westbury, for track renewal. A direct replacement bus runs between Swindon and Pewsey. Trains keep running between Reading and Bedwyn, and National Rail says an amended service will run at weekday morning and evening peaks between Paddington and Newbury or Bedwyn. Long-distance trains divert via Bristol Temple Meads or Chippenham. (National Rail, Bedwyn and Pewsey to Westbury, 10 to 16 October)

Monday 12 to Friday 16 October: all lines close overnight between Newbury and Bedwyn. This is the one that hits Newbury, Kintbury and Hungerford:

• Monday to Wednesday nights, the 21:57 and 22:47 Newbury to Bedwyn and the 22:25 Bedwyn to Newbury are cancelled and replaced by road transport, the first leaving Newbury at 21:55
• the 22:30 Paddington to Bedwyn starts from Reading all five nights, and on Monday to Wednesday it terminates at Newbury, with road transport on to Kintbury, Hungerford and Bedwyn
• the 23:17 Bedwyn to Reading starts from Newbury at 23:34, with road transport feeding it from Bedwyn, Hungerford and Kintbury
• the 05:31 Bedwyn to Paddington terminates at Reading every weekday
• buses call at station forecourts or car parks, except at Kintbury, where the stop is the level crossing by Station Road

(National Rail, Newbury and Bedwyn, 12 to 16 October)

Monday 26 to Thursday 29 October: buses replace late trains between Newbury and Bedwyn from about 22:25 until the end of service each evening, for work between Reading West and Bedwyn. Trains running via Newbury may be cancelled or run up to 10 minutes earlier or later. (National Rail, Newbury and Bedwyn, 26 to 29 October)

Sunday 1 November, lines close early between Reading and Newbury: the 08:06 Reading to Newbury does not run, with a replacement bus from Reading at 07:51, and the 08:33 Reading to Bedwyn starts from Newbury at 09:02. The 08:04 Paddington to Penzance leaves early at 07:51 and does not call at Newbury or Pewsey; the 08:44 Paddington to Penzance leaves at 08:31 and calls at both instead. (National Rail, Reading and Newbury, 1 November)

Buses: the Sunday services are now settled

Nothing has changed on the town’s own routes since our last check. For the record, what runs now, as published by the council in September:

• Sunday route 34 between Newbury and Didcot, since 20 September, calling at Chieveley, Beedon, East Ilsley and West Ilsley. The first leaves Newbury Wharf at 09:40 and the last at 17:40
• Routes 2 and 8 on Sundays, since 6 September. On route 2 the first bus leaves the Wharf at 08:00 and the last at 17:00. On route 8 the first leaves at 08:35, and the last bus back reaches the Wharf at 18:20
• Later Friday and Saturday evenings on routes 2 and 8, since 4 September. The last route 2 out of the Wharf moved from 18:40 to 23:30
• Routes 103 and 103b on a revised route inside Greenham Business Park, since 1 September, at the park’s request

The council says the enhancements were paid for by the Local Authority Bus Grant from central government. Full timetables are in our report on Newbury’s Sunday buses.

What we could not confirm today

Anything on the street works register. StreetGuide, which republishes the Department for Transport record, refused our request on 6 October. The St Johns roundabout, Newtown Road, Lower Way, Cold Ash Hill, Old Newtown Road, Park Lane and Collaroy Road works are as we read them on 1 October, not today.

Whether Streatley Hill has reopened. On 1 October its record still read “works in progress” with a planned end of 16:30 on 23 September and no actual end. We could not read it today.

The Lambourn to Great Shefford closure. Only the bus operator mentions it. We found no road name, reason, end date or diversion from the council or the parish council.

Diversions for the A34 at Chieveley and Graces Lane. The closure report lists the closures and their reasons but not the diversion routes.

Anything on West Berkshire Council’s own website, which refused our requests today.

one.network, the live map the council’s roadworks page points at, still wants an account before it will return a list.

The routes that always matter

The A34 is not a local road. It is the trunk route between Southampton and the Midlands, and when it shuts, Newbury gets the traffic. National Highways runs its resurfacing and barrier work overnight and at weekends for that reason, and its standard diversions send heavy goods vehicles round by the M4 and M40 rather than through the town. If you hear the A34 is closed at Chieveley, the A4 and the A339 are what fills up.

M4 junction 13 at Chieveley is where the A34 and the M4 cross, and it is also where the Moto services sit. It is the only realistic place near Newbury to leave a lorry or a motorhome, because the council does not provide for either in its car parks and points drivers to Chieveley or Tot Hill instead.

The Robin Hood roundabout is the A4 and A339 junction on the north-east edge of town, and the summer’s works were an admission that it did not have enough lanes. The north-west corner now has two lanes for traffic heading towards Shaw and the A4 Thatcham, and the junction has new signals and markings.

Parking in Newbury

West Berkshire Council runs 27 car parks across the district. In Newbury it controls roughly 1,800 spaces on weekdays and 1,950 at weekends, with 92 to 99 Blue Badge bays and 11 to 13 electric vehicle bays depending on the day. Another 1,519 spaces in the town are run by other operators, with 71 accessible bays and 10 charging points among them.

Which Newbury car park to actually aim for

The council publishes turnover for each car park, meaning tickets sold against spaces available. A figure above 100% means the spaces are being reused several times a day and the car park is under pressure. It is the most useful thing in the strategy, because the busiest car parks in Newbury are the small central ones and the emptiest are the large ones a few minutes’ walk further out.

The Corn Exchange car park has 70 spaces and turns them over more than three times a day. The Northbrook multi-storey, five minutes away, has 305 spaces and runs at 31%. Northcroft Lane West has 120 spaces and runs at 13%, the emptiest car park in the district. If you are driving into Newbury on a Saturday for a day out, those two are where the space is.

Three more things worth knowing before you park.

• Blue Badge holders park free in every council car park except Newbury Corn Exchange and Newbury Library, where the normal charges apply to everyone.
• Four Newbury car parks are pay on foot, so you take a ticket on the way in and pay when you leave: Corn Exchange, Kennet Centre, Library and Northbrook. Northcroft Lane West closes at 22:00.
• On-street is limited. There are 469 designated on-street charged spaces across Newbury, Thatcham and Hungerford in total. Thirteen car parks have Park Mark safer parking accreditation, ten of them in Newbury. Motorcycle bays are free in seven Newbury car parks and in Cheap Street and Kings Road West.

Charges are agreed annually at the council’s budget-setting meeting and were changed again for 2026, so the tariff board in the car park and the council’s parking charges page are the only figures worth trusting on the day.

There is no park and ride, and none is planned

This is the question the council gets asked most often about Newbury traffic, and its own Parking Strategy answers it plainly: “There are no current plans for introducing park and ride in West Berkshire.” The strategy adds that if a park and ride were built for Newbury, it would be expected to reduce town-centre parking rather than add to it.

The other number in that document is the one that explains why charges keep rising. Running the parking service cost £2 million in 2023/24 and brought in £3.1 million, a net £1.1 million to the council, which the strategy notes is considerably less than it used to be.

What changes next

The Kennet Centre permission granted in April 2026 keeps the multi-storey car park and adds a floor to it, giving 477 spaces there plus 80 on the site itself, 557 in total. Highways officers told the planning committee that traffic from 317 new homes would be lower than the shopping centre’s historic peaks, that surveys showed the multi-storey was underused, and that over 250 spaces would still be free on a busy Saturday. The scheme also brings a two-way cycle route on Bartholomew Street, new signal junctions, resurfacing and a £70,000 contribution towards better pedestrian routes to the Market Street multi-storey. The detail is on our Newbury planning page.

Frequently asked questions

Is the A34 closed at Newbury this week?

At night only, and only slip roads. The A34 northbound exit slip at Chieveley and the Chieveley Services entry slip close from 9pm on Wednesday 7 October to 6am on Thursday, for maintenance. The northbound Graces Lane entry slip closes from 9pm on Thursday 8 October to 6am on Friday. The main carriageway past Newbury has no closures in National Highways’ report for 5 to 11 October.

Is the M4 closed this week?

Not near Newbury. National Highways’ report for 5 to 11 October has no closures on the M4 between junction 12 Theale and junction 15 Swindon. The nearest is a westbound slip and lane closure at Reading Services overnight on Thursday 8 October.

What roadworks are there in Newbury right now?

Confirmed today: the A34 Chieveley slip roads close on Wednesday night and Graces Lane on Thursday night; Henwick Lane, Thatcham closes from 12 to 16 October; Aldworth Road, Compton closes in the daytime from 12 October to 6 November. When we last read the street works register, on 1 October, it also showed a lane closed at the St Johns roundabout until 9 October, gas works on Newtown Road, Lower Way in Thatcham closed to 22 October, and Old Newtown Road closing from 19 October. The register could not be reached today.

Is Streatley Hill open yet?

We cannot confirm it either way. On 1 October the council’s entry in the Department for Transport street works register still read “works in progress”, with a planned end of 16:30 on Wednesday 23 September, no actual end recorded and no update since 15 September. On 6 October the record could not be reached.

Why is Streatley Hill closed?

The council has not published a reason. Its record shows emergency works for highway repair and maintenance, promoted by West Berkshire Council itself, with a road closure.

Why is Henwick Lane closing in October?

The street works register showed Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks making a new service connection there from 12 to 16 October, with the road closed. Bus routes 1A and 1C divert via the A4 and Northfield Road that week.

Is the road between Lambourn and Great Shefford closed?

Newbury & District says it is, and has moved the school-day 4A and 4C departures 10 and 15 minutes earlier from 5 October because of it. We found no council notice giving the road, the reason or an end date.

Can I ask the council about the state of a road?

Yes, in public. The new Highways Improvements Group meets for the first time tonight, Tuesday 6 October, at 6.30pm in the Council Chamber at Market Street, and members of the public may attend. Questions go to executivecycle@westberks.gov.uk and must arrive at least 10 days before a meeting, so the deadline for the first one has passed.

Which Newbury road is being resurfaced this year?

One: Monks Lane, 150 metres of retexturing between number 36 and number 27. It is the only scheme in Newbury parish in the council’s 41-scheme, 45.6km Highway Improvement Programme for 2026/27.

Can I drive through Newbury town centre in the evening?

After 5pm, once the signs show it. The pedestrian and cycle zone through Bartholomew Street, Bridge Street, Mansion House Street, Market Place, Northbrook Street and Wharf Street is going back to 10am to 5pm, ending the 10am to 11pm trial that began in May 2025. The decision took effect on 22 August. The council’s website does not give the day the signs changed, so follow the times on the signs.

Are there engineering works on the Newbury line?

This week only late-night and early-morning changes: the 22:30 Paddington to Bedwyn starts from Reading until Thursday 8 October, and the 05:31 Bedwyn to Paddington ends at Reading until Friday 9 October. From Saturday 10 to Friday 16 October there are no trains between Bedwyn and Pewsey, and from Monday 12 to Friday 16 October all lines close overnight between Newbury and Bedwyn. Buses replace late trains between Newbury and Bedwyn again from Monday 26 to Thursday 29 October.

Is there a park and ride in Newbury?

No. West Berkshire Council’s Parking Strategy says there are no current plans to introduce park and ride anywhere in the district.

How many parking spaces are there in Newbury?

The council controls about 1,800 spaces on weekdays and 1,950 at weekends, and other operators run a further 1,519 in the town.

Where is the easiest place to park in Newbury?

On the council’s own turnover figures, the Northbrook multi-storey (305 spaces, 31% turnover) and Northcroft Lane West (120 spaces, 13%) are the emptiest. The Corn Exchange car park, with 70 spaces and 289% turnover, is the hardest.

Where can I park a lorry or a motorhome near Newbury?

Not in a council car park. West Berkshire does not provide for either and directs drivers to Chieveley or Tot Hill services. Coach parking is available at Newbury Wharf bus station for operators registered with the council.

Where do I check live roadworks in West Berkshire?

The council’s map is one.network, which carries both the council’s and National Highways’ works but wants an account before it will show you a list. For the A34 and the M4 the National Highways closure report is a free spreadsheet, reissued daily, and needs no sign-in.

Sources

• National Highways road closure report, the edition uploaded on 5 October 2026 covering Monday 5 to Sunday 11 October, for the A34 Chieveley and Graces Lane slip road closures, their reasons and times, the Reading Services closure, the absence of M4 closures between junctions 12 and 15, and the M3 junction 9 and junction 10 to 8 closures.
• National Highways, M3 junction 9 improvements for the wider scheme.
• Department for Transport street works record JV0058853-01, via StreetGuide for the Streatley Hill closure: promoter, emergency category, description, traffic management, reference, actual start, planned end, the absence of an actual end and the last update time, as read on 1 October 2026; it refused our request on 6 October.
• Department for Transport street works register, via StreetGuide, around Market Street, Newbury as read on 1 October 2026 (it refused our request on 6 October), for the St Johns roundabout, Newtown Road, Lower Way, Cold Ash Hill, Henwick Lane, Old Newtown Road, Park Lane and Collaroy Road works, their promoters, traffic management and dates.
• West Berkshire Council, View roadworks and road closures for the council’s statement on how emergency closures are signed and published.
• West Berkshire Council, Highways Improvements Group, 21 September 2026 for the group’s remit, membership, question rules, contact address and first meeting date.
• Newbury & District service updates checked 6 October 2026, for the Henwick Lane and Aldworth Road bus diversions, their dates, times and unserved stops, and the routes 4A, 4C and 4X school-day retiming and the Lambourn to Great Shefford closure it cites.
• West Berkshire Council, Highway Improvement Programme and its 2026/27 scheme spreadsheet for the 41 schemes, their extents, treatments and lengths.
• West Berkshire Council, Robin Hood Junction Improvement Scheme for the two phases of work and their dates.
• West Berkshire Council, Newbury town centre pedestrianisation consultation for the response count, the objection share and the end of the trial.
• West Berkshire Council, decision ID4823, 14 August 2026 and its officer report for the pedestrian zone hours, the streets affected and the trial dates.
• West Berkshire Council, Transport Service Changes or Disruption for the routes 2, 8, 34, 103 and 103b timetables and the Local Authority Bus Grant funding.
• National Rail engineering works for the 22:30 Paddington to Bedwyn, 5 to 8 October, the 05:31 Bedwyn to Paddington, 6 to 9 October, Bedwyn and Pewsey to Westbury, 10 to 16 October, Newbury and Bedwyn, 12 to 16 October, Newbury and Bedwyn, 26 to 29 October and Reading and Newbury, 1 November.
• West Berkshire Council Parking Strategy 2024 to 2034 for car park counts, Blue Badge and electric vehicle bays, turnover, on-street spaces, Park Mark accreditation, motorcycle and coach parking, the parking service’s cost and income, and the park and ride position.
• West Berkshire Council, Western Area Planning Committee, 10 September 2025, minute 2(1) for the highways evidence on the Kennet Centre scheme.

Roadworks dates move, particularly for weather. This page was last checked on 6 October 2026. What the trains are doing instead is on Newbury trains to London.