Balcombe Avenue's Wiston Avenue junctions stay shut to 19 October. The London line shuts on 10 and 11 October; no Brighton trains on 7 and 8 November.

There is still no A27 closure anywhere near Worthing this week. The disruption is closer to home. Two Broadwater junctions are shut for gas works until 19 October, and the main line to London closes completely on the weekend of 10 and 11 October.

  • Now until 19 October. Balcombe Avenue’s two junctions with Wiston Avenue are closed for gas mains replacement.
  • Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October. No trains between Three Bridges and Brighton. London to Brighton trains are diverted along the coast via Horsham, Littlehampton and Hove.
  • Monday 12 to Monday 19 October, daytime. Steepdown Road in Sompting, about three miles east, closes for a 50 metre stretch from 8am to 6pm.
  • Nights, Tuesday 13 to Thursday 15 October, and again 20 to 22 October. The 00:02 from London Victoria to Worthing terminates at Three Bridges. A bus runs on to Brighton, and extra trains run from Brighton to Worthing.
  • Sunday 18 October. No trains to or from London Victoria all day, and buses replace trains west of Littlehampton.
  • Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November. No trains between Brighton and Worthing. Buses replace them.

Updated 5 October: the 00:02 from Victoria also stops short on 20 to 22 October, and the line between Brighton and Worthing closes on 7 and 8 November. Added Thursday’s A23 closures. No new Worthing road closure has been published since 24 September.

Balcombe Avenue: junctions shut until 19 October

West Sussex County Council’s order closes the northern and southern junctions of Balcombe Avenue with Wiston Avenue in Worthing from 21 September to 19 October 2026, so that gas mains can be replaced safely. Alternative routes are signed on site, and access to properties stays open throughout. The reference is TTRO-2857-MM.

It is still the only formal closure of a Worthing road we can find. We checked every West Sussex traffic notice published on the Public Notice Portal up to 5 October, and none adds a new Worthing closure. Wiston Avenue is the north to south link between Broadwater and Offington, so the effect is local but it lasts four weeks.

Two gas jobs in Shoreham-by-Sea, about six miles east, run under the same notice:

  • Corbyn Crescent is closed from 21 September to 16 November, in short sections, with access kept to homes (TTRO-2831-MM).
  • Oxen Avenue closes from Windlesham Road southwards for 40 metres from 5 October to 27 November (TTRO-2811-MM). This one is still a proposed order: the notice says the council “intends to make” it.

A notice dated 24 September adds a third job nearby. Steepdown Road in Sompting will close from a point 85 metres north of Halewick Lane, northwards for 50 metres, from 12 to 19 October, for maintenance to electricity cables. The closure is daytime only, 8am to 6pm, and access to homes on that stretch stays open (TTRO-2827-MM, Public Notice Portal). It too is a proposed order.

Each order can stay in force for up to 18 months, or until the work finishes, whichever is sooner. Queries go to the county council’s contact centre on 01243 642105.

West Parade: yellow lines out for comment. The same notice proposes a short extension of the double yellow lines on the south side of West Parade, east of its junction with Grand Avenue. It also tidies up the parking order at the western end of Yeoman Way, without changing the lines on the ground. Comments or objections must reach the county by 15 October 2026, quoting WOR8038-MM, by email to tro.consultation@westsussex.gov.uk or through the response form on its Traffic Regulation Order page.

South Farm Road: the permanent ban on waiting at any time on the western side, next to Offington Park Methodist Church, has been in force since 24 August 2026, reference WOR8036-MM.

The A27 and A23: what National Highways has booked

National Highways’ closure report for Friday 2 to Thursday 8 October has no closure on the A27 between Chichester and Brighton, the stretch Worthing depends on. The A24 and the A259 do not appear at all. The one A27 westbound closure in the report, on Wednesday night, is at Portsmouth, between Eastern Road and M27 junction 12.

What is booked is further east and north:

National Highways closures on routes Worthing drivers use, Friday 2 to Thursday 8 October 2026
Road and sectionNightsTimes
A27 westbound, Carden entry and exit slip roads (Brighton)Fri 2 Oct8pm to 5am
A27 eastbound, A270 Lewes Road to Ashcombe roundabout (east of Brighton)Fri 2 Oct9pm to 6am
A27 eastbound, Ashcombe to Southerham (near Lewes)Mon 5 Oct9pm to 6am
A23 northbound, Dale Hill exit slip road (Pyecombe)Fri 2, Sat 3, then Mon 5 to Thu 8 Oct8pm to 6am
A23 southbound, Pyecombe entry and exit slip roadsWed 7 Oct8pm to 6am
A23 Pease Pottage roundabout, south west section, no access to the A264Fri 2 to Sun 4 Oct8pm to 6am
A23 southbound, Broxmead Lane exit slip roadFri 2 Oct8pm to 6am
A23 southbound, Warninglid entry and exit slip roads, and Bolney exit slip roadThu 8 Oct8pm to 5am

The Dale Hill closures belong to a bigger job. National Highways’ order for the A23 between Patcham and Dale Hill covers about two months of junction realignment at Dale Hill, starting on or after 21 September. It allows overnight closures of the A23 between Mill Road roundabout and Dale Hill, and a 24-hour 50mph limit on part of the northbound A23 near Pyecombe. It also allows the northbound slip roads at Dale Hill to close around the clock. The report books only the exit slip, and only overnight, so far. If you use the A23 towards Crawley and London, expect the 50mph section.

The closure report lists closures only. A speed limit or lane restriction without a closure does not appear in it, so a quiet week on the report is not a promise of a clear road.

Trains: the next five weeks

There is no daytime engineering work on the coast line through Worthing in the next fortnight. The changes mostly affect the main line to London.

  • Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October. All lines close between Three Bridges and Brighton. Southern runs direct trains between London Victoria and Brighton diverted via Horsham, Littlehampton and Hove, with longer journey times. Replacement buses run from Three Bridges and Balcombe to Brighton.
  • Nights, Monday 12 to Thursday 15 October. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights the 00:02 London Victoria to Worthing terminates at Three Bridges. A replacement bus runs from Three Bridges to Brighton, and Southern says additional trains will run from Brighton to Worthing. From Monday to Wednesday the 23:25 Victoria to Brighton runs via Lewes instead, missing Burgess Hill and Hassocks (National Rail).
  • Saturday 17 October. A reduced service runs from London Victoria. Littlehampton trains are diverted to London Bridge instead.

  • Sunday 18 October. No trains run to or from London Victoria all day; trains that normally run there go to London Bridge. Buses also replace trains between Littlehampton and Barnham, Bognor Regis and Chichester, and no Southern trains run between Havant and Southampton Central.

  • Nights, Monday 19 to Friday 23 October. The 00:02 London Victoria to Worthing terminates at Three Bridges again on the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings, with a bus to Brighton and extra trains from Brighton to Worthing. From about 00:30 to 05:30 on Tuesday to Friday mornings, buses replace trains between Three Bridges and Brighton (National Rail). West of here, the 22:35 Victoria to Chichester stops at Barnham and the 23:18 London Bridge to Chichester stops at Littlehampton, with buses on to Chichester (National Rail).

  • Sunday 25 October. All lines close between Three Bridges and Horsham. London Victoria to Portsmouth Harbour trains are diverted via Hove, so they run along the coast through Worthing (National Rail).
  • Monday 26 to Friday 30 October, half term. Southern runs buses instead of trains between Chichester and Portsmouth Harbour, and between Chichester and Southampton Central, all week. Worthing trains still run as far as Chichester.

Further ahead: Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November. All lines close between Brighton and Worthing. Buses replace trains between Brighton and Worthing and Littlehampton, London Victoria to Littlehampton trains are diverted to Brighton, and trains run between Littlehampton and Portsmouth and Southampton. Paper tickets are accepted at no extra cost on Brighton & Hove bus routes 1, 2, 6, 7, 46 and 49 (National Rail). That is the weekend the ice rink opens and Remembrance Sunday falls.

For London on 10 and 11 October, the coastal diversion means the inland route via Horsham is the one running. Check the journey planner before you go, because Southern has not said which stations the diverted trains call at.

Parking: permits and on-street charges rose on 1 October

The county council gave notice on 10 September that it was raising every parking permit charge in the Worthing Controlled Parking Zone, and the on-street pay and display rates with them, from Thursday 1 October 2026. The new prices are now in force.

In the part-day zones, which cover most residential streets outside the centre, a first resident permit goes from £35 to £40 a year. The carer permit rises furthest in percentage terms, from £22 to £30. On-street pay and display in the premium town centre zone goes from £2.00 to £2.20 an hour.

We have set out every new permit and on-street price, and the date they start, in a separate report.

This is the second rise in six weeks. Worthing Borough Council’s off-street charges, which are a separate matter from the county’s on-street ones, went up by about 3.5% on 24 August 2026 under a notice of variation dated 20 July.

Buckingham Road, Civic Quarter and High Street multi-storeys, Monday to Saturday 6am to 10pm
StayUntil 23 AugustNow
Up to 1 hour£1.50£1.55
Up to 2 hours£3.20£3.30
Up to 3 hours£4.70£4.85
Up to 4 hours£6.20£6.40
Up to 5 hours£7.70£7.90
Up to 12 hours£13.00£13.40

Sunday rates went from £1.20 to £1.25 for an hour and from £6.00 to £6.20 for the day. The annual High Street season ticket rose from £1,403.50 to £1,452.60.

The three town-centre multi-storeys are Buckingham Road (BN11 1TH, 235 public spaces, 1.8m height barrier), High Street (BN11 1LY, 624 spaces, 2.05m barrier) and Civic Quarter off Richmond Road (BN11 1HS, 173 spaces, many of them NHS-only, 2.1m barrier). Buckingham Road and High Street are pay on arrival. Civic Quarter is pay and display. All are open 24 hours, and night parking from 10pm to 6am is free at Buckingham Road and High Street.

The council’s own car park page still carries a note saying prices were correct as at May 2025, so the notice of variation remains the document to trust. It is linked at the foot of this page.

Heat network: a month in, still no streets named

Hemiko, which is building the Worthing Heat Network, said on 28 August 2026 that construction would restart with “a short programme of construction activities scheduled from early September through to October half term”. The work builds the western arm towards the Pavilion Theatre and is due to finish “well ahead of Bonfire Night”. Hemiko said it would drill beneath Brighton Road and Marine Parade rather than dig open trenches, and that traffic “will be able to continue flowing as normal”.

It also promised that locations, dates and traffic management would be shared “well in advance of works commencing”. Checked again on 2 October, nothing has been published. The company’s newest post is still the one dated 28 August, and West Sussex half term is less than a month away.

The separate works planned for Steyne Gardens and the High Street were paused in June for what Hemiko called “programme pressures and engineering challenges”. They still have no revised start date.

What else is being dug up

Montague Gardens play area: the deadline has passed. The new public space between the town centre and the seafront opened on Saturday 5 September, after a £3.1m rebuild of what used to be Montague Place. The kelp terrazzo play area was fenced off waiting for its safety flooring. The council’s FAQ, last updated on 10 September, still says it “should be open by the end of September at the very latest”. September has ended and the council has not announced it open. Its FAQ had not changed when we checked on 2 October. The kiosk is not installed and its operator is unannounced. We covered the opening and what it cost in full.

Worthing Pier: open throughout. The council confirmed on 20 August 2026 that the permanent repair had begun, and contractors removed two support piles and their concrete foundations. The next step was to use September’s spring tides to install foundations for the replacement piles. The temporary steel support fitted after the October 2024 storm damage is still in place, and the pier stays open. We covered the work in our report on the repair starting, and the pier is on our list of places worth visiting in Worthing.

Groynes: the restart is still unevidenced. The Environment Agency scheme renewing Worthing’s coastal defences from Seaview Road east to the Adur border at Brooklands Park finished at the end of July, after eight months and a bill of almost £5m. The council said more planks still needed fitting and that the work was paused until after the school summer holidays. The council has published nothing on it since 30 July.

The roads that matter

Diagram of Worthing's main routes: the A27 running east to west behind the town linking Brighton and Chichester, the A24 heading north from Offington Corner to Horsham and London, the A259 running along the seafront through Goring and Lancing, and the coastal railway with four Worthing stations

  • A27. The trunk road behind the town, and the only fast east to west route. It carries everything between Brighton and Chichester, it is single carriageway in places, and it is where a Worthing hold-up hurts most. The government cancelled the Worthing and Lancing improvement scheme and National Highways is winding the project up, so the road you have is the road you get.
  • A24. North from the A27 at Offington towards Findon, Horsham and eventually London. This is the alternative when the A27 is shut east of town, and the standard diversion route.
  • A259. The seafront and coast road, west through Goring and Ferring towards Littlehampton, east through Lancing towards Shoreham. Slow, full of crossings, but it is the fallback when the A27 stops.
  • The coastal railway is the genuine bypass. Four stations serve the borough: Worthing, West Worthing, East Worthing and Durrington-on-Sea. The train reaches Brighton in 23 minutes and Gatwick in 51, which beats the A27 on both.

There is no park and ride in Worthing. If you are coming in for the day, the long-stay surface car parks at Beach House East and West on the seafront, and the Brooklands car parks on Western Road and Brighton Road at the Lancing end, avoid the town-centre one-way system altogether.

What it means for you

  • If you live on or near Balcombe Avenue or Wiston Avenue, the junctions stay shut until 19 October. Follow the signed alternative routes.
  • If you drive north on the A23 at night, the Dale Hill exit is shut most nights, and there is no access to the A264 from Pease Pottage roundabout until Sunday night.
  • If you are going to London on 10 and 11 October, the direct trains run via Horsham, not the main line.
  • If you catch the last train home from Victoria between 13 and 15 October, it stops at Three Bridges. Allow extra time for the bus to Brighton and the train on to Worthing.
  • If you are travelling on Sunday 18 October, there are no trains to or from London Victoria.
  • If you are heading to Brighton on 7 or 8 November, take the bus: the coast line east of Worthing is shut.
  • If you park on West Parade near Grand Avenue, you have until 15 October to comment on the longer double yellow lines.
  • If you park on Marine Parade or cycle the seafront path, the heat network dig is still coming and its streets are still unnamed.

Where to check before you drive

Frequently asked questions

Is the A27 closed near Worthing this week?

No. National Highways’ report for 2 to 8 October books no closure on the A27 between Chichester and Brighton. The nearest is the eastbound carriageway between Ashcombe and Southerham, near Lewes, on Monday night, 5 October.

Are late trains from London running to Worthing?

Yes, until 13 October. On the nights of Tuesday 13 to Thursday 15 October, and again on 20 to 22 October, the 00:02 from London Victoria to Worthing terminates at Three Bridges. A bus runs on to Brighton and extra trains run from Brighton to Worthing.

Are trains running between Brighton and Worthing on 7 and 8 November?

No. All lines between Brighton and Worthing close on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November. Buses replace trains, and paper tickets are accepted on Brighton & Hove bus routes 1, 2, 6, 7, 46 and 49 at no extra cost.

Which road is closed in Worthing right now?

The two junctions of Balcombe Avenue with Wiston Avenue, closed for gas mains replacement until 19 October under order TTRO-2857-MM. Access to homes is kept open.

Are trains running to London from Worthing on 10 and 11 October?

The line between Three Bridges and Brighton is closed all weekend. Southern runs London Victoria to Brighton trains diverted along the coast via Horsham and Littlehampton, so the Horsham route is the one to use. Check the journey planner before travelling.

Have Worthing parking charges gone up?

Yes. On-street permits and on-street pay and display rose on Thursday 1 October 2026 under a county council notice dated 10 September. The borough’s off-street car park charges already went up on 24 August 2026.

When do the heat network roadworks start?

Hemiko said on 28 August that construction runs from early September to October half term, using underground drilling beneath Brighton Road and Marine Parade. It had published no streets, dates or traffic management by 2 October, and the paused Steyne Gardens and High Street works still have no revised start date.

Is the Montague Gardens play area open?

The council has not announced it open. Its FAQ, unchanged on 2 October, still says it should open by the end of September at the very latest.

Is Worthing Pier open during the repairs?

Yes. The council confirmed on 20 August that the permanent repair had started and that the pier stays open while it is carried out.

Is there a park and ride in Worthing?

No. The nearest equivalents are the long-stay seafront and Brooklands car parks, or leaving the car at one of the borough’s four railway stations.

Sources

Roadworks change daily. Checked against the sources above on 2 October 2026; use the live maps before you travel.