Greenwich Council has opened two consultations on proposed traffic restrictions and street improvements in Charlton and East Greenwich, following concerns about vehicles using residential roads as through routes.
The proposals include restrictions on particular movements, crossings, changes to pavements and measures around schools. They are not final: the council says it has made no decisions on whether to take the schemes forward.
Both consultations opened on 12 November and close at 11.59pm on Monday 21 December. The council is asking people who live, work, study or regularly travel in the areas to consider the plans and give their views.
What is proposed in Charlton?
One proposed measure would stop through traffic on Eastcombe Avenue at its junction with Victoria Way at all times, with buses excepted. Another would prohibit southbound traffic on Victoria Way south of Elliscombe Road. No northbound restriction is proposed on Victoria Way.
The plans also include a ban on through traffic on the eastern part of Tallis Grove, between Bramhope Lane and Victoria Way, and a proposed eastbound restriction on Nadine Street at its junction with Elliscombe Road. These measures would affect different movements, so drivers would need to look at the individual plans rather than assume the same rule applies to every road.
Fossdene Road and Calydon Road are proposed as school streets, with closures between 8am and 9.30am and between 3pm and 4pm. The package also includes a proposed zebra crossing on Marlborough Lane near Cherry Orchard School and raised footway crossings at a number of locations.
Some parking would be removed on Charlton Church Lane to create more room for two-way traffic. Other proposals include removing some parking spaces elsewhere, adding cycle parking and introducing rain gardens. A restriction at Banchory Road’s junction with Old Dover Road is also proposed.
The council’s Charlton consultation presents plans for 12 locations. It includes Victoria Way in three sections, as well as Bramshot Avenue, Charlton Road, Fossdene Road, Tallis Grove, Marlborough Lane, Nadine Street, Banchory Road, Charlton Church Lane and the Delafield Road area.
East Greenwich plans
In East Greenwich, the proposals include preventing through traffic on Collington Street and at Banning Street’s junction with Pelton Road. A further proposed restriction on Pelton Road would be on the west side of its junction with Christchurch Way, where there is already a restriction on the east side.
Other changes include widening the footway on Banning Street outside the Pelton Arms and adding a rain garden. The council says its assessment identified opportunities to reduce through traffic in the area while retaining access for residents, visitors, servicing and deliveries.
Why the plans have been brought forward
The proposals follow an earlier West and East Greenwich neighbourhood traffic scheme, introduced as a trial in November 2024 and made permanent in March 2026. That scheme and the new proposals are distinct: the consultation concerns possible further measures, not the decision already taken on the earlier scheme.
The council says monitoring showed less through traffic within the existing scheme and across the wider area, but increases on some neighbouring roads as drivers chose other routes. Its Charlton consultation identifies Victoria Way, Eastcombe Avenue and Marlborough Lane among the roads that continued to carry more afternoon peak traffic than before the earlier scheme.
The effects on surrounding streets have been a point of local concern. In an August response to a separate school streets consultation, West Charlton Residents Association asked the council to consider the wider effects of those school proposals alongside traffic mitigation, rather than looking at the schools in isolation.
How the consultations will work
Charlton and East Greenwich have separate surveys and will be assessed separately. The council says comments about each area should be submitted through that area’s consultation; feedback submitted for one will not be considered in the assessment of the other. People can take part in either consultation or both.
There are also separate drop-in events with council officers. In Charlton, these are scheduled at Fossdene Primary School on 24 November from 7pm to 9pm and 1 December from 4.30pm to 6.30pm, and at Charlton House on 8 December from 4.30pm to 6.30pm.
In East Greenwich, sessions are planned at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School on 25 November from 4.30pm to 6.30pm and 2 December from 7pm to 9pm.
After the consultations close, the council says it will review responses alongside traffic monitoring, technical assessments and other evidence. It plans to publish separate reports and make recommendations on whether the proposals should be taken forward, amended or not progressed.
