Mutton Lane, Baker Street and Darkes Lane in Potters Bar are due to close for five days from 26 October, half-term week. Here are the lengths and diversions.

Three of the main roads through Potters Bar are due to close at the same time for five days from Monday 26 October. Hertfordshire County Council has given notice that it intends to shut the B556 Mutton Lane, Baker Street and Darkes Lane to all traffic while works are carried out.

Between them the three stretches add up to almost 5km of road. Waiting will be banned on both sides of all three while the work is under way. The county published the notice on 7 October (Hertfordshire County Council notice, Public Notice Portal).

Which roads close

Road From To Length
B556 Mutton Lane its westernmost junction with Cranborne Road the A1000 High Street 2,032m
Baker Street Mutton Lane Sawyers Lane 1,196m
Darkes Lane and Church Road, Little Heath Mutton Lane the A1000 Great North Road 1,733m

The order is a temporary one under section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. It comes into effect on 26 October and is valid for 18 months, which is standard. The works themselves are scheduled to take five days. The closure only applies on the days and at the times shown by signs on the road.

The notice gives no reason beyond saying that “works are proposed to be executed on or near the Roads”. It does not name a utility company or contractor.

The diversions

The county has published these alternative routes:

  • Mutton Lane: via the B556 Cecil Road, St Albans Road and Ridge Hill, the M25 and the A111 Southgate Road, or via the A1000 Barnet Road, Dancers Hill Road and Baker Street
  • Baker Street: via the A1000 Barnet Road, Dancers Hill Road and the rest of Baker Street beyond Sawyers Lane
  • Darkes Lane and Church Road: via the A1000 Great North Road, Hatfield Road, High Street and Barnet Road, then Dancers Hill Road and Baker Street

The notice prints the Mutton Lane route as the “A11” Southgate Road. Southgate Road in Potters Bar is the A111, so we have read that as a typing error.

The Baker Street order stops at Sawyers Lane, so the rest of Baker Street beyond that junction stays open and forms part of the signed routes.

Two smaller jobs the same week

The same notice covers two other Potters Bar orders:

  • Darkes Lane, 125m from Mount Way to Heath Drive, is due to close for one day from 26 October. The alternative is via Church Road, the A1000 and Mutton Lane. Ringway is named for queries.
  • The footpath on the north side of No.1 Hyde Avenue, 27m, is due to close to pedestrians for five days from 27 October. Walkers are sent along the Hyde Avenue and Mutton Lane footways instead.

What it means for you

  • It is a proposal. The county says it “intends to make” the order. A made order usually follows in the county’s weekly notices, and the dates can still move. We will update our Borehamwood roadworks page when it does.
  • It falls in half-term. Hertfordshire’s October half-term runs from 26 to 30 October, the same week. See our school term dates page.
  • Parking. No waiting is allowed on either side of the closed lengths while work is under way. Council car parks in Potters Bar are listed on our parking in Borehamwood page, which covers the whole borough.
  • Questions go to Hertfordshire County Council on 0300 123 4047, the number given in the notice.

Potters Bar has other roadworks nearby. Packhorse Lane at Ridge has been closed since 7 October for six months, and the M25 anti-clockwise is shut between junctions 25 and 23 every night from 12 to 15 October. Both are on our roadworks page.

Sources