Alstone Lane level crossing shuts 3 to 5 October with no emergency access, and M5 J10 slips close on the nights of 5 and 6 October. Every dated closure.
The closure to plan around this weekend is the Alstone Lane level crossing. The 50 metres of Alstone Lane east of Rowanfield Road, footway included, shut from 01:00 on Saturday 3 October to 05:00 on Monday 5 October for level crossing works. The county council’s order says plainly that emergency access will not be maintained. Three more closures follow over the next fortnight. (Gloucestershire County Council notice LW/89949, 17 September 2026)
Next week it is the town’s own motorway junction. National Highways’ seven day report lists the M5 Junction 10 northbound entry slip closed from 21:00 on Monday 5 October to 06:00 on Tuesday, and the southbound exit slip closed from 21:00 on Tuesday 6 October to 06:00 on Wednesday. Both are works ahead of the Junction 10 rebuild.
Updated 2 October: new council orders for Burton Street, County Court Road, Portland Street, Trinity Lane, Fiddlers Green Lane and the A40 Gloucester Road added; the A417 and Junction 9 closures from late September removed; National Highways’ report for 1 to 7 October checked.
What is dated right now
These are orders made or advertised by Gloucestershire County Council as traffic authority, and by National Highways for the motorway and the A417. They are published as statutory notices in the Gloucestershire Echo and the Gloucester Citizen. Dates everywhere here are as notified; utility jobs regularly overrun. The Swindon Lane and Wellington Square closures ended in September and have been removed.
| Road | Extent | What applies | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alstone Lane level crossing | From Rowanfield Road, 50m east across the crossing, footway included | Closed for level crossing works, emergency access NOT maintained | 01:00 Sat 3 to 05:00 Mon 5 Oct, then three more windows to 19 Oct 2026 |
| M5 Junction 10 | Northbound entry and southbound exit slip roads | Closed overnight for the junction rebuild | Northbound entry: night of Mon 5 Oct. Southbound exit: night of Tue 6 Oct. Order runs to 10 Mar 2027 |
| A4019 Tewkesbury Road | M5 Junction 10 to Gallagher Retail Park, 2.2km | 10mph limit, 24 hours a day | 3 Aug 2026 to 3 Aug 2027 |
| M5 Junctions 11 to 12 | Both carriageways, plus slips at J11, J11A, Gloucester Services and J12 | Weekend closures for bridge demolition, 50mph limit on the approaches | 21:00 Fri to 06:00 Mon, on or after 4 Oct to 9 Nov 2026. Not in the report for 1 to 7 Oct |
| Milsom Street, St Pauls | No. 1 to No. 15 Milsom Street, 50m | Closed for Severn Trent Water works | 08:00 Wed 7 to 16:00 Fri 9 Oct 2026 |
| Fiddlers Green Lane | Rear of No. 2 Lazenby Court to rear of No. 19 Galileo Gardens, 260m | No stopping, waiting, loading or unloading, for construction works | 16 Oct 2026 to 1 Apr 2027 |
| Burton Street, town centre | No. 33 to No. 30 Burton Street, 30m | Closed for BT Openreach works | 09:00 to 17:00, Mon 19 Oct 2026 |
| County Court Road, College | Regent Street junction to outside the County Court, 30m | Closed for Openreach cable works | 09:30 to 15:30, Mon 19 Oct 2026 |
| A46 Portland Street | No. 14 to No. 18 Portland Street, 30m | Closed for BT Openreach works | 09:30 to 15:30, Tue 20 Oct 2026 |
| Trinity Lane, Pittville | Warwick Place junction, 40m | Closed for BT Openreach works | 09:30 to 15:30, Wed 21 Oct 2026 |
| A40 Gloucester Road | From No. 42 Gloucester Road, 30m westwards | No stopping, waiting, loading or unloading; bus lane suspended, for cable recovery with heavy machinery | Fri 23 Oct 2026 |
| Byron Road, St Marks | Milton Road to Tennyson Road, 540m | Closed for resurfacing and kerbing, no stopping or waiting | 1 Sept to 23 Oct 2026 |
| Kidnappers Lane, Leckhampton | Shurdington Road (A46) to Kidnappers Lane (809100) | Motor vehicles prohibited, permanent order | From Wed 26 Aug 2026 |
| Whaddon Road | Wymans Road to Prestbury Road, 330m | Closed on Cheltenham Town match and event days, no stopping or waiting | Various dates to 29 May 2027 |
| Footpath ZCK/51, Charlton Kings | From footpaths ZCK/48 and ZCK/49, 58m | Closed, unsafe railway bridge, no alternative route | Extended to 30 Sept 2027 |
Five of those need more than a table row.
The Alstone Lane crossing has four closure windows, not one. After this weekend, the order closes it again:
- 23:00 on Monday 5 October to 05:00 on Tuesday 6 October
- 01:00 on Saturday 10 October to 05:00 on Monday 12 October
- 01:00 on Saturday 17 October to 03:00 on Monday 19 October
Pedestrian access to homes next to the road is kept. Emergency access is not, which is unusual and worth knowing if you live on the far side of the crossing. The earlier overnight closure on 26 to 27 September has passed.
The M5 shutdown between Junctions 11 and 12 is now a made order. National Highways confirmed on 1 October that it has made the order. It allows closures of both carriageways between Junction 11 and Junction 12 from 21:00 on a Friday to 06:00 on the Monday, to demolish a bridge, with works on or after 4 October and due to finish by 9 November 2026. The notice does not say which weekends. None appears in National Highways’ report for 1 to 7 October, so this weekend looks clear. National Highways now updates its report daily, so check it before a weekend trip. Going with the carriageway when it does close:
- the southbound entry and northbound exit slip roads at Junction 11
- all four slip roads at Junction 11A
- both sets of slip roads at Gloucester Service Area
- the northbound entry and southbound exit slip roads at Junction 12
A mandatory 50mph limit applies on the approaches during the closures. The northbound exit slip at Junction 11A can close around the clock. Junction 11 is the full junction most of Cheltenham uses for the M5. On a closure weekend, a southbound trip towards Bristol means Junction 10 and the 10mph A4019, or a long way round on local roads. (National Highways notice, 1 October 2026)
Byron Road reopens on 23 October, on paper. The 540 metres between Milton Road and Tennyson Road shut at 08:00 on 1 September and are not due to reopen until 16:30 on 23 October, for resurfacing and kerbing. There is no stopping or waiting anywhere along it while the order is in force. Pedestrian access to homes and emergency access are maintained.
Kidnappers Lane is closed to motor vehicles for good. The order came into operation on Wednesday 26 August and bans motor vehicles between Shurdington Road and the continuation of Kidnappers Lane, with the usual exemptions for utilities, council and emergency vehicles. It is part of a package tied to the housing development under construction south-east of the A46, planning reference 20/01788/FUL, which also brings new crossings on Kidnappers Lane and Shurdington Road, a raised table, and shared-use and segregated footways and cycleways on Shurdington Road, Kidnappers Lane and Heathfield Road.
The Charlton Kings footpath has been shut since 2015. Footpath ZCK/51 runs 58 metres from its junction with footpaths ZCK/48 and ZCK/49 to the boundary of a play area, over a metal railway bridge with structural defects. The temporary closure came into force on 11 September 2015. The Secretary of State for Transport has now extended it again, to 30 September 2027 or until the works are done. The notice states plainly that there is no alternative route.
The Openreach jobs in the week of 19 October are all single-day, daytime closures of 30 to 40 metres, with diversions signed on site. They are listed in the council’s notice of 1 October. (Gloucestershire County Council notices, 1 October 2026)
The trunk roads this week
National Highways’ seven day report, covering Thursday 1 to Wednesday 7 October, carries two jobs that matter from Cheltenham.
The M5 Junction 10 slip roads, one night each. The northbound entry slip is closed from 21:00 on Monday 5 October to 06:00 on Tuesday, with lane closures on the northbound carriageway; the diversion runs via the A38 northbound to Junction 9. The southbound exit slip is closed from 21:00 on Tuesday 6 October to 06:00 on Wednesday. That diversion runs on to Junction 11, then the A40 eastbound, Princess Elizabeth Way and the A4019.
The A417 Missing Link closes again at night. On the night of Monday 5 October, both carriageways between the A46 Shurdington roundabout and the Air Balloon roundabout close from 21:00 to 06:00, with diversions via the A46, A435 and A436. On the nights of Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 October, the A417 shuts northbound from Burford Road to the Air Balloon roundabout and southbound from the Air Balloon roundabout to Elkstone, from 21:00 to 06:00. Those diversions run via the A429, A40 and A436.
Those dates are set and changed at short notice. The place to check before an evening journey is the National Highways seven day road closure report, which is now updated every day and covers that evening and the next six days.
Where the Cheltenham schemes have got to
- Zone 15 residents’ parking is now permanent. The experimental order that rewrote parking across All Saints, Oakley, Charlton Park and Pittville has been made permanent, effective 9 September 2026, after the six month objection period drew no objections at all. See our report on what changed and where.
- Hatherley Road speed cushions: going ahead. The county council says the consultation has closed and “a decision has been made to proceed” with a further set of speed cushions on the approach to the mini roundabout.
- A40 London Road and Cheltenham Road, Charlton Kings: the proposed 40mph limit over 1,420m and 50mph limit over a further 1,000m closed to comment on 11 September. The council says representations are still being considered. No decision published.
- Church Road, Leckhampton: the proposed zebra crossing near Leckhampton C of E Primary School also closed on 11 September, and is in the same position. No decision published.
- A46 Shurdington Road speed limit changes and the Robert Burns Avenue waiting and loading restrictions, which was re-advertised after amendments, are both closed and awaiting decisions too.
Every draft order, plan and statement of reasons is on the county council’s Cheltenham traffic regulation orders page.
The M5 Junction 10 rebuild
Junction 10 today is a partial junction: it does not allow every movement on and off the motorway, which is why so much Cheltenham traffic is funnelled down to Junction 11. Gloucestershire County Council, as highway authority, is turning it into a full all-movements junction. According to the council’s own scheme documents, the work includes:
- Four new slip roads, replacing the existing two, so the junction works in all directions.
- Replacement of the Piffs Elm interchange bridge with two new single-span overbridges.
- A new elongated roundabout linking every approach across the new bridges, with a 50mph limit on the A4019 through it.
- Realignment and widening of the A4019 Tewkesbury Road to meet the new roundabout.
- A new underpass east of the junction for pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders and wildlife, plus a dedicated walking and cycling route through the junction itself.
- Flood works: extension of the Leigh Brook culvert under the motorway, two new attenuation basins west of the M5 and a flood storage area to the south-east.
The scheme is funded through the government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund, and the housing is the point: it is the piece of infrastructure that unlocks the 4,115-home Elms Park development at North West Cheltenham and the West Cheltenham allocation, both covered on our Cheltenham planning news page. An extra £71.5 million was confirmed in January 2026, taking the total to £372 million, and completion is scheduled for spring 2029.
For anyone using the A4019 daily, the practical read is simple: expect phased traffic management on that corridor for the next two and a half years, and treat the A40 and A46 as the reliable alternatives into town from the west and north.
The roads that matter here, closure or no closure
Cheltenham’s road network is unusually legible: four trunk approaches, a ring of inner one-ways, and almost no through routes.
- M5 Junction 10 (A4019 Tewkesbury Road) is the northern gateway and, for now, a partial junction. Under reconstruction until spring 2029.
- M5 Junction 11 (A40 Golden Valley Bypass) is the full junction and the practical M5 access for most of the town. It is also the road past Arle Court and GCHQ, so it carries the heaviest commuter flow.
- A40 east runs out through Charlton Kings towards Andoversford and Oxford. Closures on the Andoversford bypass, which the county council orders periodically, push Oxford-bound traffic onto the A436 and B-roads.
- A435 Cirencester Road is the Cotswold road south-east through Charlton Kings.
- A46 Shurdington Road / Bath Road is the southern approach from Stroud and Bath and the road most affected by growth at Leckhampton.
- B4063 Gloucester Road is the old road to Gloucester and the alternative when the A40 is blocked.
Gloucestershire County Council is the highway authority for all of these. Cheltenham Borough Council runs the car parks and on-street parking, but not the roads.
Parking in Cheltenham
Every tariff below is from Cheltenham Borough Council’s own car parks page, re-checked on 22 September 2026. Blue Badge holders park free for the first three hours in every pay and display car park listed, with a clock set to the arrival time.
| Car park | Postcode | Spaces | 1 hour | 2 hours | 3 hours | 4 hours | All day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coronation Square | GL51 7RG | 143 | £0.30 | £0.50 | — | £1.10 | £2.20 |
| Pittville Pump Room | GL52 3JE | 150 | £1.00 | £1.50 | £2.00 | — | £6.00 |
| Bath Terrace | GL50 2BA | 204 | £1.30 | £1.90 | £2.50 | — | £6.40 |
| Commercial Street | GL50 2AZ | 33 | £1.30 | £1.90 | £2.50 | — | £6.50 |
| Town Centre East (multi-storey) | GL52 2SA | 354 | £1.50 | £2.90 | £3.90 | £4.50 | £8.00 |
| West End | GL50 3HU | 34 | £1.50 | £2.80 | £4.00 | £6.30 | £13.60 |
| Sherborne Place | GL52 2RS | 103 | £2.10 | £3.40 | £4.50 | £6.80 | £11.50 |
| Chelt Walk | GL50 3PR | 212 | £2.10 | £3.60 | £5.30 | £6.80 | £11.50 |
| Royal Well | GL50 3DS | 48 | £2.10 | £3.60 | £5.30 | £6.80 | max stay 4 hrs |
| St James Street | GL52 2SH | 200 | £2.10 | £3.60 | £5.30 | £6.80 | £13.60 |
| St Georges Road | GL50 3DT | 26 | £2.10 | £3.60 | £5.30 | £6.80 | £13.60 |
| Bath Parade | GL53 7HN | 75 | £2.10 | £3.60 | £5.30 | £6.90 | £13.60 |
| Rodney Road | GL50 1HX | 102 | £2.20 | £3.60 | £5.30 | £6.80 | £13.60 |
| Regent Arcade (multi-storey) | GL50 1HN | 523 | £2.20 | £3.60 | £5.30 | £6.80 | £16.80 |
| High Street | GL50 3HQ | 126 | — | £3.60 | £4.60 | £6.80 | £11.50 |
Four practical points. Coronation Square in Hesters Way is the outlier: 30p an hour and £2.20 all day, roughly a seventh of the town-centre rate, because it serves a district centre rather than the Promenade. Town Centre East is the value option in the centre, a 354-space multi-storey at £1.50 an hour and £8 all day, which is £8.80 cheaper than a full day at Regent Arcade; it is locked at 8pm, and on Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and Easter Sunday. Regent Arcade is the biggest car park in town at 523 spaces and the only one with a meaningful evening tariff, £3.20 flat if you arrive after 5.30pm, with a 2.0m height limit and the barrier locked at 1am. And the Pittville Pump Room car park is the cheapest way to park within walking distance of the north side of the town centre, at £2.00 for three hours.
Charging for an electric car is only at two of these. Bath Terrace has 10 charging bays on five units, all 300kW ultra-rapid. St James Street, which opened in August 2026, also has 10 bays on five units, three of them 300kW ultra-rapid and two 50kW rapid. Both are run by Duracell E-Charge at 85p per kWh, or 80p through its app, and the car park tariff applies on top during charging hours.
Park and ride, and the station
Arle Court Transport Hub on the western edge of town is the park and ride. Its four-storey car park and bus terminal opened on 29 July 2024, taking the site from 576 spaces to almost 1,000, of which 860 are in the new car park. It has 100 electric vehicle charge points, which the county council calls the largest contactless-payment EV charging public transport hub in the UK, plus cycle lockers, showers and a Changing Places toilet. Buses run from there into central Cheltenham and on to Gloucester.
Cheltenham Spa station has its own car park of 286 charged spaces on Queens Road GL51 8NP, open 24 hours, plus 134 sheltered cycle spaces. It is the only station car park in the borough and it fills on weekday mornings. See Cheltenham train times to London for services and fares.
How to check what is closed today
- Gloucestershire County Council roadworks map, hosted on one.network, which is updated through the day and shows dates and traffic management for each site.
- Gloucestershire Highways on 08000 514 514 for anything unclear on the map.
- Public Notice Portal, which carries every statutory temporary traffic order the county council publishes, with the legal extent and dates. Search on a GL postcode.
- National Highways for the M5 itself, as distinct from the junction and its approaches.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the A4019 limited to 10mph?
Gloucestershire County Council has made a temporary speed restriction order over the 2.2km between M5 Junction 10 and the Gallagher Retail Park, to keep people safe during works linked to the M5 Junction 10 improvement scheme. It applies 24 hours a day and runs from 3 August 2026 until 3 August 2027, or until the works are finished.
What is happening at M5 Junction 10?
It is being rebuilt as a full all-movements junction, with four new slip roads, two new overbridges replacing the Piffs Elm interchange bridge, a new elongated roundabout and a realigned, widened A4019. The scheme costs £372 million and is due to complete in spring 2029.
Which M5 Junction 10 slip roads are closed at night?
The northbound entry slip and the southbound exit slip, overnight. National Highways’ order allows closures between 20:00 and 06:00 until 10 March 2027. In its report for 1 to 7 October, the northbound entry slip is closed on the night of Monday 5 October and the southbound exit slip on the night of Tuesday 6 October, both 21:00 to 06:00.
Is the M5 closing at weekends this autumn?
Yes, between Junctions 11 and 12, for bridge demolition. National Highways has made an order allowing both carriageways to close from 21:00 on a Friday to 06:00 on the Monday, with works on or after 4 October and due to finish by 9 November 2026. The Junction 11 southbound entry and northbound exit slips, every slip at Junction 11A, the Gloucester Services slips and the Junction 12 northbound entry and southbound exit close with it. The notice does not list the weekends, and none is in the report for 1 to 7 October.
Is the Alstone Lane level crossing closed?
On set dates in October. It is closed from 01:00 on Saturday 3 October to 05:00 on Monday 5 October, then 23:00 on 5 October to 05:00 on 6 October, 01:00 on 10 October to 05:00 on 12 October, and 01:00 on 17 October to 03:00 on 19 October. Emergency access is not maintained during the closures.
Why is Whaddon Road closed on Saturdays?
Gloucestershire County Council has a standing temporary order closing Whaddon Road between Wymans Road and Prestbury Road for 330 metres on match and event days at Cheltenham Town Football Club. It runs on various dates from 8 August 2026 to 29 May 2027, and no stopping or waiting is allowed while it is in force.
Where is the cheapest parking in Cheltenham?
Coronation Square in Hesters Way, at 30p for an hour and £2.20 all day. Within walking distance of the centre, Bath Terrace and Commercial Street are the cheapest at £1.30 an hour, the Pittville Pump Room car park is £2.00 for three hours, and Town Centre East is the cheapest all-day option in the middle of town at £8.00.
Where is the park and ride in Cheltenham?
Arle Court Transport Hub, on the western edge of town near M5 Junction 11. Its four-storey car park opened in July 2024 and took the site to almost 1,000 spaces from 576, with 100 EV charge points and bus links into Cheltenham and Gloucester.
Who is responsible for roads in Cheltenham?
Gloucestershire County Council is the highway authority and makes the temporary closure orders. Cheltenham Borough Council runs the car parks and on-street parking. Report a pothole or a street fault to the county council.
Related
- Cheltenham planning news: the two strategic sites the M5 Junction 10 scheme is meant to unlock.
- Cheltenham train times to London: 16 direct trains a day, and what the season ticket costs.
- Things to do in Cheltenham.
Sources
- Statutory temporary traffic orders and traffic regulation orders made by Gloucestershire County Council, published in the Gloucestershire Echo and the Gloucester Citizen and carried on the Public Notice Portal. Notices dated 30 July to 20 August 2026 for the A4019 10mph order, Whaddon Road and footpath ZCK/51 (references LW/89613, GT/89661, GT/89676, GT/89637, GT/89739, GT/64329 and the Kidnappers Lane order); notices dated 27 August, 3 September and 17 September 2026 for Byron Road and the two Alstone Lane level crossing orders (including LW/89949); notices dated 1 October 2026 for Milsom Street (LW/89945), Portland Street (GT/90001), Trinity Lane (GT/90002), County Court Road (LW/90055), Fiddlers Green Lane (GT/90260), the A40 Gloucester Road (GT/90236) and Burton Street (GT/90334).
- Gloucestershire County Council, Cheltenham traffic regulation orders and traffic schemes for the Kidnappers Lane, A40 speed limit and Church Road zebra crossing schemes and their consultation deadlines.
- National Highways, road closure report, the seven day report covering Thursday 1 to Wednesday 7 October 2026, downloaded 2 October, for the M5 Junction 10 slip road closures and the A417 Missing Link night closures, with their diversions.
- National Highways statutory notices on the Public Notice Portal: the M5 Junction 10 temporary prohibition of traffic order, published 11 September 2026 for the overnight slip road closures to 10 March 2027, and the M5 Junction 11 to 12 order, proposed on 17 September and made on 1 October 2026, for the bridge demolition weekend closures.
- Gloucestershire County Council, Experimental Traffic Order: Zone 15, Cheltenham for the permanent order and its 9 September 2026 start, and the Hatherley Road, A46 Shurdington Road and Robert Burns Avenue scheme pages for their current status.
- Gloucestershire County Council, M5 Junction 10 scheme information for the scheme components, layout and speed limits, and its traffic management page, whose most recent dated entry is January 2026.
- Gloucestershire County Council, additional £71.5m secured for M5 Junction 10, January 2026 for the £372 million total and the spring 2029 completion date.
- Gloucestershire County Council, Arle Court Transport Hub for the transport hub’s opening date and facilities.
- Cheltenham Borough Council, our car parks for every tariff, space count and charging hour, re-checked 22 September 2026.
- Great Western Railway, Cheltenham Spa station information for station car park and cycle parking capacity.
Roadworks dates slip. Confirm against the county council’s map before you set off.
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