Residents were rightly alarmed last week after news spread of a public notice in the Uxbridge Gazette announcing the closure of Breakspear Road South for four months, starting at the end of March.
Given the obvious chaos this would cause, we immediately sought clarification. We can confirm that the notice was published in error!
“The Map… makes no sense”
Following our challenge to the published plans, Rick Connors (LBH Project Manager) confirmed to us by email that the official paperwork was fundamentally flawed. In his correspondence, Mr Connors conceded:
“The published Notice is incorrect… The Map is also incorrect as this shows the Closure on the main carriageway and a Diversion Route that makes no sense.”
It is baffling how a statutory notice involving a major arterial road-including a diversion that council officers admit “makes no sense” – was published in the name of a senior member of Hillingdon Council Staff: Dan Kennedy, the Corporate Director of Residents Services.
Clarification from the Cabinet – or more confusion?
Cllr Lavery attempted to quell fears on social media, stating on Facebook: “I have clarified and it is only the service road that is being closed” – but his brief comment lacked the necessary detail to explain the full impact.
It only added to the confusion: were we really to believe a dozen-word Facebook post over a legal Statutory Notice published in the newspaper by the local authority which gave dates and details of a diversion?!
The Actual Plan (Corrected Notice)
A corrected Order has been published this week. It reveals that while the main road remains open – providing the detail that was missing from both the original notice and the Councillor’s comment. We now know that the service roads in front of some houses will be closed – in two stages, and only during working hours and also closing a junction each time, necessitating diversions through residential streets.
PHASE 1: 30th March – 27th May 2026
- Closed: Breakspear Road South Service Road (Nos 64–114).
- Closed: The junction of Copthall Road West with Breakspear Road South.
- Diversion: Traffic will be routed via St Georges Drive and Greenacres Avenue.
PHASE 2: 16th June – 24th July 2026
- Closed: Breakspear Road South Service Road (Nos 2–42).
- Closed: The junction of Greenacres Avenue with Breakspear Road South.
- Diversion: Traffic will be routed via St Georges Drive and Copthall Road West.
Is this part of a wider pattern?
Regrettably, this self-inflicted fiasco is not an isolated incident. It seems symptomatic of a Council that is frequently issuing inaccurate information, hiding behind secret meetings, ignoring residents’ questions, and missing statutory deadlines. We are preparing a series of articles detailing some of them, which will follow here over the next few days.
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