Southwark reopened Rye Lane at 10.45am on Saturday 12 September. The 11 bus routes are back too, six days before TfL had the diversion booked to end.

Rye Lane reopened at 10.45am on Saturday 12 September, nine days after Southwark closed it over the former cinema at 114-116. The council hit the target date it had named three days earlier, and the buses came back faster than anyone had published.

Southwark’s statement says the street is open to pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles, that all shops and businesses are trading again, and that the main emergency stabilisation work on the structure is complete.

The buses came back six days early

This was the part nobody could plan around. The council’s target was Saturday. TfL had the diversions on all eleven routes booked until 7pm on Friday 18 September, and neither organisation had published a date for putting the buses back.

In the end the two moved together. TfL’s line status carried no Rye Lane diversion on the 12, 37, 63, 78, 197, 343, 363, N63, N343, P12 or P13 on the morning of Monday 14 September. The Peckham Rye Station and Aylesham Centre stops, which every one of those routes had been skipping in both directions, are being served again.

The council’s own statement still points people at TfL, saying diversions “might still be in place”. They are not.

What is still true

  • The Rye Lane vehicle restriction has not gone anywhere. It applies outside the permitted 7am to 10am servicing window and is camera enforced.
  • Council officers are still working through what the businesses on the street need. Southwark says it knows “the closure had a serious impact on local businesses” and that officers are speaking to those affected. The number is 020 7525 5000.
  • The southern stretch of Rye Lane closed separately on Sunday 13 September, the day after the reopening, between the Sternhall Lane and Copeland Road junction and Bournemouth Road, for Thames Water. That was a one-day order, ref TTRO00127/1, and it has now passed.

What the leader said

Councillor James McAsh, leader of Southwark Council, said he was “pleased to report that Rye Lane, in Peckham, has reopened following the completion of the emergency safety works on the old cinema building”.

He thanked residents and businesses for their patience, and added that “we know the disruption has been significant, but public safety had to remain our absolute priority throughout”.

What it means for you

  • If you catch a bus through Peckham. Your stop is back. Peckham Rye Station and the Aylesham Centre are served again on every route that was diverted.
  • If you drive down Rye Lane. The street is open, but the vehicle restriction is unchanged: outside 7am to 10am you are on camera.
  • If you run a business on the street. The council is asking affected businesses to speak to its officers about what support they need.
  • If you are travelling elsewhere in the borough. Several other closures started while this one was running. Linden Grove in Nunhead and Glengall Road in Peckham both shut on 14 September until 2 October, and the left turn from Half Moon Lane into Red Post Hill is banned from 15 to 17 September. They are all on our roadworks and travel page.

Updated 14 September 2026. This article was first published on 10 September, when Rye Lane was still closed and the council had named Saturday 12 September as a target. It has been rewritten to report what happened. The original reported that TfL had the bus diversions booked to 18 September, which was correct at the time; the diversions were lifted early.

Sources

  • Rye Lane, updates and statement, Southwark Council, latest update timed 10.45am on Saturday 12 September 2026, for the reopening, the completion of the stabilisation work, the business support and the leader’s statement.
  • TfL road disruption feed, read on 14 September 2026: the Rye Lane closure no longer appears.
  • TfL bus line status for routes 12, 37, 63, 78, 197, 343, 363, N63, N343, P12 and P13, read on 14 September 2026, showing no Rye Lane diversion. The 7pm 18 September booking was read from the same feed on 10 September.
  • Southwark Council temporary traffic order, Rye Lane, ref TTRO00127/1, dated 3 September 2026, for the 13 September closure between Sternhall Lane, Copeland Road and Bournemouth Road.