Elm Grove junction rebuild due to start in December, with rain gardens

Work to rebuild the junction where Elm Grove meets Queens Park Road is expected to start in December and finish in early spring 2027, Brighton & Hove City Council says. Before that, it will carry out enabling works on the pavement at the junction in the last two weeks of November.

The council says the November work will stay on the footway and isn’t expected to affect how the junction runs.

The bigger job changes the layout. The central island goes and the pavements on Queens Park Road get wider. Every signal at the junction will be upgraded, and the lights will run in three stages instead of four, so people on foot can cross Queens Park Road in one go.

The scheme also adds sustainable drainage to soak up heavy rain: rain gardens and tree pits, planted with flood-friendly plants and trees. The council has said it is looking at “potentially some active travel infrastructure, like a Beryl bike hub and cycle storage”.

Residents first gave their views in a survey in November and December 2024, and the scheme has since been through design and a traffic regulation order stage, the legal step behind changes to a road layout.

One catch: the dates aren’t fixed. The work is still out to tender, and the council says it will appoint a contractor and share the construction programme once bids have been assessed. It plans to post the key dates on the project page.