21/09/2026
Don’t worry everyone I’ve taken it upon myself to email Guy Lambert for everyone living in Brentford who are sick to death of roadworks
Dear Councillor Lambert,
I am writing as both a Brentford resident and a local business owner to raise a serious complaint about the extraordinary level of simultaneous roadworks currently taking place across Brentford, particularly around the A4, Windmill Road and Ealing Road.
I live in Brentford, close to the A4, and own Bossa Nova Café on South Ealing Road. A journey to work which would take approximately 15 minutes on foot is currently taking me around 40 minutes by car.
Unfortunately, simply walking to work is not an option for me. As a business owner, I need my vehicle throughout the working day to travel to wholesalers, collect ingredients and supplies, and carry out other essential journeys connected with running my business.
What I cannot understand is who is coordinating all of these roadworks and approving permits for multiple works to take place within such a small area at the same time?
The situation today was completely unacceptable.
I was stuck on Windmill Road for at least 20 minutes simply trying to cross the A4 and continue onto the other side of Windmill Road, where temporary traffic lights are currently operating.
There also appears to be a serious safety issue with these temporary lights. Vehicles are continuing through when they should have stopped, creating an extremely dangerous situation. There is a pedestrian crossing close to The Globe pub which is regularly used by local residents, including children. I have personally seen children running across there.
I am genuinely concerned that unless this traffic management is urgently reviewed, somebody could be seriously injured or killed.
The obvious alternative route is then to use Ealing Road to cross the A4. However, that route is also severely congested. The traffic-light sequencing appears to allow only a tiny number of vehicles through at a time — sometimes seemingly only two — resulting in traffic backing up towards the Haverfield Estate.
So what exactly are residents supposed to do?
If Windmill Road is severely restricted, Ealing Road is severely congested, and multiple other works are taking place around the same area, there is effectively no reasonable alternative route.
I fully appreciate that utility companies need to undertake water, gas, electricity and other essential works. My complaint is not that necessary works are taking place. My complaint is about the apparent lack of coordination between them.
Surely, before permits are granted, somebody within the council or the relevant highways authority should be looking at what other works and restrictions are already taking place in the immediate area and considering the cumulative impact on residents, businesses, public transport and emergency access.
This has not just happened today. The disruption has been continuing for days, and getting from home to work and back again has become unnecessarily difficult and incredibly frustrating. Trying to travel anywhere else locally, whether for business or in our own leisure time, is becoming equally problematic.
As somebody trying to run a local independent business, I simply cannot afford to spend huge amounts of my working day sitting in stationary traffic because several roads within the same small area have been disrupted simultaneously.
I would therefore appreciate a proper response to the following:
* Who is responsible for coordinating and approving these roadworks and permits across Brentford?
* Why have so many works been permitted simultaneously around the A4, Windmill Road and Ealing Road?
* Has the cumulative traffic impact of these works actually been assessed?
* Can the temporary traffic-light arrangements at Windmill Road be urgently inspected, particularly given the safety concerns around the nearby pedestrian crossing?
* Can the traffic-light sequencing at Ealing Road/A4 also be reviewed given the severe queues currently being created?
* What action will now be taken to improve the situation?
I would appreciate this being treated as a serious complaint rather than simply receiving a general explanation that roadworks inevitably cause disruption.
The current situation is having a very real impact on people who live and work in Brentford, and the potential safety issue at Windmill Road in particular needs urgent attention.
I look forward to receiving your response.
Kind regards,
Trudie Grech
Owner, Bossa Nova Café
South Ealing Road
Brentford resident
