North Circular Road

Coordinates: 51°36′58″N 0°05′43″W / 51.6161°N 0.0952°W / 51.6161; -0.0952
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A406 road
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"A406" redirects here. For the motorway in France, see
RFA Hebe (A406)
.
"Angel Road" redirects here. For the closed railway station, see Angel Road railway station.
For other uses, see North Circular Road (disambiguation).

A406 shield
A406
North Circular Road
A13 (East Ham and Barking Bypass)
  • absmiddle Woolwich Ferry
    • East endBeckton
    Location
    CountryUnited Kingdom
    Road network

    The North Circular Road (officially the A406 and sometimes known as simply the North Circular) is a 25.7-mile-long (41.4 km) ring road around Central London in England. It runs from Chiswick in the west to Woolwich in the east via suburban North London, connecting various suburbs and other trunk roads in the region. Together with its counterpart, the South Circular Road, it mostly forms a ring road around central London, except for crossing of the River Thames, which is done by the Woolwich Ferry.

    The road was constructed in the

    motorway as part of the controversial and ultimately cancelled London Ringways scheme. In the early 1990s, the road was extended to bypass Barking and meet the A13
    north of Woolwich, though without a direct link to the ferry.

    The road's design varies from six-lane

    traffic reports, particularly at Bounds Green. The uncertainty of development has caused urban decay
    and property blight along its route, and led to criticism over its poor pollution record. Several London Borough Councils have set up regeneration projects to improve the environment for communities close to the road.

    Route

    The North Circular Road forms the northern part of a ring-road around Central London.[2] It has seen substantially more investment than its counterpart, the South Circular Road, and consequently runs on more purpose-built road than urban streets, often coupled with demolition of existing houses and urban infrastructure.[3][4] Although the route has alternative names at some points, it is generally referred to as the North Circular throughout for route planning purposes. The route is mostly grade-separated dual carriageway from the A40 at Hanger Lane to the A13 in Beckton except for the Drury Way/Brentfield Road junction, the Golders Green Road/Brent Street junction, Henlys Corner and the section from Bounds Green to Green Lanes.[5] In areas where improvements made slowest progress and upgrades are unlikely, the original names such as Gunnersbury Avenue and Bowes Road are used.[6]

    Gunnersbury, Hanger Lane and Brent Cross

    Hanger Lane Gyratory
    on the North Circular is one of the most congested junctions in London, carrying over 10,000 vehicles per hour.
    superstores
    and other commercial premises

    The road begins in

    Paddington to the Hanger Lane gyratory system, a large roundabout on top of the Western Avenue (the A40) with Hanger Lane tube station. This is one of the busiest junctions in London, used by 10,000 vehicles an hour.[7]

    The A406 runs on purpose-built road to the north of the Hanger Lane Gyratory, and is referred to as "North Circular Road" on street signs. The road is a six-lane dual carriageway that connects the industrial estates in the area, and passes beneath the West Coast Main Line near Stonebridge Park. Beyond this, there is a junction with IKEA and the Neasden temple to the south-east, and the road runs alongside open land south of the Welsh Harp Reservoir.[8] Beyond the reservoir, there is a large interchange with the Edgware Road (A5) and junction 1 of the M1 motorway at Staples Corner, and a junction for the Brent Cross Shopping Centre at the Brent Cross Interchange (joining the A41 from Finchley). This section of the North Circular was used for filming the car chasing sequences in Withnail and I.[5]

    Intersection of Brent Street and Golders Green Road, viewed from a footbridge in Hendon

    Northeast of Brent Cross, at Henlys Corner, the North Circular briefly shares carriageways with the A1, which joins it from the left and leaves it to the right to head into Central London. The junction complex also serves the Finchley Road and pedestrian traffic, and consequently is a major bottleneck on the route.[9] Transport for London have invested in the junction, including a special hands-free crossing for the local Jewish community, who can then cross the road on the Sabbath.[10] The road passes north of St Pancras and Islington Cemetery towards Friern Barnet and Muswell Hill. The road narrows to two-lane single carriageway to pass under the East Coast Main Line, and continues as Telford Road towards Bounds Green.[11]

    Southgate, Woodford and Beckton

    In Bounds Green, the North Circular Road is reduced to single carriageway with a 90 degree turn at traffic lights, and it is one of the most congested roads in London.

    Traffic on the North Circular Road must turn right from Telford Road into Bowes Road, which causes problems with

    heavy goods vehicles.[12] The road continues past densely packed housing and business areas before widening at Green Lanes and assuming the North Circular Road name again.[13] At Great Cambridge Interchange, its most northerly point, the A406 crosses Great Cambridge Road (A10). The disused Angel Road railway station is partially located beneath the flyover at Angel Road, in an area marked for redevelopment known as Meridian Water.[14] This leads onto the Lea Valley Viaduct that provides a safe crossing of the River Lea's flood plain. The viaduct is part of the original construction and was one of the first of its kind to be built using reinforced concrete.[5]

    The North Circular Road (South Woodford to Barking Relief Road) near Ilford

    After the viaduct the road becomes Southend Road, passing north of

    A12) on a flyover at the Redbridge roundabout. It passes Romford Road (the historic Roman Road from London to Colchester) to the west of Ilford and London Road, Barking, and ends at a roundabout with the A13 Newham Way/Alfred's Way in Beckton.[6]

    To reach the Woolwich Ferry, traffic must follow local roads to the ferry terminal – the A1020 Royal Docks Road, and the A117 named successively as Woolwich Manor Way, Albert Road and Pier Road. The Woolwich Ferry leads across the River Thames, connecting with the eastern end of the South Circular Road on the other side of the river. The junction with the A13 has been built to enable the North Circular to be continued across the junction to the Thames Gateway Bridge if and when it is built.[18]

    History

    Early history

    Proposals for a route avoiding Central London had been in place since the early 20th century due to increasing levels of traffic. In 1910, the London Traffic Division of the Board of Trade had built up schemes for new roads, including what became the North Circular Road, which was designed to skirt the extent of urban development along suburbs.[19]

    The North Circular Road was originally designed as an unemployment relief scheme following the

    First World War. Various manufacturing industries, including furniture production, had moved away from the East End in the early 20th century and started to be based in areas on the fringes of outer London development. As well as a general bypass of Central London, it would connect the communities of Edmonton, Tottenham and Walthamstow, and allow former munitions factories to be reused for industrial purposes.[20] Further west, industrial work increased around Wembley to cater for the 1924 British Empire Exhibition, while former military factories at Willesden, Hendon and Acton would also benefit from being connected by the North Circular Road. The land used for the route was mostly cheap, which encouraged further works and factories to be built by the road.[21] Purpose-built sections were designed to dual carriageway standards, including a 27-foot (8.2 m) wide carriageway accompanied by 9-foot (2.7 m) verges.[8]

    The original route ran from Chiswick to Southgate, and was open to traffic by the 1930s. Although it mostly ran on newly built road, a section east of Southgate used existing streets.[3] By the end of the decade, the area surrounding the Park Royal estate had become the largest industrial estate in the south of England, and the London Passenger Transport Board was receiving regular complaints about the excess traffic levels.[22]

    Due to laxer laws that allowed housing to be built on major roads, as London suburbs developed, residential properties were built on the North Circular Road. The original purpose-built road had been designed with no speed limit, as was typically the case in the 1920s, but by 1951 a 30 mph speed limit was enforced along the route.[8]

    In 1946 the North Circular Road became a

    Ministry of Transport (MOT) rather than a local one.[23]

    London Ringways

    speed cameras
    .

    After reviewing traffic conditions in 1961, the Ministry of Transport planned to increase the capacity of the North Circular Road, grade separating as many junctions as possible, particularly those connecting with important arterial routes.[23] In the 1960s the Greater London Council developed the London Ringways Plan to construct a series of circular and radial motorways throughout London with the hope of easing traffic congestion in the central area. Under this plan the North Circular Road was to be improved to dual-carriageway standard throughout the majority of its length by the late 1970s.[24]

    The Ringway projects were extremely unpopular and caused widespread protests, which led to the cancellation of the plans in 1972, particularly after the Westway had opened in the face of large-scale protest two years earlier.[25] In 1974, the MOT scaled back plans to improve the North Circular Road, though by the end of the decade they had revised plans to improve the route to dual carriageway throughout without any property frontages.[23] In 1979, the Ministry of Transport planned to improve the Great Cambridge Road Roundabout with a £17 million scheme that would have demolished over 100 houses and shops. This was cancelled and replaced with a straightforward underpass in 1983, costing £22.3 million.[4]

    South Woodford to Barking Relief Road

    The section of the North Circular south of Charlie Brown's Roundabout in South Woodford is the "South Woodford to Barking Relief Road".[3] Prior to its opening, the signposted North Circular route from the Waterworks Roundabout to the Woolwich Ferry was on local roads via Whipps Cross, Wanstead, Manor Park and Beckton. As well as delays for the ferry, traffic could also be held due to closure of bridges in the Royal Albert and King George V Docks.[26] The road was originally planned to be a continuation of the M11, but the standard of road was decreased to a basic dual carriageway.[27] It was proposed to be built in the 1980s concurrently with the controversial M11 link road.[28]

    Henlys Corner and Bounds Green improvements

    A parade of shops near Bowes Park, just to the east of the Bounds Green traffic lights

    The North Circular Road ceased to be a trunk road in 2000, when control of all roads inside Greater London passed to Transport for London (TfL).[29] In 2004, Mayor of London Ken Livingstone promised limited improvements to the road, but received criticism for not approving earlier plans for widening the often heavily congested road at critical sections.[30] In 2009, it was announced that major works between the Bounds Green Road and Green Lanes junctions would finally go ahead, having been proposed for over 90 years, and was completed the following year.[4][31] The work improved the carriageway between these junctions, widening Telford Road to two lanes and improving all of the junctions along the route. Improvements were also made to walkways and cycle paths along this route. However, unlike elsewhere on the North Circular, the new junctions are not grade-separated and have been designed with environmental concerns in mind.[32] The opened scheme is a reduced specification from 1960s plans, which projected this section of the North Circular to be dual carriageway.[4]

    In April 2011, after many years of proposals and delays, construction began on a major upgrade of the Henlys Corner interchange. An underpass was originally proposed but this was heavily criticised by local residents, and would have been very costly, and it was subsequently scrapped. The upgrade scheme improved on the current junction by adding extra lanes and allowing easier left and right turns, speeding up queue times. Cycle paths and safer pedestrian crossings were included.[33]

    In July 2013, a task force set up by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson proposed that long sections of the North Circular (as well as the South Circular) should be put underground in road tunnels, freeing up space on the surface to provide public space, extensive cycle routes, and better links to existing communities currently severed by the road. Caroline Pidgeon, deputy chair of the London Assembly's Transport Committee, responded, "It doesn't make sense and it won't add up – [there's a] £30bn estimate, but I'm sure it'll cost at least double that, and the reality is we'll lose homes around these roads and so on."[34]

    Environment and safety

    fly tipping
    . These houses have since been demolished.

    The North Circular Road has received regular criticism over its poor safety record and piecemeal improvement schemes due to a lack of funding since it opened to traffic.[4] In 1989, Michael Portillo, then a Member of Parliament for Enfield Southgate, complained that 367 houses were scheduled for demolition as part of improvements to the North Circular in his constituency.[35] Friends of the Earth have complained about rising costs and delays to junction and safety improvements.[4] In 2003, environment cabinet member Terry Neville said that TfL's proposed improvements for improving the North Circular were "a sham" and that the local council wanted a six-lane motorway to properly solve congestion.[4]

    The uncertainty over the future of the North Circular Road has blighted properties on and near it, particularly around Bounds Green.

    fly tipping and anti-social behaviour.[37]

    In 2011, Enfield Borough Council proposed a North Circular Area Action Plan, which would regenerate the area immediately around Telford Road and Bowes Road, and encourage growth.

    Arnos Park and Broomfield Park.[39]

    In 2002, the North Circular was rated as Britain's noisiest road by the UK Noise Association.

    Sunday Times, referring to the North Circular, said "if you want to pull back the lid of your convertible and drink in the fresh air, look elsewhere".[5] In 2019, a BBC News report said that the section between Chiswick and Hanger Lane was the most congested in Britain.[42]

    Junctions

    The North Circular Road has a wide variety of styles and standards of junctions connecting to other roads. These range from the complex, grade-separated design at Charlie Brown's near Woodford, to at-grade junctions with traffic lights. The original road contained entirely at-grade junctions; many of these were improved and grade separated during the late 1970s and early 1980s.[23]

    Current junctions

    Name Destinations Notes
    Chiswick flyover
    A205 – Chiswick, Kew, Brentford, Staines-upon-Thames, Hounslow
    Gunnersbury Park B4491 /
    South Ealing, Shepherd's Bush, Acton
    A4020 – Ealing, Southall, Acton
    		 The historic London – Oxford postal route at Ealing Common
    Hanger Lane Gyratory
    A4005 – Greenford, Perivale, Alperton, Park Royal, Acton, Northolt
    A404 – Harrow, Wembley, Harlesden
    		 Near Stonebridge Park station
    Brent Park, Superstores, Wembley Stadium, Industrial Estate
    A4088 – Willesden, Neasden, Kingsbury
    Staples Corner
    The NORTH, Watford, Harrow, Kilburn, Cricklewood, Edgware, West Hendon
    		 A5 is the historic Watling Street from London to Wroxeter
    Brent Cross
    A41 to A1 – Kilburn, Cricklewood, Hendon, Hatfield
    A502 to A1 – Mill Hill, Golders Green, Hampstead
    Henlys Corner
    The NORTH, Watford, Mill Hill, Hendon
    		 West end of merge with the A1
    Henlys Corner
    A598 – Finchley, Golders Green
    		 A special pedestrian crossing for Jews to use on the Sabbath is located here[43]
    Henlys Corner A1 – Central London, Holloway East end of merge with A1
    A1000 – North Finchley, East Finchley, Chipping Barnet
    		 The historic Great North Road
    Colney Hatch Junction B550 – Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Retail Park
    Hobart Corner
    A1004 – New Southgate, Whetstone, Southgate
    Bounds Green interchange
    A1110 / B1452 – New Southgate, Southgate
    		 A regular congestion hotspot where traffic must narrow to single carriageway and perform a 90 degree turn.[44] Transport for London have earmarked the junction for improvement.[45]
    Clockhouse Junction
    A105 – Palmers Green, Wood Green, Hornsey
    Great Cambridge Road Roundabout
    A111 – Central London, Dalston, Hertford, Enfield, Potters Bar, Ware, Royston, Cambridge
    Crooked Billet Roundabout
    A112 – Chingford, Walthamstow, Highams Park
    Waterworks
    A503 / M11 – Woodford, Leytonstone, Walthamstow
    Charlie Brown's
    A113 – Gants Hill, Chigwell
    		 Restricted access; eastbound exit and westbound entrance. The original Charlie Brown's was the roundabout underneath this junction. It was named after a pub next to the roundabout, which was demolished in 1972.[5][46]
    Charlie Brown's
    Stansted, Cambridge
    Redbridge Roundabout
    A12 – Central London, Stratford, Chelmsford, Romford
    		 Also the location of Redbridge tube station
    A118 – Manor Park, Ilford
    		 The historic
    Roman Road from London to Colchester
    A124 – East Ham, Barking, London
    Beckton Roundabout
    A117 – Tilbury, Dartford Crossing, Woolwich Ferry, Central London, Blackwall Tunnel

    Former junctions

    Name Destinations Notes
    Waterworks Corner
    A503
    		 To avoid
    water works northeast of Walthamstow.[47]
    Gants Hill
    A123
    		 Gants Hill Underground station is also at this location.

    Public transport

    There are three bus routes that largely serve their routes on the North Circular Road:

    Cultural references

    The North Circular Road is mentioned in the poet Louis MacNeice's 1938 piece, Autumn Journal. In it, he describes the features along the road, including factories, prefabricated buildings, bungalows and petrol pumps "like intransigent gangs of idols".[52] Keith Moon played his first gig with The Who at a pub on the North Circular Road on 2 May 1964.[53]

    The original Ace Cafe was on the North Circular Road. Open 24 hours a day, it catered for late-night party-goers and boy racers. It was a popular place for cars to be hot-wired and stolen, as drivers knew they could make a quick getaway.[54][55] IWG founder Mark Dixon's first business on returning to Britain after an extended time abroad was a hot-dog stand on the North Circular Road, making his own buns. He grew the business into a full-time bakery which he sold in 1989 for £800,000 (now £2,120,000).[56]

    References

    Citations

    1. ^ "Gunnersbury Avenue to North Circular Road, Barking". Google Maps. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
    2. ISBN 978-1-902-80654-9
      .
    3. ^ a b c Weinreb 2008, p. 591.
    4. ^ a b c d e f g h "A406 timeline: a half century of broken promises". Enfield Independent. 8 October 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
    5. ^ a b c d e Dunn, Joseph (7 April 2014). "Great drives: The North Circular, London". Sunday Times Driving. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
    6. ^ a b c "Maps". Transport for London. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
    7. ^ Edwards, Tom (1 October 2012). "Ealing battles to get HS2 to go underground". BBC News. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
    8. ^ a b c "North Circular Road, Willesden". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 1 August 1951. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
    9. ^ "Ringing the changes at Henlys Corner". Arriva London. 1 August 2011. Archived from the original on 13 September 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
    10. ^ "Mayor marks completion of improvements that have transformed Henlys Corner". Transport for London. 13 January 2012. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
    11. ^ "A406 North Circular Bounds Green – plans revealed and public exhibition announced". Transport for London. 1 June 2005. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
    12. ^ Enfield 2011, p. 13.
    13. ^ Enfield 2011, p. 6.
    14. ^ Meridian Water in Central Leeside (PDF). Greater London Council (Report). 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
    15. ^ Former Walthamstow Stadium site (PDF) (Report). Waltham Forest Council. 3 June 2011. p. 7. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
    16. ^ "A406 South Woodford to Barking Relief Road (Link Roads from Redbridge Roundabout to M11 Motorway) (Restriction of Traffic) Order 1986 Revocation Order 1987". The London Gazette. December 1987. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
    17. ^ London NE (sheet 161) (Map). Ordnance Survey. 1960.
    18. ISBN 978-0-7277-1591-3
      .
    19. ^ Hall 1982, pp. 56–57.
    20. ^ Scott 2007, pp. 150–1.
    21. ^ Scott 2007, pp. 153.
    22. ISBN 978-1-134-93496-6
      .
    23. ^ a b c d "North Circular Road, Ealing". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 15 December 1978. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
    24. ^ "North Circular Road". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 3 February 1969. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
    25. ISBN 978-1-84668-052-6
      .
    26. ISBN 0-86145-095-7
      .
    27. ISBN 978-0-7277-3198-2
      .
    28. ^ "London Transport Bill, by Order". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 23 October 1979. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
    29. ^ "The GLA Roads Designation Order 2000". HM Government. 2000. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
    30. ^ a b c Barling, Kurt (20 October 2008). "Your community needs you!". BBC News. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
    31. ^ "TfL budget heralds major works". BBC News. 31 March 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
    32. ^ "Work on A406 Bounds Green improvement scheme to begin next month". Transport for London. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
    33. ^ "Work on Henlys Corner junction improvement scheme to begin in February 2011". Archived from the original on 14 April 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
    34. ^ "London roads £30bn plan unveiled". BBC News. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
    35. ^ Portillo, Michael (9 March 1989). "Channel Tunnel Rail Link". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Retrieved 2 March 2015.
    36. ^ Brown, Helen (5 December 2007). "Disused properties: No more empty promises". The Independent. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
    37. ^ Enfield 2011, p. 27.
    38. ^ Enfield 2011, p. 7.
    39. ^ Enfield 2011, pp. 25–26.
    40. ^ "North Circular roars into first place". BBC News. 29 April 2002. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
    41. ^ "North Circular named as London's most polluted road". BBC News. 24 June 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
    42. ^ "A406 North Circular Road 'most congested' in the UK". BBC News. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
    43. ^ "Work on Henlys Corner junction improvement scheme to begin in February 2011". Transport for London. 28 January 2011. Archived from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
    44. ^ "Six months of traffic chaos looms as works reduce Wood Green High Road to one lane". Tottenham and Wood Green Journal. 1 September 2014. Archived from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
    45. ^ "Walking". Transport for London. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
    46. ^ "Mystery of the Charlie Brown Roundabout". Go Britannia travel guide. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
    47. ^ The Times Road Map of London (Map). The Times. 1926. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
    48. ^ "34 bus route". Transport for London. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
    49. ^ "112 bus route". Transport for London. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
    50. ^ "232 bus route". Transport for London. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
    51. ^ "SL1 bus route". Transport for London. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
    52. ^ Pope 2015, p. 92.
    53. ISBN 978-0-7535-1217-3
      .
    54. ISBN 978-1-412-00934-8
      .
    55. ISBN 978-1-845-84529-2
      .
    56. ^ "Mark Dixon, CEO of Regus: A true entrepreneur back on the expansion trail". The Independent. 16 July 2004. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2016.

    Sources

    External links

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