Dorking Festival of Light 2027 | Road Closure Consultation
Dorking Town Partnership is planning the Dorking Festival of Light on Saturday 30 January 2027, which will bring light, entertainment and activity to the town during what can be a dark and quieter time of year.
We want to create a lovely evening for families, friends and the wider community to enjoy together, giving people a reason to come into Dorking, spend time in the town and celebrate our wonderful community.
To enable the event to take place safely, temporary road closures and traffic management measures are proposed across parts of Dorking.
As part of the arrangements for the event, we are seeking the views of residents, businesses and others who may be affected by the proposed closures.
Bringing the community together and Supporting Dorking’s businesses
The Festival of Light is about bringing the community together at what can be a dark and quieter time of year.
We want to create a lovely evening for families, friends and the wider community to enjoy, giving people a reason to come into Dorking, spend time in the town and enjoy something special together.
It is an opportunity to celebrate our town, bring people together and create a positive shared experience for the community.
The Festival of Light is also intended to support our local businesses by encouraging people to shop locally before the event and enjoy food and drink in Dorking afterwards.
We hope the event will give our independent shops, cafés, pubs, restaurants and other businesses an additional boost during what can be a quieter period, while also providing an opportunity for residents and visitors to discover more of what Dorking has to offer.
Proposed road closures
To enable the Festival of Light to take place safely, temporary road closures and traffic management measures are proposed for:
Saturday 30 January 2027
5.30pm – 7pm
A back-up date of Saturday 13 February 2027 is also being planned in case exceptionally bad weather means the Festival of Light cannot safely take place on 30 January. If the back-up date is required, the same proposed road closure arrangements would apply.
Main closure area
The main road closures will affect the High Street and part of Reigate Road, from Dorking Halls through to the top of the High Street.
There will also be some restricted access and egress on side roads within and around the event area.
Where possible and safe to do so, vehicles will be allowed to exit side roads and travel west, subject to the temporary traffic management arrangements.
Marshals, diversion signage and advance warning signs will be used to help residents, businesses and other road users navigate the temporary arrangements.
The detailed traffic management plans show the exact locations of the closure points, restrictions, diversion routes, signage and pedestrian arrangements.
Keeping disruption to a minimum
We recognise that temporary road closures can cause disruption for residents, businesses and other road users.
We have worked closely with our traffic management company to keep the closures as short and as least disruptive as possible, while ensuring the Festival of Light can take place safely.
The current proposal is for the closures to operate from 5.30pm until 7pm.
Roads will be reopened as soon as it is safe to do so, which may be earlier than 7pm.
We will do everything we can to minimise disruption while allowing the event to take place safely.
