Formal approval has been given by Waltham Forest council to proceed with an £18 million upgrade of Leyton tube station.

The proposals will see a new ticket hall built next to the existing ticket hall which would be over three times the size of the old one, with eight passenger gates, compared to the existing five.

The new plans are needed as the area is expected to see an additional 4,500 homes built locally, and the station, which is already bursting at the seams would struggle to cope with the additional passenger use.

The station currently has 14 million passengers per year and TfL expects this to increase to 17 million by 2041. The plans are designed to absorb that increase, plus an additional 30% for unexpected passenger growth.

Although the council’s £9 million contribution towards the upgrade was agreed last year, it’s only last month that the final details were agreed.

In an executive decision last month, the council agreed to the terms of how and when it would contribute the £9 million it has agreed to pay TfL for the works to start.

Although the project is scheduled to cost £18 million, if there is any increase, that will be borne by TfL.

Although the impact of the virus on the economy is likely to throw timelines into doubt, they are currently expecting construction work to start in August 2021, with step free access coming available in March 2023 and the project completing in September that same year.