Plans for a controversial redevelopment in Wathamstow town centre have included an option for a new entrance to the area’s main tube station. There is a combined bus, tube and rail station at Walthamstow Central, and the tube station shares the main entrance building with the railway.

This poses a couple of issues, in that there isn’t a secondary exit from the tube station in case of fire, nor does it offer any capacity relief at the main entrance.

Redevelopment of The Mall, a large shopping area in the town centre, has included a provision for a possible second entrance to the tube station.

The development is quite controversial locally due to the plans lacking affordable housing, but also for reducing  a large open green space between the current transport entrance and the shopping area by a third to accommodate extra housing and shopping.

As part of the planning approval, the developer, Capital & Regional is putting up £1.5 million towards a possible upgrade of Walthamstow Central Station in the future.

The details of the upgrade are however still embryonic at best, and will certainly cost more than the £1.5 million currently committed by the developer.

Through discussions with TfL, the planning application has been designed to ensure that it will not prevent improvements to the underground station from taking place. Beyond that, the planning documents don’t make any comment, other than discussions are ongoing, and will be secured outside of the present planning application and subject to ongoing private treaty arrangements.

If the new entrance is built, it will create a link to the northern side of the new shopping centre, and one that will be much closer to the heart of the main high street of retail stores.

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15 comments
  1. Helena says:

    There is already another exit from the tube via the bus station. There are currently 2 exits via the overground station (one on each platform) and one via the bus station.

    • Ian Visits says:

      There’s just one exit from the tube station to ticket hall — that the ticket hall then has multiple “doors” to leave by doesn’t mean there’s two ticket halls to choose from to get out of the station.

      The aim is to add another exit at the far end of the platform so that there are genuinely two exits from the tube station.

    • Helena says:

      Ah, so when we say exit we really mean ticket hall. I see what you mean now.
      Good idea to reduce congestion but not good enough when it seems to mean we have to have 4 tower blocks of pricy flats to (part) fund it.

  2. Karen Ogilvie says:

    It needs it it so packed it needs more than am entrance it dangerous at busy times

  3. GT says:

    Helena
    NO, wrong.
    That is a second route out of the single exit – the escalators & staircase at the SE end of the platforms.

  4. Gwen Chapman says:

    Helena is correct, there are 2 already. They should build affordable to rent housing. My family has been split up across England because of London housing costs.

  5. Adrian Bradshaw says:

    Unless they is affordable housing. I don’t agree with the scheme. It’s just driving local people from the Borough.

  6. Rose Richardson says:

    So the station gets a little busy at times? As do all stations during rush hour.
    Any supposed spare cash should be spent on sorting out the homelessness problem in walthamstow as well as providing actual affordable housing for the people that are fast being pushed further and further out by crazy rents and totally unattainable mortgages.

  7. Andrew Gwilt says:

    Good idea to have a 2nd entrance at Walthamstow Central station on the Victoria Line. It could connect with Walthamstow Queens Road nearby on the London Overground Gospel Oak-Barking line. Aswell connecting to the London Overground Chingford line.

  8. Nina says:

    I welcome a 2nd exit and improved transport links especially for people travelling in from poorer parts but the gentrification is clearly going to drive out local people. It’s sad that it is happening so fast.

  9. Melvyn says:

    One possibility of the 2nd entrance includes making Walthamstow Central Station step free with new lifts .

    However, if lifts are only in the 2nd entrance that would not provide as useful step free interchange to / from Overground platforms.

    I also think it’s time the centre fixed staircase was replaced by a middle escalator thus improvement in dealing with passengers using the existing station.

  10. Annabel says:

    I use both Walthamstow Central and Brixton regularly, and Brixton needs a new exit far more than Walthamstow Central does!

  11. James says:

    Planning permission has been granted for the station https://youtu.be/xzk-VjgShN4?t=10081
    The video includes some plans and graphics.
    Watch the earlier part of the video for the planning permission being granted for the related residential and retail development.

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